by Lintaro Donovan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like millions of Americans, I remember my first day of swim lessons at the YMCA. As I left my grandfather\u2019s grip and waded into the freezing-cold water, two hands gripping the tile sides of the pool, I began to cry. I felt like I would never learn to swim. But learn I did, and, although I am close to 18 now, I still consider myself a perpetual Y-Kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like millions of Americans, I remember my\nfirst day of swim lessons at the YMCA. As I left my grandfather\u2019s grip and waded into the freezing-cold water, two hands gripping the tile sides of the pool,\nI began to cry. I felt like I would never learn to swim. But\nlearn I did, and, although I am close to 18 now, I still consider myself a\nperpetual Y-Kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through\nthe Y\u2019s swim programs, I found confidence in water and discovered a lifelong, lifesaving skill. Through the Y\u2019s Youth & Government<\/a> program, I serve\nas Youth Governor\nof Maryland and find inspiration to enter public service\nat every program event. Through the Y\u2019s diabetes prevention programming, I know I\u2019ll find hope as the son and grandson of diabetics. But the\nCOVID-19 Crisis threatens to topple\nthe charity cornerstones of my life and our state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complete shutdown\nin economic activity over the next weeks will prevent many\norganizations, including my own Youth & Government program, from hosting the events they need\nto maintain revenue streams and program\nfunding. An inevitable economic downturn will force many Americans to cut\ntheir charitable giving for the year short: punching charities in the gut when\ntheir services are needed most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there is another\nstaggering economic dimension <\/a>to the challenge facing our charities. Payrolls in the independent sector are larger than those\neven in the construction, finance,\nand transportation industries. Nonprofits like the Y employ more than 12 million people who compose\nthe fabric of their\ncommunities. Millions of livelihoods are now at risk of dying out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sooner than later, in just Montgomery County could lose their jobs. Maryland might find itself bereft of A Wider Circle,<\/a> which provides homegoods, counseling, and antipoverty education to families in need. It is horrifying to imagine what my community would look like without the youth and family services provided by the Silver Spring Y or the lifesaving generosity of Manna Food Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I implore Congress.\nJust as our elected officials\nhave stood up for their constituents and defended the common good on countless\nother occasions, they must fight the good fight now. Nationwide nonprofits have recently released a request <\/a>for the legislature to allocate $60 billion in relief for\norganizations on the frontlines of the Battle Against\nCoronavirus. Congress must ensure that any stimulus\npackage relieving corporations\ndecimated by the current crisis also relieves the nonprofits whose work is so vitally\nimportant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congress must remember nonprofits when it comes time to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lintaro Donovan is a student at Montgomery Blair High School.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" COVID-19 threatens to wipe out our state\u2019s safety net by Lintaro Donovan Like millions of Americans, I remember my first day of swim lessons at the YMCA. As I left my grandfather\u2019s grip and waded into the freezing-cold water, two hands gripping the tile sides of the pool, I began to cry. I felt like … Continue reading In Crisis, We Must Protect Our Nonprofits<\/span>