The East Boston Social Centers (EBSC) was one of several organizations to receive a mini-grant last week from the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA) to help support nonprofits that work in immigrant communities.
Mayor Martin Walsh said each $5,000 grant to 20 nonprofits including EBSC would help celebrate Boston’s rich cultural diversity and applaud the work immigrant-serving organizations in Eastie and across the city do each and every day.
“The coronavirus pandemic shined a bright light on the disparities in our community,” said Mayor Walsh. “Immigrants have been on the frontlines from the beginning and they have also been the most impacted. This year especially, we need to celebrate immigrant contributions to our community and recover from this pandemic in a more equitable state than we entered it.”
The mini-grants are funded through corporate sponsorships for We Are Boston, an annual end-of-the year reception that honors the contributions immigrants have made to our City. This year’s We Are Boston 2020: From Resilience to Equity is on November 19 from 5-6 pm.
EBSC’s Executive Director Justin Pasquariello said the mini-grant to the Social Centers will be used to purchase and deliver groceries, formula, diapers, cleaning supplies, masks, gloves and any other basic needs that East Boston families cannot afford at this time.
“East Boston has been perhaps the neighborhood of Boston hardest hit by both COVID-19 and the related economic impacts,” said Pasquariello. “The city of Boston has been one of the Social Centers’ steadfast partners as we have worked to support our neighbors in this very challenging time. This mini-grant helps us continue the important work of meeting health/ safety, and basic needs of our immigrant community. We are deeply grateful to Mayor Walsh and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement for their partnership in service to our community. I am grateful too to our team, including the Family Engagement Network and Parent Partners, who are bringing this support to our neighbors.”
These mini-grants are made possible through the contributions from We Are Boston 2019 sponsors including State Street Corporation, Arbella Insurance Foundation, Eastern Bank and Verizon; and this year’s corporate sponsors include Arbella Insurance Foundation, Eastern Bank and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
For this year’s We Are Boston 2020: From Resilience to Equity on November 19, Mayor Walsh will recognize the successes of the past year and name this year’s honorees. The evening will culminate with the City’s new Cabinet Chief of Equity, Dr. Karilyn Crockett, speaking on the convergence and divergence of African American and immigrant struggles and how the corporate and philanthropic sectors can support the fight for equity for all.
“We picked this year’s theme because ‘resilience’ means the ability to recover quickly from difficulties, and that is exactly what our immigrant communities are doing during this pandemic. And this resiliency, this strength, is what gets us to equity,” said Yusufi Vali, Director of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement.