Wishing You a Safe and Happy Holiday!
Dear Neighbor:
As we celebrate the holiday season, I hope you and your family are able to take some time to recharge. With the new year approaching, I want to take a moment to share my silver linings from 2020.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has touched every aspect of our lives. Many of us have battled this disease or lost family members and friends. We’ve all had to change how we live, work and learn. I know this hasn’t been easy, and I’d like to recognize the genuine strength and fortitude our community has shown throughout this year. Strength and courage exist in individual actions. Whether it’s masking up, physical distancing from friends and family or volunteering to help support others in this moment, your actions and choices have an important impact.
I especially want to thank our frontline healthcare workers and first responders. This pandemic has stretched you to the breaking point, never more than right now as we battle this precipitous surge. Every day, I hear stories of heroism and sacrifice that both bring tears to my eyes and renew my faith in the power of the human spirit.
My team and I are continuing to work (virtually) on your behalf at the Capitol and here locally. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been working to help laid-off workers, vulnerable seniors, and frontline healthcare workers. I’ve hosted dozens of digital townhalls, workshops and Q&A sessions, helped more than 500 constituents access unemployment benefits, and distributed more than 1,000 turkeys and food boxes at our inaugural Thanksgiving Turkey drive. In the Assembly, I fought for legislation to secure emergency supplies of personal protective equipment for nurses, doctors & hospital workers and successfully pushed to expand testing for Orange County first responders. This fall, we rolled out a $500 million investment in Small Business relief and recovery, which I am working to expand. Click here for a list of resources for small businesses.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without my wonderful team, and the ongoing support of local organizations and community members like you. We look forward to continuing to develop our relationships and build new partnerships in 2021.
Blessedly, this new year brings new hope. Though there is still a long road ahead, with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine underway, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And for that I am truly grateful.
From my family to yours, best wishes for a safe, healthy and very happy new year.
HIGHLIGHTS
While this year may have looked a little different in terms of how we’ve stayed in touch, we wanted to share just some of our (virtual) work around the district.
TOWN HALLS
For much of the past nine months, we’ve carried out virtual Facebook town halls on two dozen issues, from how to get tested for COVID-19, where to find mental health resources, to how to support local nonprofits like animal shelters during the pandemic.
Our latest town hall features Appointments Secretary Rivera-Hernandez, who discusses how individuals can get appointed to state boards. You can also learn more about appointments through the state website.
And for those who may not have Facebook, you can view our townhalls on YouTube.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We also continued to work with community partners in safe, physically distanced events.
Our district team spearheaded a mask program in the early months of the pandemic, helping organize community members who were interested in sewing masks. Thanks to these collaborative efforts, we were able to donate masks to support community organizations like the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) – providing masks to the parents and families of young patients.
My team also worked with the Red Cross and the City of Costa Mesa to support blood drives in our district. With donations at a low due to the pandemic, I wanted to affirm to the community that donations were safe, and essential to help our hospitals and frontline providers with their life-saving efforts. Sign-up here for our next blood drive.
And my team was out in the community, supporting the important work of organizations like Families Forward and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, to help ensure that everyone would have a warm meal during these challenging times. I was so thankful we were able to help distribute more than 1,000 turkeys and food boxes ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
And finally, one of our final events of the year is to organize a book drive, for several of our community partners, including Save Our Youth.
We were lucky to be able to partner with beloved members of the children’s book community, including Martha Brockenbrough and Minh Lê, and Irvine’s own Jessica Patrick and Julie Abe, to donate dozens of new, signed books to young readers this holiday season.
Thank you for helping us spread a love of reading!
COMMUNITY RECOGNITION
A component of our community outreach has been continuing to recognize the men and women in our communities who are making a difference.
One of our biggest events for this year, was recognizing our six 2020 Veterans of the Year in a virtual ceremony. Watch our virtual ceremony online and check out the Daily Pilot for this fantastic write-up.
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS
Finally: please remember, our office hours are every Monday on Zoom.
If you’re in need of state assistance, please do not hesitate to sign up for a meeting slot and reach out if you need to make arrangements for an alternative time.
