►
From YouTube: We Are Boston 2023
Description
Attendees of the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement's annual fundraising event held at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts were encouraged to support the ongoing effort to provide resources to the immigrant and refugee community in Boston. Speaking alongside the Mayor were Director of Immigrant Advancement Monique Tu Nguyen, Immigrants Lead Boston Alumni Angel Moran, Marie Ladouceur, and Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Diversity for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Steven Silva.
A
I
want
to
welcome
you
to.
We
are
Boston
2023.,
it's
our
first
year
doing
it
after
many
years
of
Hiatus
from
the
pandemic.
It's
the
first
time,
you've
been
Gathering
and
I,
didn't
know
that
this
actually
has
been
a
tradition
of
the
city
of
Boston
since
2006,
who
knew
that
who
knew
this
has
been
going
on.
How
long
knew
that?
Who
else
knew
that?
A
So
I
want
to
thank
mayor
Wu
for
continuing
to
support
the
American
Community
here
in
Boston
Blue
Cross,
Blue
Shield,
for
donating
this
space,
and
also
on
like
supporting
all
the
work
that
we
are
doing
in
our
departments
and
City
councilors,
who
are
here
and
other
City
Partners
who
are
here
today,
who
are
helping
us
Steward.
A
new
vision
for
Boston
that
is,
has
belonging
and
inclusion
and
Equity
centered
in
everything
that
we
do.
There
are
actually
17
City
departments
here
here
with
us
today.
A
If
you
can
Grace
your
hand
to
show
that
you
are
here
with
us
in
the
urban
community,
yeah
yeah,
there's
two
17
like
I,
can't
list
them
all,
there's
really
long
names,
but
thank
you
so
much
for
all
for
all
you
all
for
being
here-
and
this
is
also
moya's
mayor's
office-
immigrant
advancements,
25th
anniversary
official
as
an
apartment.
So
it's
it's
our
25th
anniversary,
but
it
actually
came
together
from
an
idea
over
35
years
ago
from
a
mayor
who
wanted
to
make
sure
that
immigrants
were
had
a
voice
in
the
city.
A
So
they
he
hired
one
person
to
focus
on
that
and
that
grew
to
an
apartment.
That
now
is
about
10
people
and
we're
continuing
growing
to
meet
the
needs
of
Boston's
community,
and
you
might
have
seen
on
the
program.
You
can
see
the
program
that
you
might
have
one
on
your
table
and
you
might
have
seen
it
everywhere
at
the
the
phrase.
Visionary
courage
does
anything
come
up
for
you
when
you,
when
you
hear
the
word,
Visionary
courage,
any
words
and
other
Vision.
Let
me
add
ideas.
A
For
us,
Visionary
courage
was
something
that
that
we
wanted
to
make
sure
we
centered
as
a
theme
this
year,
because
it
takes
a
lot
of
vision
and
courage
to
think
about
a
future,
especially
a
future.
During
a
time
when
things
seem
kind
of
Bleak
and
scary,
like
especially
during
the
pandemic,
and
you
also
might
in
all
of
our
heritage.
A
All
of
our
families
might
have
a
story
when
they
were
inspired
or
feeling
so
in
despair
in
their
home
countries
or
wanting
a
different
life
that
took
some
Vision,
some
seat
of
Hope
in
their
in
their
dreams
or
imagination.
To
have
some
courage
to
leave
everything
that
we've
known
to
Steward
and
Pioneer
for
a
new
future.
So
that's
that's
something
I
see
in
all
of
us
in
in
myself.
A
In
my
Heritage,
and
my
parents
were
Vietnam
War
refugees
and
for
my
mom
and
my
dad
during
a
time
whenever
eating
dinner
there
were,
there
would
be
grenades
falling
into
the
kitchen
tables.
My
mom
would
say
that,
and
she
said,
there's
no
other
option
but
to
leave
and
she
had
a
vision
that
she'd
go
somewhere
and
she'd
be
welcomed
and
that
she
would
build
a
new
family
and
that's
a
vision
that
a
lot
of
us
have
all
the
time
about
we
want.
A
At
the
end
of
the
day,
we
want
what's
a
city
where
we
all
belong
to
and
our
families
our
communities,
Comes
Alive.
Okay,
so
I
want
to
show
up
for
the
Visionary
courage
that
we
do
as
Moya
that
we
we
want
to
instill
in
our
weaving
well-being,
Grand
Soul,
that's
the
way
that
we've
been
showing
up
recently
every
year,
this
event
fundraises
private
donations
from
business
partners
and
community,
so
that
we
can
actually
share
that
resource
out
to
the
community,
and
we
were
actually
able
to
fundraise
122
thousand
dollars.
