When the COVID outbreak created fears in the community and businesses were hurting, Mayor Marty Walsh made a #LoveBostonChinatown Small Business Bingo social media campaign that got people to visit Chinatown for dim sum, pastries, public art, and more.
This support for the community brought more attention to the “Love Your Block program,” which is now the “We Love Boston Chinatown” campaign. Together the community is dedicated to revitalizing businesses and supporting local artists and organizations. Events were held in hopes of beautifying the neighborhood and reviving the impacts left by COVID-19 along with the years of resilience of anti-Asian xenophobia persistence.
In August, the Chinatown Main Street (CMS) and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center decided to get together with volunteers from the Boston Hurricanes volleyball organization, GE aeronautical engineers team, Chinese Freemason Athletic club, Boston Chinatown residents and many others to clean up the streets of Chinatown.
CMS Board Member, Gilbert Ho said “we were spreading our volunteers in small groups to maintain social distancing to clean all the streets and clean up trash.” Amid the fears of COVID-19, everyone was willing to come together while socially-distanced to clean up the community because there were areas that needed some upkeep – areas included Chinatown Park, Reggie Wong Park, and Resident’s Lab.
On the weekend of September 13-14, there was a virtual 5k/1-mile run event organized by the BCNC’s Bamboo Circle. It brought the community together in a socially-distanced environment while supporting a cause to revitalize and strengthen Chinatown. The race entry was free and donations were optional, to encourage everyone to participate.
The fact that it is a virtual run allows runners to go at their own pace and allows them to find an area that best suits them without closing off streets. The map was planned so that it took place on wider streets like Kneeland Street, Surface Artery, and around the Boston Common.
With a lack of outdoor events, i.e. the Lantern Festival and August Moon Festival being cancelled, this event hopes to bring everyone together in an outdoor setting, with the ability to see each other’s progress virtually. The goal of the run was to raise at least $5000 by September 13th, and the donations would go towards the BCNC’s services.
Over $10k worth of funding was raised thanks to matched donations by organizations and teams. The winners of the race were also awarded gift certificates to use at small local businesses. There were 192 runners of all ages coming from Virgina, California, and all over Greater Boston. Due to the great turnout, Eng hopes to establish this annual event and for it to be an in-person event in the future with the Chinatown Gate as the finish line.