Three-week run ends on Nov. 13
From left: Elevate Cities vice president Janett Cordoves, CEO Kim Coupounas and Chief of Staff Jenni Gargano at a mural in Mattapan. Photo courtesy Elevate Cities
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On Saturday, Oct. 23, Elevate Cities, in collaboration with the City of Boston, launched #FindTheGoodBoston, a three-week scavenger hunt to run through Nov. 13, hoping that it will encourage residents to learn about he people and places that have shaped the city.
Founded in 2025 by Dorchester native Joseph Deitch, Elevate Cities is a civic activation and community-building organization that aims at sparking joy, belonging, and civic pride in urban neighborhoods.
The company’s CEO, Kim Coupounas, noted that Elevate Cities “connects people in unique ways,” and added that “it’s all about discovery and shared experiences like a citywide scavenger hunt.”
Hunters use an app to navigate them to sites across the city.
The free, family-friendly hunt has as its focus 20 of the city’s new Boston250 historic markers and features 80 challenges. Participants can play alone or with a team by registering online (see end of story) and begin exploring theneighborhoods, uncovering hidden history, and highlighting good neighbors.
“That’s really what the scavenger hunt is about: Shining a spotlight on those new historic markers and giving Bostonians a chance to go out and see them for themselves,” Coupounas told The Reporter. “The idea is really to get people of Boston out of their routines to help see Boston with fresh eyes. It’s all about finding those untold stories, finding local hidden gems.”
Players follow clues at their own pace using a browser-based interactive map and earning points. Challenges invite players to “thank someone who quietly makes their community better, try a new route, and photograph something wonderful they discover, leave a beloved book in a Little Free Library, give a local business a glowing review, or create a 15-second video showing why they love Boston,” said Coupounas.
“There’s even a challenge to photograph a place that never makes the postcards but absolutely should, and another to write a historical plaque for something in your neighborhood that deserves recognition.”
The challenges span 12 of Boston’s neighborhoods, several of them in Dorchester.
In Bowdoin/Geneva, players can visit the first public elementary school in the US and Boston’s Embassy of Cape Verdean Culture. Meanwhile, on Washington Street, they can discover the story of the Codman Square Health Center. They can then visit a gathering space for Boston’s Vietnamese Community in Fields Corner and finish the fun at Comfort Kitchen, the home of the world’s first supermarket.
“My personal favorite is the Cape Verdean culture stop on Bowdoin Street,” Coupounas said. “I love that it invites people to experience history as something living and vibrant, woven into the food, language, businesses, architecture, and everyday life of a neighborhood. That’s exactly the spirit of #FindtheGood: helping people see their city with fresh eyes and appreciate the extraordinary communities and people who make it special.”
While having fun, players can unlock and win rewards along the way. Prizes include a drink and a pastry for two from Le Foyer Bakery in Mattapan, roller skating for two at Roll Call Dorchester, and dinner for two at Restaurant Cesaria.
At the end of the three-week challenge, the top team wins the grand prize: the opportunity to nominate a Boston nonprofit for a $10,000 unrestricted grant, with the Elevate Prize Foundation selecting the recipient.
The challenge is “open to any Bostonian who wants to discover more about the city they love,” said Coupounas. “We hope Dorchester residents will get out and explore, and that Bostonians from other neighborhoods will discover some of the magic of Dorchester along the way.”
Visit roamli.com/guide/event/FTGBOSTON26 to register.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
