This post is brought to you by Sr. Partner Development Manager Krystina Nguyen.
Every year, the United States recognizes May as Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month — and is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the cultures, accomplishments, narratives, contributions and histories of the AAPI communities in the United States and around the world.
AAPI Heritage Month has evolved over the years as a way for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to embrace their identities, share their stories, and have those stories amplified. However, since last May the AAPI community has seen a significant rise in the number of hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment. Now more than ever, AAPI month serves as a powerful reminder to show support for your AAPI colleagues, neighbors, and friends.
Here are a few ways you can support and celebrate the AAPI community both this month and all year long:
Buy From AAPI-owned Businesses
By shopping with AAPI-owned brands, your purchasing power can help dismantle the toxic “model minority” myth, develop generational wealth, and create more job opportunities within the AAPI community. Take a look at a few AAPI-owned businesses available via Sendoso below:
Check Your Gut with Wildwonder
Inspired by the healing ingredients of the founder’s Chinese heritage, Wildwonder is a “gut-healing” bubbly beverage made with real ingredients to give your immune system a boost. Each drink is consciously made in California and 5% of profits from each bottle goes to empowering women and marginalized communities.
Send a Snack Pack with Gyfting
The Asian woman-owned Gyfting platform specializes in “consciously curated gift boxes featuring products from Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color, LGBTQ+, and female founded brands.” The platform was founded on a belief that purposeful gift giving should be attainable for everyone. Their Lunar New Year box from earlier this year is still available and 30% of the profits from that box will be donated to an anti-Asian violence campaign. Or, try any of their other selections to uplift minority brands and deliver memorable experiences.
Gift a Pick-Me-Up with Driftaway Coffee
Driftaway Coffee started as a passion project for the founders, and grew into a successful subscription coffee business that delivers freshly roasted beans and promotes sustainability and transparency in the coffee industry. Through our integration with Amazon, Sendoso customers can send their World Coffee sampler, or purchase one of their subscriptions directly on their site to try bold new coffee flavors every month.
For even more AAPI-owned businesses, check out this list of brands who are donating proceeds from their sales towards Asian Americans right now.
Support AAPI-owned Local Restaurants
In addition to the crippling challenges the restaurant industry faced during the pandemic, Asian restaurants were hit especially hard and have been susceptible to racist attacks due to the unwarranted fears surrounding the coronavirus, so AAPI-owned restaurants need your support more than ever. Each Wednesday, Sendoso gives its employees DoorDash eGift cards to help support local restaurants, and we encourage everyone to support Asian restaurants as well!
The ability to send eGift cards to meal delivery platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash make it easier than ever to fuel your local economy and show your support by visiting or ordering takeout from Asian-owned businesses no matter where you are.
Donate to AAPI Charities and Organizations
Along with personal gifts, branded swag, direct mail, and Sendoso Experiences, our Sending Platform empowers Sendoso customers to give the most meaningful gift of all—charity. With eGift cards to Charity on Top, recipients can select from hundreds of national organizations like the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, or search for local charities that could benefit from their support. Looking for inspiration? Check out these organizations to donate to AAPI communities across the country and around the world:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice
- Stop AAPI Hate
- Red Canary Song
- AAPI Women Lead
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
- Asian Mental Health Collective
- Hate is a Virus
- Cut Fruit Collective
- Asian American Feminist Collective
- Asian Pacific Fund
Learn, Celebrate, and Share
Above are just a handful of ways you can support the AAPI community right now. Continue to ask how you and your company can be allies in the fight for equality. Consider educating yourself by watching documentaries on Asian-American history and culture, reading books on anti-racism, listening to educational Asian-led podcasts, watching movies and television shows centered around the Asian experience, amplifying AAPI voices on social media, and voting in local elections.
Here at Sendoso, we proudly stand in solidarity with the AAPI community, both now and always.
Schedule your custom demo today to learn more about how your team can support local businesses and #SendForGood.