B
I
want
to
thank
all
our
colleagues
in
public
service
who
serve
across
the
entire
city
of
Boston,
our
city,
councilors
and
other
elected
officials
who
have
joined
us
here,
and
thank
you
also
to
our
hosts,
the
Blue
Cross
Blue,
Shield
team,
so
to
Stephen
and
Sarah,
Jeff
and
Tammy.
We
are
so
grateful
for
your
partnership
and
your
very,
very
strong
support
and
sponsorship.
Thank
you.
Thank
you
for
keeping
our
communities
healthy
and
working
alongside
us
I
when
I
think
of
the
words
Visionary
courage
to
me.
B
That
also
comes
with
a
tremendous
sense
of
love
and
faith
in
the
future,
a
belief
that
the
actions
we
take
now
create
the
opportunities
for
the
next
generation,
and
hopefully
the
ones
after
that,
and
that
and
that
my
parents
are
immigrants
from
Taiwan
and
in
these
moments
now,
sometimes
when
life
can
feel
quite
complicated.
With
the
challenges
coming
at
us,
I'm
raising
two
kids
trying
to
balance
being
a
working
mom
thinking
about
the
challenges
of
our
city
and
I.
B
I
want
to
give
a
couple
examples
of
what
Moya
is
doing
to
make
sure
that
we
can
follow
that
through
with
action
steps
every
day
in
just
this
budget
year
alone,
Moya
has
granted
more
than
one
million
dollars
of
funding
to
more
than
50
organizations,
providing
legal
citizenship,
entrepreneurship,
assistance,
food
access,
community
building
and
Mental
Health
Resources
to
our
immigrant
communities
and
families.
Here
in
Boston,
with
the
help
of
more
than
400
volunteers,
we've
also
served
more
than
1300
new
residents
entirely
free
of
charge
with
life-changing
services.
So
I
want
to
thank
all
the
sponsors.
B
B
This
is
a
way
for
our
city
resources
to
be
fully
opened
up
and
for
new
leaders
to
be
involved
and
engaged
in
ensuring
that
our
communities
are
are
being
shaped
by
the
voices
and
perspectives
of
all
in
the
year
ahead.
Moya
is
going
to
and
you're
going
to
meet.
Some
of
our
incredible
immigrants
lead
Boston
alumni
in
just
a
little
bit
so
over
the
next
year,
with
the
support
that
so
many
are
providing
tonight
and
the
partnership
over
over
many
many
months.
B
We
know
that
when
we
do
more
to
help
our
most
impacted
most
vulnerable
communities,
everyone
benefits
in
our
society
in
community
and
city
of
Boston.
That
has
been
true
time
and
time
again
over
Boston's
history,
where
investments
in
our
immigrant
communities
are
investments
in
our
entire
city.
This
is
a
city
that
was
built
and
continues
to
be
built
up
and
made
stronger,
more
prosperous,
more
vibrant
by
our
immigrant
neighbors
friends
and
family
members.
B
All
of
us
at
the
city
of
Boston
are
incredibly
honored
to
be
a
resource,
a
support
and
a
part
of
this
journey
and
I
want
to
thank
everyone
here
for
reaching
out
to
make
sure
that
Boston
continues
to
be
that
Safe
Harbor
for
so
many
for
the
generations
to
come.
We
are
so
lucky
to
have
you
and
I'll
pass
it
back
to
Monique.
B
A
You
thank
you
so
much
mayor
and
now
I'm
pleased
to
introduce
Steven
Silva
vice
president
of
talent,
acquisition
and
diversity
from
Blue,
Cross,
Blue,
Shield
Massachusetts,
to
say
a
few
words.
Thank
you,
Stephen
the
Holy
Cross
Blue
Shield
team,
including
Jeff
Sarah
Tammy
for
your
partnership
and
allowing
us
for
using
this
space.
So
thank
you
so
much.
C
Thank
you,
Monique
and
thank
you
mayor,
so
my
name
is
Steven
Silva
I'm,
our
VP
of
talent
acquisition,
but
most
importantly,
I'm
our
chief
Dei
and
belonging
officer
here
at
Blue,
Cross,
Blue,
Shield
of
Massachusetts
and
on
behalf
of
our
entire
team,
we're
truly
honored
to
be
hosting
the
reception
here
tonight.
This
is
the
good
stuff
right,
so
at
Blue
Cross,
here
we're
incredibly
proud
to
host
this
annual
event.
Again,
it's
really
an
honor
to
be
here.
