Dear BWA’s Friends and Community,
As many of you have heard, the Boston Workers Alliance’s office in Grove Hall was totaled after a car involved in a shooting crashed through our wall at around noon on Saturday. Thankfully, to our knowledge, no one was hurt in the accident or the gunfire.
Video Interview: http://youtu.be/
This dramatic incident only highlights the ongoing crisis we are experiencing in our community. Since 2005, the BWA has helped hundreds of members obtain or create jobs, and collectively won major policy changes that impacted hundreds of thousands of residents. Still, joblessness amongst young men in our community hovers at 40%, and we see the consequences of this urban depression through the weekly violence in our streets.
Despite this setback, BWA’s passion to advocate for our community is stronger than ever. Our Grove Hall office will be closed, but we will continue our work out of the Boston Staffing Alliance at 140 Winthrop Street in Roxbury. Meanwhile, we begin the process of assessing our damages and seeking support from our community during this trying moment.
We are grateful for the outpouring of support we’ve received in the last two days. For those who are able, we are opening a community fundraising campaign to ensure our financial stability during an uncertain moment.
To give: http://www.crowdrise.
BWA is also planning its annual fundraiser tentatively for May 9* to celebrate our work and to come together as a community (please note date change). Please plan to join us - tickets will be available on the BWA website starting next week!
Finally, we ask that you join our staff and members who work everyday to address the root causes of the violence and trauma of our communities. We have several major rallies and actions that we seek support in March and April. The strength of our organization is not about what office we work from. It is about our members and our community who come together to build a better world.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Please see below for more information about BWA’s upcoming actions.
Sincerely,
Tracy Parks
Board Chair,
Boston Workers Alliance
