WASHINGTON — Ryan Zimmerman, better known at Mr. National, is loved by the organization and its fans. So, when the coronavirus pandemic hit this community hard, Zimmerman and his wife, Heather, immediately sprang into action to help the people and fans, who have showered him with support for the past 15 years.
"You know these doctors and nurses and patients, these people that are getting hit by this are the people that come watch us play so kind of the overwhelming consensus from all of us is that we wanted to do something we just needed a way to come together and I think that's what Pros for Heroes offers," Zimmerman said.
The Zimmermans created Pros for Heroes COVID-19 Relief Fund to provide health care workers in the Washington DC area with meals after their long shifts, and supply them with personal protective equipment, better known as PPE. He immediately enlisted the help of his fellow D.C. professional athletes, from Alex Ovechkin to Vernon Davis, and what started as a goal to raise $250,000, has now raised more than $350,000 to help those on the front lines.
"Heather and I have talked about how awesome it's been to see everyone come together, whether you're a Caps fan or a Redskins fan," Zimmerman said.
One of Zimmerman's biggest fans here in D.C. is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Fauci has made national headlines as he works tirelessly to fight this virus. A D.C. resident for 50 years, Dr. Fauci sat down with Zimmerman via zoom to talk about this pandemic, how we can get past this, and of course baseball.
"I believe cautiously optimistically that by the time we get to the Fall and Winter, I think we will be in good shape, its kind of like, I'm talking to you as a baseball legend, it's kind of like the Nats in the beginning of the season, there was only people like me who said love them so much who said, ok you're messing up in the beginning of the season but you're getting better and better and guess what we won the World Series, " said Dr. Fauci.
Zimmerman interviewed Dr. Fauci for about 20 minutes! If you want to see that entire conversation, you can also find it here on WUSA9.com