C
It's
a
celebration
of
our
City's
Rich
cultural
diversity
and
immigrants,
and
refugees
really
are
at
the
heart
of
that
diversity.
In
the
city,
these
refugees
and
immigrants,
they're
Frontline
workers,
they're
leaders,
but,
most
importantly,
they're
change
makers.
Throughout
the
covid
pandemic.
They
sustained
our
hospitals,
our
schools,
our
businesses,
really
our
entire
community
and
now
the
leading
call
for
Equity
at
this
critical
moment
in
our
country's
history.
C
C
C
C
My
father
was
an
immigrant
to
this
country.
He
left
his
small
Dusty
town
in
the
mountains
of
Mexico
to
immigrate
to
California
in
search
of
a
better
life.
He
had
no
money
and
he'd
only
achieved
a
great
school
education
before
his
father
pulled
him
out
of
school
to
work
on
the
farm
to
sustain
the
family.
C
C
C
He
scratched
out
a
very
humble
living,
but
we
were
happy.
A
big
part
of
that
was
the
support
for
our
family.
That
was
available
through
our
Civic
leadership.
I
have
very
clear
memories
of
walking
with
him,
like
the
oldest
son,
should
to
get
the
free
groceries
that
the
city
would
provide
those
living
under
the
poverty
line
so
that
we'd
have
enough
for
our
family
of
eight,
which
now
includes
three
brothers.
C
C
There
was
still
a
lot
of
work,
of
course,
but
that
work
would
have
been
impossible
without
the
foundation
that
he
laid
for
us
I.
Remember
the
minute:
I
turned
15.
I
took
a
job,
pushing
shopping
carts
at
a
retail
store
six
bucks
an
hour,
I
loved
it
I
split
every
paycheck
with
him
from
that
moment
forward.
C
C
Immigrants
have
always
been
the
heart
of
Boston
and
I'm
so
happy
to
be
part
of
the
celebration
tonight.
So
thank
you
to
Mayor
Wu
Monique
Agnes
Chang,
the
entire
team
at
Moya
for
all
the
work
you
do
day
in
day
out
to
support
immigrants
in
our
city.
Thank
you
to
my
colleagues,
Tammy
Davidson,
our
public
affairs
team,
Christina
Bryan,
our
amazing
facilities
team
here
at
Blue
Cross
for
a
wonderful
event,
and
thank
you
to
all
of
us
for
joining
us.
We
hope
you
enjoy
the
evening
and
thank
you.
A
Stephen,
thank
you
so
much
for
being
so
open-hearted
to
share
that
with
us,
because
stories
are
really
at
the
heart
of
why
all
of
us
are
here.
It's
what's
drove
us
here
and
also
physically
also
made
us
hear
from
the
stories
from
our
parents,
even
our
own
stories,
of
being
courage,
courageous
to
come
here
and
and
Steward
a
new
life,
and
that's
the
essence
of
why
we
also
are
doing
awards
today,
because
we
have
a
lot
of
people
in
the
community
who
are
doing
great
work.
A
That's
inspired
by
stories
like
Stephen
stories
like
maribus,
and
also
mine
and
I
want
to
bring
up
immigrantly
Boston
alumni
to
help
me
honor
these
awardees.
So
let's
have
Angel
Moran
join
the
stage,
Marie
Kim
Luca
door.
Well,
this
is
the
state
of
Myrna
Orienta,
more
motorosa
on
the
stage.
Please
give
them
a
hand
for
being
alone.
A
And
immigrantly
Boston
is
so
important
to
us,
because
we
really
believe
that
the
more
Civic
engagement
that
we
have
the
more
whole
and
well
that
we
are
as
a
society
as
a
community
but
with
more
engagement.
We
have
access
to
democracy
and
also
the
key
voices
that
are
part
of
fabric
of
our
community
is
taking
leadership
and
centering
their
voices
as
they
they
help
us
shape
the
future.
So
then
I
will
pass
it
over
to
Angel
to
present
the
community
and
Leadership
award.
D
D
E
E
E
F
G
F
G
G
What
is
to
you
to
live
here,
to
contribute
to
the
to
the
city,
to
the
stage
to
the
country
to
work
hard
to
have
U.S
certain
child
and
I'll
be
able
sometimes
to
go
to
the
pharmacy
to
get
a
prescription
for
your
child.
They
have
between
many
times
many
many
times
that
I
asked
to
have
my
sister
that
I
have
Choice
my
friend.
