Lending Support
Phillip Lim, Eva Chen, Prabal Gurung and more are lending their support to GoFundMe’s #StopAsianHate initiative.
The crowdfunding platform has created a hub for those looking to donate to the AAPI Community Fund and fundraisers geared toward victims of anti-Asian violence, increased protection for the AAPI community and supporting Asian-owned businesses and AAPI neighborhoods.
Musa Tariq, GoFundMe’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement that the company worked with industry leaders such as Lim to create the initiative, noting that GoFundMe stands “proudly with the AAPI community.”
“The recent attacks against the AAPI community have catalyzed a strong response among a diverse cross section of society,” Tariq said. “We knew we could help by doing what GoFundMe does best — connecting those who need help with those who are willing and able to do so.”
The initiative has garnered support from nearly 100 members of the fashion, entertainment, sports and business industries, including Fernando Garcia, Meena Harris, Olivia Munn, Liya Kebede, Bowen Yang and Taylor Rapp.
WWD previously reported on the lack of mainstream media coverage of anti-Asian violence, which has heightened over the past year. More than 2,500 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination have been flagged to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center since its launch in March 2020. Seven out of 10 incidents involved verbal harassment, with physical assaults accounting for 9 percent of incidents, according to the report.
In Tuesday’s statement, Lim said the increased violence against Asians in America stems from xenophobia and colonialism.
“The issue of violence against the Asian American community has been widely underreported in the media and somewhat silenced during the pandemic,” Lim said. “These hate crimes are up by 1,900