Our 2021 6-Month Impact Report: From recuperation and resilience to sustainability and ingenuity
Halfway through 2021, we’re taking a moment to celebrate milestones for our community – our team, supporters, donors, partners, and most of all – small businesses. Each day we’re humbled by the generosity of our supporters, inspired by the strength of our community, and thankful to call this colorful and precious neighborhood home.
When we look at the generosity and energy from all of you – supporters, partners, and friends – it’s clear we’re not the only ones that feel this special way about Manhattan Chinatown. Thank you for rallying behind businesses, fighting to protect the most vulnerable in our community, and helping us share the stories behind this beloved gem.
These wins are all of ours to celebrate: we’ve put over $500,000 back into Chinatown’s small businesses and supported 64 local businesses with initiatives created to empower and uplift.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished together:
At a glance, you helped put $557,285 back into 64 local businesses in Chinatown. In addition to supporting local businesses, we made sure your donations also supported the greater community. Take a look at how we distributed our funds.
Here are the businesses we’ve supported in the past 6 months:
Food/Beverage: Big Wong, Bo Ky, Buddha Bodai, Cha Chan Tang, Chinatown Building Supply, Double Crispy, Eggloo, Fong On, Golden Unicorn, Hop Kee, Hop Lee, Jing Fong, Milk & Cream, My Food House, NB Wing Wong, Noree Thai Bazaar, NY Bo Ky, Pasteur Grill, Public Village, Rabbit House, Round K, Shanghai Asian Cuisine, Silk Road Cafe, Soft Swerve, Spongies Cafe, Super Taste, Taiwan Bear House, Thailicious, The Little One, Tofu Tofu, Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle, Up Stairs Bar, Wo Hop, Wok Wok, YiFang
Retail: ABA Super Gift, Eastern Bookstore, K & E Fine Jewelry, EWA Trading, Grand Tea and Imports, Great Neck Healthy Foods, HKY Ginseng, Long Jin Trading, Magic Jewelry, Mott Street Optical, Sam Wai Liquor, Shakya Trading, Sun’s Organic Garden, Top Master Jewelry, TYK Trading, Wai Wah Market, Wing on Wo
Services: Bestype, Kelly Hair Salon, Livin, New Welling Physical Therapy, Peng’s Bodywork, Seasons 88 Spa, Vida Signs
Community: A+A+A, Chinese Free Masons Athletic Club, Gordon and Lili, Immigrant Social Services, Imperial Ballroom
We’re also proud to share the impact of our community initiatives. In the past six months, we’ve made strides to improve the accessibility of resources for those in vulnerable communities. Whether it was providing books to schools or COVID-19 vaccination information to the elderly, it was our priority to guide those who needed it most. Our community involvement included:
30 grants awarded
28,000 meals purchased and donated
20 merch collaborations
1500 books donated
340 people vaccinated
So now what? The fight for Chinatown is not over and we will continue to promote four goals: recovery, advocacy, exposure, and long-term sustainability.
We will:
Continue to fundraise and disperse grants, while identifying additional revenue streams for small businesses
Advocate and campaign for legislation that supports the needs of our community and its members
Share meaningful and accurate spotlights of our beloved small businesses while creating a hyper-local digital community to show all the real Chinatown we know and love.
Identify ways to future-proof small businesses, so that Chinatown can continue to be a cultural enclave for generations to come
From all of us at Welcome to Chinatown, thank you for helping us say: Chinatown will always be open for business. We hope you’ll stay along for the ride and continue supporting our beloved Chinatown.
-Vic, Jen, and the Welcome to Chinatown team
