Let Me Be Blunt: We’re a State of Neighbors

Dear Friend, From heading back to the classroom to harvesting vegetables to learning about the innovation coming from the First State, Let Me Be Blunt , we covered it all this week. While you’ll read about a variety of topics, what rang true throughout was the importance of showing up for one another. Whether it’s supporting students in need, feeding our community, or even inventing technologies that protect our environment and the communities we live in, Delawareans across the state are giving back. This week was a reminder that we truly live up to our title as a “state of neighbors.” Keep reading to see what I was up to and how Delawareans are showing up. Class is in Session Students across the state headed back to the classroom! I had a blast joining West Seaford Elementary to welcome students back alongside Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Martin and other local leaders. Seeing these smiling faces head into school, some for the very first time, makes me so excited for what’s to come for our youngest Delawareans. Watch part of my visit HERE . I also have to shout out the Delaware educators and support staff who make this possible. Thank you for pouring into our students and introducing them to the magic of learning. Wishing all of our students, educators, and school staff a great year! Happy First Day of School, Delaware! Advocates for All I come from a family of social workers, including my dad, sister, daughter, and niece, so I know just how important, rewarding, and challenging the job can be. This week, I sat down with social workers from the Delaware State Education Association to discuss what they’re seeing on the ground. We covered the importance of student and educator mental health, housing stability, food security, and even access to hygiene resources. All of these factors directly affect students’ success, and we must invest in the right tools to help them succeed. I’m so grateful for this conversation and look forward to further collaboration that will put Delawareans of all ages first. Learn more about our conversation HERE . Thank you for serving our community and sharing your expertise. Feeding Delaware Nearly 1 in 7 Delawareans are food insecure, and 1 in 5 Delawarean children face food insecurity. Both statistics have increased as we’ve faced SNAP and food assistance cuts across the country over the last year. I visited the Food Bank of Delaware to get an update on their efforts. They shared how they’re increasing community partnerships to ensure no Delawarean goes hungry. While visiting, my team and I worked in the Food Bank’s new Hunger Relief Garden, which was supported by federal funding I secured in Congress. We helped the garden staff harvest eggplants, basil, and more. The Food Bank is leading the way in addressing food insecurity, and I’m so proud to support their efforts. Check out my work in the Hunger Relief Garden HERE . The Food Bank of Delaware is ensuring we all have access to fresh, affordable food. Innovation that Excites For years, I’ve championed efforts to ensure everyone has access to reliable, clean drinking water, and I’ve continued to invest in these policies through my work on the Environment and Public Works Committee. As the relationship between natural resources and emerging technologies continues to develop, this issue has become even more important. I stopped by Newark-based company AirJoule, which is addressing water quality and scarcity issues by creating water from air. Earlier this summer, AirJoule unveiled a product that can produce up to 500 gallons of water per day by harvesting it from the air. This technology has the potential to relieve the burden on local groundwater infrastructure and better protect our environment. Amazing things are created in Delaware every day! Caring for Those Who Served Our veterans have made a tremendous sacrifice for our nation, and they deserve access to the highest quality of care in return. The Wilmington Veterans Affairs Medical Center is working to offer these services right here at home. I connected with Thandiwe Nelson-Brooks, the new Executive Director of the VA Wilmington Health Care System. We discussed the current needs of Delaware veterans and how to address homelessness, mental health, and access to care. Additionally, we discussed how to attract critical providers to the industry. Thank you to the entire Wilmington VA team for your partnership and critical work. A Gathering Place to “Think and Do” I had the pleasure of joining state and local leaders and the Wilmington community for the grand opening of the new North Market (NoMa) Library. This new branch is a two-story, next-generation library that seeks to promote technology, innovation, and collaboration. The NoMa library will go beyond a traditional library and serve as a flexible hub to support literacy, learning, workforce development, small businesses, community connection, and so much more. This place is particularly special to me because my family lived in the neighborhood for forty years and my late father, Ted Blunt, represented the area on Wilmington City Council and as Council president. In addition to serving in elected office, working in the field of education, and volunteering in the community, my Dad LOVED to read. There were many smiles and tears seeing the statue of him with a book in his hands commissioned in his honor (Sculptor Jon Hair). He once said, “I believe libraries are the gateway to the world. As a child I always wanted to travel to see different places beyond the housing projects of North Philadelphia. Books afforded me the opportunity to expand my horizons.” This space honors the vision of so many local trailblazers who sought, and worked for a community space that offers boundless opportunities for Delawareans. I’m so thrilled to see the library come to life and hope many of you will visit soon. Also, as we honor the life of the Dolly Parton — musician, philanthropist, and founder of the Imagination Library — thank you to all of the librarians for teaching us to dive into the stories around us and discover the world through the pages of a book. We captured this special moment of my parents. The Big Quarterly This weekend we came together for the culmination of the August Quarterly, which honors the founding of the Union Church of Africans, the first African American Church independently incorporated in the United States. At its origin, this was the one day when enslaved and free black folks joined together, and over the years it has continued to serve as a celebration of religious and cultural freedom and expression. As the August Quarterly is the oldest event that commemorates African Americans gathering in solidarity, a partnership with the Delaware Historical Society and the Smithsonian was also announced. From the wreath laying at Peter Spencer plaza and church service to the gospel festival in Tubman-Garrett park, real community unity was on display. The support was needed more than ever in the wake of the tragic fire earlier this year at the Mother Africa Union Church. This week-long event proves they are more than a building and “still they rise.”  I was proud to see our community come together to carry on this time-honored tradition celebrating community and religious freedom. Our community showed up for one another. In this week’s How May We Serve You, I want to highlight how my team has been working to serve the needs of Delawareans across the state. My team helped a constituent recover an allocation from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that they have been waiting to receive since 2015! Just this week, the constituent received outreach from OPM to signal that a disbursement is ready to be made. While there’s still more work to do, this is an exciting first step to finally resolve an issue that has been weighing on our constituent for over a decade. Never hesitate to reach out to my office for help. CLICK HERE to learn more. August is Black Business Month, so this week I want to honor Dr. Shari Wallace and Megan Harris, the founders of SOMA Skin & Sculpt. Wallace and Harris, who are also sisters, founded SOMA with the vision of creating a comprehensive healthcare practice that treats the whole patient. Through their practice, they’re working to treat a diverse clientele base across every life stage. Earlier this year, SOMA was awarded an Encouraging Development, Growth, and Expansion (EDGE) grant through the Delaware Division of Small Business to help with early-stage business growth. Capitol Conversations with LBR My Washington office will host our next Capitol Conversations on Wednesday, September 23 rd at 2 pm. If you find yourself in the D.C. area, drop by to connect with me and my team. CLICK HERE to RSVP. Service Academy Are you a young person interested in serving our country? Every year, I have the honor of nominating exceptional students to one of our U.S. Service Academies. The 2026 application process is now open through October 15. CLICK HERE to learn more. Please head to my website’s Resources for Delawareans page for information about lowering your energy costs, scheduling passport appointments, finding emergency housing, accessing food assistance, paying for prescription drugs, connecting with mental health resources, and more. CLICK HERE FOR MY RESOURCES PAGE.