G
They
have
to
ask
my
co-worker
to
go
to
the
pharmacy
to
get
my
son
that
today
is
12
a
prescription,
because
I
did
not
have
an
ID
energy
to
get
his
education,
so
I'm
so
proud
that
today.
So,
finally,
after
20
years
of
the
application
that
my
sister
did
to
me
for
me,
2003
I
came
here
2007
and
finally,
a
couple
weeks
ago,
I
had
the
ceremony
to
become
a
US
certain.
G
F
G
F
G
G
Yeah
I
met
with
my
my
sister.
There
was
director
before
me
in
Patricia
and
me
and
we
call
fund
our
Coalition
that
supports
so
many
people
in
the
driver's
license
that
I'm
here
for
was
something
that
mainly
before
us
fought
for,
and
we
so
grateful
that
we
ordered
able
to
bring
to
the
Finish
Line
with
so
many
people
that
support
us
for
with
us.
H
H
F
H
Journey
that
we're
seeing
that
can
create
a
pathway
for
more
and
more
for
better
opportunities
for
our
immigrant
siblings
brothers
sisters
across
the
state
of
Massachusetts,
because
we
know
that
everyone
deserves
to
give
me
the
regardless
of
their
immigration
status
here
in
Massachusetts
and
everywhere
right,
but
over
270
organizations
made
up
the
driving
problems
forward.
Coalition
some
of
you
are
here,
and
some
of
you
are
not,
but
that
include
labor
organizations
such
as
Wyoming
m132bj
SEIU,
as
well
as
immigrant
advocacy
organizations
that
includes
Moya.
That
includes
Mira.
H
I
E
J
For
a
speech,
I
want
to
thank
everybody
just
to
just
have
a
consideration
of
give
us
an
award.
The
way
I
was
contacted.
Somebody
asked
me
if
I
have
a
donation
for
people
that
are
coming
to
our
city
and
they
had
anything
to
eat
at
the
moment,
and
I
always
have
this.
This
feeling
that
is
helping
helping
is,
if
you
help
each
other,
we're
never
gonna
have
issues
so
I
always
say
Yes
and
I
never
expected
to
be
recognized
for
that.
So
thank
you.
Everybody
for,
for
the
recognition.
K
Hello,
everybody,
my
name
is
I,
am
from
the
IRB
class
2022.
I
was
born
in
El
Salvador
and
for
the
last
two
decades,
I've
been
living
in
the
East
Boston
area
as
an
immigrant
I'm,
very
proud,
to
add
my
own
narrative
to
Boston's
Rich
history,
like
everybody
else
in
this
Auditorium
I'm,
going
to
present
the
Civic
leadership
award
this
year.
The
mayor's
office
for
immigrant
advancement
has
a
third
award
category,
and
this
is
for
the
Civic
leadership.
This
award
recognizes
the
accomplishments
of
someone
whose
life
is
story.
X
implies
The,
Immigrant,
dream.
K
I'll
start
over
this
year,
the
mayor's
office
for
immigrant
advancement
has
a
third
of
War
category,
and
this
is
for
the
Civic
leadership.
This
award
recognizes
the
accomplishment
of
someone
whose
life
story
X
implies.
The
Immigrant
dream
contribute
significantly
to
our
City's
social
and
cultural
Fabric,
and
it
speaks
to
our
deepest
values
as
bostonians.
E
E
L
L
Good
evening
Boston
when
I
first
started,
this
work,
I
knew
what
funders
expected,
but,
needless
to
say,
the
spark
plugs
on
that
vehicle
died.
The
minute
I
follow
those
instructions,
so
as
a
child,
when
I
was
confused,
I
went
into
a
squat
because
it
allowed
me
to
commune
with
the
Earth
and
figure
out.
What
should
I
do
next
and
so
I
went
back
into
a
squad
and
the
answer
started
flowing.
The
answer
was,
with
all
this
education
you've
received
from
podiums
and
big
classrooms.
L
You
forget
that
the
first
lesson
is
to
listen:
listen
to
the
women.
Listen
to
what
they're
going
through
the
Journey
of
an
immigrant
woman
is
lonely
because
you're
shouldered
with
so
many
things,
interlaced
with
trauma
and
unrelenting
responsibility.
You
carry
the
responsibilities
of
your
family.
You
carry
the
responsibilities
of
the
community
and
many
of
us
are
pursuing
those
things,
regardless
of
how
we
arrive
in
the
United
States,
but
there's
something
etched
in
our
identity.
L
That
brings
us
always
together
to
infect
where
we
are
with
our
laughter
and
our
joy
and
to
tantalize
your
nostrils
with
the
smell
of
flavorful
food,
sometimes
but
most
important,
most
I'm.
