Let’s salute our essential workers, volunteers during COVID-19 outbreak

After 9/11, our nation rallied around our firefighters, police and military. They were our heroes to whom we expressed gratitude, respect and admiration.

Now amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we are once again reminded of the heroism of those groups and we have also seen the emergence of many new heroes. They are essential workers and volunteers. They are doctors, nurses, grocery clerks, food providers, sanitation workers, teachers, postal workers and many others. These groups are providing services and working tirelessly to assure that people receive needed medical care, that food is stocked on shelves, that our residences remain clean, and that our children are educated even at a distance. Their efforts have enabled many of us to stay safely at home.

Our new heroes each day treat the sick and save lives in hospitals and clinics, in homeless shelters and women’s shelters. They serve, risking their own health, knowing every moment that any carelessness could potentially spread the virus.

Our new heroes are volunteers who deliver Meals on Wheels to the elderly, box up groceries and replenish shelves at food banks, cook food and serve the hungry, and sew masks by the hundreds.

Our new heroes include school cafeteria workers who provide grab-and-go meals. They are secretaries, custodians who deep clean school buildings, and school administrators who assure teaching and learning continue. Notably, they are teachers who develop lessons, teaching virtually while serving as an emotional lifeline to their students. Many do this while caring for their own children and families.

I am truly inspired by this community spirit. Let us continue to show them gratitude, respect, and admiration now and in the years to come.

Jill Dennin of Douglass (Mont.) Township is a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives in the 147th District.