A woman with a great idea is on a mission to help wary Asian Americans navigate New York safely. For Maddy Park from New York City, it all began on the train after she had witnessed news reports of hate crimes targeted at Asian American New Yorkers.
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In the course of merely two days, one woman in New York has raised more than $100,000 to help members of the Asian community pay for cab rides. Last week, Park created the Instagram account @cafemaddycab for them.
Brutal crimes against Asian Americans have dramatically surged over the past year, particularly in metropolitan areas like San Francisco and New York City. The alarming incidents have incited fear throughout the United States. This is so much so that numerous AAPIs have been dubious in taking public transportation. This is because they fear of being targeted in a racist or xenophobic attack.
Park had overwhelming anxiety and fear while taking the subway ride last week. Thus, she decided that shewould like to do something to help keep her community safe. According to Park, "It was a 30-minute commute and I realized every minute of the 30 minutes, I was terrified. I was scared that any moment in time someone might say a racial slur or attack me, or worst of all, I thought that if something were to happen to me, nobody would stand up," reported Upworthy.
She could afford to take a cab. However, she knew many could not. So Park put up $2,000 of her own money, along with the help of some friends, reported KCRA 3.
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Park and her friends offered to pay for taxi rides for Asian American senior citizens or Asian women who do not feel safe and cannot afford it. According to her, "I just said look, I have $2,000, if you need a ride, just charge me on Venmo," reported ABC 7.
Her Instagram account features a Google form that Asian New Yorkers could fill up to ask for help when they need to pay for a cab ride. Money is transferred through Venmo, a mobile payment service.
Park, who felt that no other individual would stand up for her on the subway, quickly learned that others did stand up for her and her cause. She was inundated with donations.
As donations poured in, it opened her eyes to how many individuals are actually supporting the NYC Asian American community. She shared that people who are donating are people from all throughout the United States, across all races and ethnicities. They sent her messages indicating they want them to be safe too and they are donating so more people could take rides in New York City.
In merely two days, Park has raised over $100,000 to pay for taxi rides. She remarked that in just two days, she has raised over $100,000 to pay for taxi rides.
Park is also seeking for other ways to offer support since numerous Asian senior citizens do not know how the mobile service works. Her project thrived to the point that donations were temporarily closed as the amount surpassed Venmo's weekly payout restriction.
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