Massachusetts House Asian Caucus Kickoff the #ShopAAPIMonth Challenge
BOSTON – The Massachusetts House Asian Caucus announced that for the third year running they will be challenging their colleagues and their communities to shop at local Asian and Asian American-owned businesses this month as part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The challenge originated during the pandemic to support local businesses during the economic downturn. AAPI businesses were among those hardest hit as they saw a decrease in patronage due to xenophobic and racist misinformation surrounding COVID-19 before any government shutdowns mandated closures.
As part of the #ShopAAPIMonth challenge, the caucus hopes to bring awareness to the wealth of contributions the AAPI community makes to the Commonwealth while also supporting economic growth and our small business owners. For those interested in joining the challenge, people can share photos of a local business they visited using the hashtag #ShopAAPIMonth. The caucus is also encouraging people to tag them directly on twitter @asiancaucusma as they will be retweeting participants all month long.
“As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, the caucus is challenging residents to shop at their local AAPI businesses,” said Representative Tackey Chan (D-Quincy), Chair of the House Asian Caucus. “This initiative not only supports our local economy, but encourages us all to get to know our local AAPI business owners.”
“Supporting small businesses and shopping local is always important,” said Representative Paul A. Schmid (D-Westport). “However, it gives me great pleasure to partner with my colleagues to highlight the amazing work of the AAPI community; please consider them this month and throughout the year.”
“AAPI Heritage Month is about recognizing the influence and vital contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,” said Representative Vanna Howard (D-Lowell). “Please join us by visiting AAPI local businesses in your community, providing essential goods and services throughout our communities, and helping to amplify and empower AAPIs that are working to shape our region — the people, businesses, and neighborhoods that make us a vibrant and thriving community.”
“As a proud Asian American, I am thrilled to support our local AAPI-owned businesses across the Commonwealth this AAPI Heritage Month,” said Representative Erika Uyterhoeven (D-Somerville).
“We look forward to a month of exploring our AAPI businesses, to support them and celebrate all they have to offer as they continue to grow and thrive,” said Representative Tram T. Nguyen (D-Andover).
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economies,” said Representative Donald H. Wong (R-Saugus).“This initiative is a great way to both support our AAPI businesses during AAPI Heritage Month and invest in our local economies.”
In addition to the #ShopAAPIMonth challenge, the House Asian Caucus will be focusing on programming that celebrates the contributions and history of the diverse AAPI community in the United States, while spotlighting resources to support ongoing challenges. In addition to continued efforts to increase representation in government, the caucus continues to champion more inclusive data collection, language access, culturally competent mental health services, and workforce development.
