Hello Downey,

As we continue with the Stay At Home order, I want to thank everyone in the Downey community for following the order and helping to flatten the curve. Maintaining our distance from each other will help us continue to stay healthy and safe.

During this unprecedented time, our city services are still working and available for you. The Downey City Library has thousands of free materials that you can access from your home. From eBooks to online courses, all are available through the Downey City Library at downeylibrary.org.

Anyone with a Downey library card can access the free material. If you need a library card, you can sign up for one online through the library website. Recently, the Downey City Library added free streaming movies for adults and kids through a service called Kanopy. Here you can watch over 30,000 documentaries, classic movies, and indie films. Log in with your library membership and enjoy the diverse catalog with new titles added every month.

Online story-time will be launching soon! Our library staff will be reading stories for children of all ages. Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading. So please join us and read along with us! Information about this program and the many other resources offered by the Downey City Library is available on downeylibrary.org as well as their social media sites.

During this unprecedented time, we have all made changes in our daily lives to help stop the spread of COVID-19. I have seen many residents go above and beyond to help their neighbors. They have checked in on seniors who may need groceries or simply stopped by to say hello. I have seen the dedicated staff of the Downey Unified School District at our local schools passing out food to make sure our students eat during this time.

Also, I have spoken with our teachers who are working together to try and figure out the new normal of distance learning. Many of them spending extra time with each student to make sure they understand their homework and stay on track. These are just a few examples of acts of kindness I have seen, but there are so many more. I would love to hear your stories of acts of kindness you have witnessed during this time. Please email me at bpacheco@downeyca.org.

We are still in the reporting stage for the Census 2020. Downey has had a response rate of 47.8%. This is great but our goal is to reach 100%. Results help determine how federal funding impacts our community each year. Getting a complete and accurate count in 2020 requires everyone's help. For more information please visit 2020census.gov.

I would like to remind everyone that our Senior Congregate Meal Program is still available for seniors. To qualify you must be a resident of Downey and be age 65 or older. For availability and registration please contact (562) 862-8800. Residents have also inquired about food banks, below is a list of resources in our area.

Again I want to thank everyone for your cooperation during this unprecedented time. Together we will get through this.

Sincerely,

Mayor Blanca Pacheco

Mayor's Corner: Thank you for helping flatten the curve