Who were your heroes growing up, friend? For me, it was my parents.

Dad was a veteran, a small businessman, and a preacher. He spent his days fixing junk cars that other folks had discarded – and then on Sundays, he preached to the folks who felt discarded.

And Mom? As a teenager, she spent her summers picking cotton in Waycross, Georgia. She raised 12 kids in public housing – and while our family was short on money, we were long on love. Just last year, those 83-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton picked her son to be a U.S. senator from Georgia, the first Black senator in our state's history.

My parents taught me the value of hard work and instilled in me a heart for service. I bring those lessons with me wherever I go, including the Senate, where I'm fighting to build a better, brighter future for all.

But with NPR calling me the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for reelection, I mean it when I say the only way I can win this race and keep up the fight in Washington is with your urgent help.

So I'm personally asking, friend: Will you give $5 or more right now to win in Georgia, defend our Senate majority, and build a better future for our country?

Thank you so much.

– Rev. Raphael Warnock