This pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to all of us. Never before has virtually all segments of society been asked to stay at home and stay away from family and friends. From students to government workers and across the labour force, people are adjusting to a life standing six feet apart, wearing masks to get groceries and finding new ways to pass the time when they are not working. The exceptions of course are the workers and industries that have been deemed “essential.” And no group of workers is more essential in these times than our frontline healthcare workers, especially our nurses, who are performing the ultimate public service.Nurses and health care providers across the country are on the front lines keeping our families, friends and communities safe. Their tireless efforts in this ever-changing battle against COVID-19 are crucial. Nurses are being called on to stay at work while we are being called on to stay at home. They are making decisions based on a pandemic they have never experienced. They are administering the tests, tending to the sick in their hospital beds, long term care homes and in our communities trying to give comfort where they can to patients suffering the worst effects of the virus.That is why the Canadian Nurses Foundation (CNF) launched a COVID-19 Fund in support of Nurses Across Canada, in partnership with founding sponsor, the TYLENOL® brand.This COVID-19 Fund will immediately support nurses in numerous ways including:

• Help provide mental health support for nurses during this COVID-19 pandemic
• Help provide nurses with the evidence, skills and training they need to better navigate COVID-19
• Develop and share best practices for future pandemics
• Explore and support new research in critical care and pandemic response

Community and corporate partners are showing their support of nurses across Canada.  For example, Mud Hero Canada is donating a portion of every race entry to the Canadian Nurses Foundation during the COVID-19 crisis.Canadians can easily join CNF's virtual Fund Duel to support nurses both locally within their own province, or together nationally, as part of CNF's COVID-19 Fund for Nurses.Everyone knows a nurse or a frontline healthcare worker who is redefining the meaning of the term 'public service.' As we continue to work together to defeat COVID-19, we are calling on everyone to show your support to nurses who are going above and beyond the call of duty every day. Our nurse heroes are risking their own health and their own lives on the front lines of a war we must win -- a battle that together, we will win.Christine Rieck Buckley is CEO of the Canadian Nurses Foundation. Nurses are leaders in public health and patient safety, especially during these unprecedented times.  The Canadian Nurses Foundation is investing in nursing excellence for better patient care.  They support world-class Canadian health care by raising funds to advance nursing knowledge and research, and by recognizing professional merit in Canada's nurses. To show your support for nurses, go to: https://cnf-fiic.ca/cnf-covid-19-fund-for-nurses/.