The City of Boston will lead service activities and enlist community- and resident-based organizations to plan and share One Boston Day volunteer opportunities
Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston today issued a call to action for community-based organizations, businesses, and employees as well as residents of the City of Boston to come together for volunteer events and acts of kindness in recognition of our City’s spirit of concern for one another in response to the tragic events of April 15, 2013. One Boston Day, observed on April 15, honors the victims, survivors, and first responders of the 2013 Boston Marathon.
“One Day of Boston honors those forever impacted on April 15, 2013 and recognizes the City’s greatest strength—our people,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “We will never forget the people who lost their lives, the many who were injured and changed forever, and the human spirit shown that day and beyond for those who needed it most. One Boston Day is a true demonstration of our strength when we come together as one.”
Ten years later, City of Boston departments and workers will continue to come together to honor the day and will host service projects for people to give back to their communities. Mayor Wu announced today that the City is launching a new one One Boston Day website to help publicize events organized by community groups and residents. A 2023 Acts of Kindness List available at boston.gov/one-boston to provide inspiration and ideas for how individuals can get involved.
“On One Boston Day, we hope residents, businesses, and service organizations across the city will come together and find ways to give service back to other people and their communities,” said Bill Richard Co-Founder of the Martin Richard Foundation.
Marking its tenth year, the City of Boston and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) will honor the day with a memorial event in Back Bay on Saturday, April 15, 2023. More details on the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
Organizations, businesses, and individuals who wish to publicize their One Boston Day event can submit information about their event Here. The City will continue to add new services and other opportunities over the coming weeks and will share activity through all communication channels.
“On April 15, 2013, my family and I stood on Boylston Street and our lives changed in an instant,” he said. Audrey Epstein Reny, founder of the Stepping Strong Center. “We experienced terrible tragedy, but also the strength that comes from embracing the best in human kindness. Over the past decade, we have kept that special Boston Strong spirit alive at The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital , where our mission is to turn tragedy into hope for trauma survivors through innovation, collaboration and community outreach. On One Boston Day, we invite the public to continue this tradition by donating much needed blood to trauma patients.”
For details on Stepping Strong Center blood donations, visit Here. In honor of the brave first responders who played such an important role in 2013, the Stepping Strong Center will offer Stop the Bleed training to empower citizens to take action in times of crisis.
The city is also hosting a number of community events on April 15 and welcoming residents to take part. That State Administration OfficeThat Mayor’s Youth CouncilAnd Boston Department of Parks and Recreation will be hosting a community cleanup at Franklin Park starting at 10:00 a.m. People interested in taking part can register Here. Details on other City-hosted Boston One Day service actions will be available in the coming weeks.
“On One Boston Day, we come together as a city and as a running community,” said Jack Fleming, President and Chief Executive of the Boston Athletic Association. “Even though it has been ten years since the tragic events that occurred on Boylston Street at the Boston Marathon, we continue to honor and remember all those whose lives were affected. The Boston Athletic Association is committed to remembering and celebrating the spirit of strength that has marked one of the most meaningful decades in our city’s history.”
Mayor Wu encouraged Boston residents to take part in their individual acts of kindness, including those in Boston One Day Acts of Kindness Checklist 2023. Examples of checklists range from buying a cup of coffee for a stranger to donating blood. As in previous years, people are welcome to share their reflections and action plans for One Boston Day on social media with the hashtag #OneBostonDay.
More about One Boston Day, including forms for registering community events, is available at boston.gov/one-boston.
