Local Impact

“What’s up with the orange ribbon on your mailbox post?” I was glad for the question, as that was precisely the purpose of the tied up piece of ribbon.  The Orange Ribbon Campaign, a student led initiative started by the Luce family of Boxborough, amplified by AB Together Against Hate and AB United Way (ABUW), is a show of support and solidarity towards Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities. Recently two Black members of our town school committee experienced blatant racial attacks with use of slurs - on two separate occasions - during meetings held over zoom. There has been a widespread support for the orange ribbon initiative. “We realize that a ribbon campaign will not change hearts and minds or discriminatory practices, but we hope to amplify the many voices and groups that need to be heard” states the campaign. When a member of our community, Ananya Rao, reached out for 20 volunteers, the spots were full within no time. I was motivated by the fact that the ribbon would lead to questions and spread awareness and discourse, specifically about the loathsome incidents, and generally about the state of systemic racism in the country.

These were in-the-face attacks using slurs, which are just the tip of the iceberg. Much of systemic racism is in the form of bias and nimbyism. Vivian Kobusinghye Birchell runs a local program on ActonTV called “Wide Field”. Vivian interviewed first generation African immigrant youth about bias, and one thing that struck a chord with me was that the onus of educating the rest of the community about racism does not fall on the people who are experiencing it. It is upto the rest of the community to educate and enlighten themselves. I felt that ABUW did an outstanding job of making all these resources available. Now it is for the community to participate and make use of these resources.

Over the past year, I had the lucky opportunity to be associated closely with ABUW. I had heard for years about the amazing work this local chapter of United Way does for our community. Only after volunteering with them did I understand the full extent of the impact of their outreach! Towards the beginning of the spread of covid, and a state-wide lockdown, when the overall morale was low, it was very encouraging to see individuals around us generously participating in fundraising drives. Individuals from our community came forward in opening their purse-strings and hearts to support people who were struggling to make ends meet. Folks made full use of their companies matching 100% of individual pledges in these unprecedented times. Among this generosity, some people from our community came together to raise funds hoping to make a local impact. Our unanimous choice was to help with our donation through ABUW and their Covid Impact Fund, due to their solid outreach track record in our community.

Subsequently, I was fortunate to volunteer and participate in ABUW’s grants allocation process. Through this process I learned of the slew of angels in our backyard, as someone said, doing “God’s work”. Dozens of organizations helping out - from elders in need to little children, from domestic violence victims to those facing evictions, for new immigrants trying to learn English, and grants for food pantries (full list). I had not expected one organization to reach out to such a wide range of people who required help. ABUW touches all these organizations through a structured and well documented grant process, with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a core value at the  organization's forefront. I was glad we picked ABUW to make our local impact.

Since I signed up as a volunteer, I get emails about their outreach and volunteering opportunities. I got a similar email on Martin Luther King’s Day, which is also a National Day of Service. ABUW created these multitude of inspiring and impressive opportunities - where one could be involved - as much or as little - to do our bit as a part of the movement. Through their volunteer outreach, I learned about an interesting “Neighbors” story-telling event in February. 

There is research that 90% of folks want to volunteer, but only 1 in 4 Americans actually do, and the less turnout is attributed to lack of time, lack of information, or simply because no one asked. Personally, I experienced all these reasons, but since being involved with ABUW, I felt it was a “one-stop shop”. By simply signing up as a volunteer, I stay in the loop about interesting opportunities, and can pick the ones in my comfort zone, and be involved in local impact. Among the vast choices of opportunities to tailor my involvement, this time over, ABUW and Ananya presented me with an opportunity to make an impact, literally without lifting a finger, where my drop in the ocean in the form of an orange ribbon tied to the mail post, was a show of solidarity against injustice in my community.