Sorry
I'm
like
it's
doing
something.
Thank
you
you're
very
welcome.
Thank
you,
but
most
important
of
all
it's
to
connect.
L
This
honor
tonight
is
for
the
listening
child,
who
sat
with
women
watched
Nigerian
movies.
Listen
to
Solutions,
offered
support
from
those
very
same
classrooms
that
she
traversed
in
this
honor
is
not
mine.
It
is
for
the
women
who
tell
their
stories
every
day
who
thrive
in
their
businesses
and
their
communities.
It
is
for
my
family
in
Uganda,
who
always
are
a
shoulder
to
cry
on
a
leaning
tower
of
Hope,
sometimes
and
also
accountability
to
me,
it
is
for
the
friends
who
are
here
tonight
to
celebrate
me.
L
L
It
is
for
Yusuf
vivali
for
being
the
first
to
rush
to
our
Aid,
the
minute
the
pandemic
hit.
It
is
for
the
lives
that
we've
lost,
because
families
were
all
in
the
same
house.
This
award
is
probably
going
to
get
put
on
a
mantle
in
my
mother's
house
or
probably
on
her
desk,
but
I
couldn't
be
here
without
your
blessings,
you're
you're
pouring
into
me
every
single
day,
and
that's
why
I
do
this
work,
because
the
community
pours
into
me.
L
A
G
A
Oh
yes,
a
big
congratulations,
another
hand
for
all
the
awardees
and
all
the
accomplishments
that
they've
been
able
to
do
with
through
the
pandemic
and
through
the
year
now.
Stop
oh,
we'll
stop
dispersibly
quickly!
Well,
you
saw
you
saw
shortly
that
the
staff
that
were
here
that
I
wanted
to
make
sure
that
you
all
saw
their
faces
a
lot
of
times,
especially
during
the
pandemic.
A
There's
a
lot
of
workers
that
that
help
hold
the
upper
City
I
didn't
realize
until
I
came
to
the
city
that
there's
19
000
city
workers
that
help
the
city
run
every
single
day
from
our
office
of
only
10
people
through
there's.
Actually,
people
who
are
keeping
our
streets
clean
or
also
people
who
are
doing
through
all
three
on
one
intake
calls.
A
So
there's
a
lot
of
folks
to
help
hold
out
the
city
and
I
want
to
uplift
again
that
immigrant
heritage
month
is
coming
up
and
I
want
to
make
sure
that
you
all
know
that
you
can
look
on
the
website
under
there's
a
QR
code
on
the
the
program
for
you
to
pull
up
the
website,
whether
we're
gonna
uplift
over
a
dozen
immigrant-centric
events
that
are
free
and
open
for
the
public
through
the
month
of
June.
So
you
can
heat
tap
them
there
and
I
want
to
thank
everyone
for
coming
tonight.
A
But
this
is
just
you
know
the
tail
end
of
the
speaking
program
and
then
we're
going
to
have
other
festivities
for
the
rest
of
the
night.
I
want
to
thank
Tammy
Davidson,
the
the
Blue
Cross
Blue
Shield
team,
to
help
make
this
possible
our
performers
tonight
and
then
Alfonso
and
subu
and
Aaron,
who
are
videographers
and
then
for
our
photographer
Craig
and
the
graphic
designer
Navia
and.
A
M
You
thank
you
good
evening.
Everyone
you
wanna,
have
been
fed
good
evening.
Everyone!
Thank
you
so
much.
My
name
is
Jean.
Dolan
I
am
originally
from
Haiti
I've
been
in
Boston
for
over
a
decade,
I
came
when
I
was
a
baby,
I'm,
still
young
I'm
here
to
really
orchestrate
the
best
part
of
the
evening,
which
is
the
party
we're
going
to
kick
it
off
with
the
number
of
performances
and
that's
gonna
start
with
salsa
e-controlled
dance
company.
M
They
are
a
performance
company
and
who
also
offers
salsa
lesson
and
they
will
be
giving
you
a
salsa
lesson
tonight.
Are
you
ready
and
then,
after
the
performance,
we
are
also
going
to
hear
from
a
Haitian
DJ
DJ
Hernan
who's
going
to
bless
us
with
some
music
and
then
once
we're
done
with
the
party
here
we're
going
to
go
to
Estella,
which
is
located
at
49
Temple
Street
in
downtown
Boston.
It
is
a
Cape
Verdean,
black
owned
Restaurant
in
Boston,
where
we're
going
to
party
until
we
hurt
our
feet.
Are
you
guys
ready?