Acts of Kindness Mark a Painful Anniversary

Mayor encourages smaller gestures because of the pandemic
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 15, 2021 7:05 PM CDT
Acts of Kindness Mark a Painful Anniversary
Emergency workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following two explosions.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Boston marked eight years since the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon killed three people and injured scores of others on Thursday with quiet moments of reflection and small acts of kindness. Acting Mayor Kim Janey visited fire stations that had been critical in the response to the attack, as well as memorials marking the spots where two pressure cooker bombs detonated near the downtown finish line of the storied race. Church bells tolled to mark a citywide moment of silence at 2:49pm, the time when the first bomb detonated, followed seconds later by the second explosion a few hundred yards away. Janey observed the moment outside city hall, the AP reports. The city's first female and Black mayor then joined Gov. Charlie Baker to lay a wreath at the site where 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, and 8-year-old Martin Richard died.

The city marks each April 15 with One Boston Day, when acts of kindness and service are meant to honor victims, survivors, and first responders. Janey and others encouraged Bostonians to make more modest gestures this year, as the large community service projects that had become a hallmark of the day were canceled for another year because of the coronavirus pandemic. "I hope you'll join us to spread kindness however you can, whether that means donating to a charity responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting a small business in your neighborhood, or checking in on an older neighbor," the mayor said in a statement. The Boston Marathon is traditionally held on the third Monday of April. It was held virtually last year and has been moved to October this year because of the pandemic. Crews repainted the finish line Thursday, per WCVB.

(More Boston Marathon bombing stories.)

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