The group cheered. Zimmerman explained why they were there.

“You guys are doing so much for the community, and you probably don’t get to hear from outside the hospital very much,” Zimmerman said. “We just wanted to let you know not only how much we appreciate what you’re doing, but everyone in the area appreciates what you’re doing. Going in there every day and putting your lives and your families’ lives at risk to help save other people’s lives is pretty special.”

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With that, the Zimmermans made their latest in a series of donations — some 450 meals for the health-care workers and their families — that they hope will grow into a giving-fest throughout the Washington sports community in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the Nationals first baseman announced he started a fund that will continue to distribute meals and eventually bring needed supplies to the workers at Inova Health’s facilities across Northern Virginia.

The Zimmermans’ initial gift: $100,000. The goal for what they’re calling the Pros for Heroes Covid-19 Relief Fund: $250,000, with the help of athletes from all of Washington’s professional sports teams. The hope: Solicit gifts, both big and small, to create a sustaining gift that can help both front-line health workers and their families get through this crisis.

“Hopefully it’ll snowball,” Zimmerman said by phone Monday afternoon. “I’m going to reach out to my buddies on the other teams. You hear about athletes and celebrities doing great things during all this, but it’s kind of these one-offs. That’s great. That helps. But if we can bring everyone together from these different teams, we might be able to do something that has some staying power and might be able to grow.”

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Around 130 health-care workers at Inova Fairfax, in Falls Church, have felt the impact. During the video call, Sage Bolte, Inova’s chief philanthropy officer and president of the Inova Health Foundation, watched as doctors and nurses wiped tears from their eyes and made prayer signs, saying thank you with their hands. The group was 2½ hours from going home for the evening. They heard that hot meals awaited them. It mattered.

“One of the teams had just had a really, really hard shift,” Bolte said. “This gave them that extra boost they needed to finish the shift strong. It was a reminder that people are behind them, which sometimes can get lost. I got texts and emails afterward: ‘I can’t believe it. What an incredible gift. We’re so honored and privileged to be recognized in that way.’ ”

One of the messages Bolte received was from Patricia Hill, the chief nursing officer.

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“Heartfelt thanks to Ryan and his wife,” the text read, in part. “Their thoughtful generosity amid these unprecedented times touched not only the hearts of our team but their spirits as well. The energy on the unit after their connection with Ryan and his wife was palpable! Truly infused a sense of belonging, community and heartfelt appreciation.”

Which was precisely the Zimmermans’ intention.

After the Nationals shuttered their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., last month and the Zimmermans returned to their McLean home and settled into a routine with their two young girls (the couple also has a son on the way), they began discussing ways they might help during this public health crisis. Zimmerman said he was talking with Greg Trimble, a close family friend who is a doctor at Inova Fairfax.

They began discussing the stress under which health-care professionals are working, and the Zimmermans decided providing support for them might be the best way to help. They began with the meals, but they expect to expand to personal protective equipment as the needs arrive.

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“Obviously, the people at the hospitals are not only being extremely overworked and run into the ground, but when you think about what they’re doing, it’s amazing,” Zimmerman said. “Everybody else is staying away from everybody who even coughs. These people are literally running into rooms with people that they know have the virus and are trying to save their lives with disregard to their family and themselves. And we can’t really see them doing it. You can’t high-five them. You can’t tell them, ‘Good job.’ ”

Now the trick becomes expanding the effort to include other athletes from across the Washington sports scene, as well as directing funds to areas the hospitals most need them. Providing meals, and particularly recognizing the role health-care workers’ families play in fighting the pandemic, “can lift morale,” Bolte said. But for a system that has completed nearly 5,000 coronavirus tests and currently has about 200 covid-19 patients in its facilities, there are more pressing needs to come.

“We need to keep people safe and meet critical needs,” she said. “As we’ve watched price-gouging, the challenges of accessing PPE right now is a real thing. The ability to secure funds that allow us to immediately get supplies is extremely important.”

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Next up: more athletes — and more donations, period. MASN concludes its run of Nationals postseason games from last fall on Tuesday night with a rebroadcast of Washington’s victory over the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series. Zimmerman was planning to watch and follow with MASN host Dan Kolko on social media.

“We might have some of my buddies join me,” Zimmerman said.

That could help Pros for Heroes, which was set up with help through the agency that represents Zimmerman, CAA. CAA’s foundation worked with local food groups SuperFd and Eco Caters to supply the meals. Word hadn’t even spread Tuesday, and Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom had made a five-figure donation. Both Zimmerman and Bolte noted, though, that you don’t need a professional athlete’s salary to make an impact. A meal costs $10; a face mask, $5.

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“My teammates are pretty easy,” Zimmerman said. “But Heather and I just realized there’s never really been a thing where it brought all the athletes in D.C. together. To have an athlete hopefully start something that can get other athletes involved, where they kind of know what they’re getting into, maybe that will help.