Revive Seattle's oldest interfaith community space

We invite you to help us JUMP START the renovation of the interfaith social-justice art collective, THE CHERRY STREET VILLAGE. Help us with the most urgent and pressing need of putting on a new roof on the historic building of the original Seattle Talmud Torah and the Islamic School of Seattle. Please give any amount you can to save this historical treasure. No donation is too small. 

The first phase of our efforts will raise $80,000 to fix our aged, leaky roof and save the building from further water damage. Then, in phase 2, we aim to raise another $70,000 to remove black mold, fix ceiling holes, replace damaged flooring, install an elevator and upgrade our wheelchair ramp.

To learn more and have a conversation about our dreams and plans for The Cherry Street Village,  LIKE The Cherry Street Village Facebook page or just read on: 

 

The Islamic School of Seattle was founded in 1980 by five American women converts. They wanted a school that fostered a sense of community and helped their children understand the significance of their uniquely blended culture.  After careful study, the women chose to create a Montessori program - an unusual concept and the first such program in an Islamic school in the nation.

 

After educating their community about Montessori, ISS grew rapidly and acquired the Talmud Torah school building, which had previously served Jewish families in Seattle's Central Area for decades beginning in the late 1920s.

 

After more than 30 years of providing for the Greater Seattle community, several other Islamic schools had begun, and the student body grew smaller. In June of 2012, ISS, one of the first Islamic Schools established in the United States closed its doors.

Through the tireless efforts of one of the last Seattle-residing founding mothers, Ann El-Moslimany, ISS evolved into Cherry Street Mosque. As with ISS, the CSM community broke new ground locally by becoming one of the first openly progressive Islamic organizations in Seattle, with the mission of creating a welcoming and safe space for all, regardless of sex, race, sexual orientation, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, or religion.

 

Now, we are breaking new ground again by forming Cherry Street Village.

 

The Cherry Street Village aims to be a collective interfaith community whose mission is to offer arts-friendly groups a future event rental space, in a preserved historical landmark.  Our goal is to offer the public a deeper appreciation of our interfaith community with cultural holiday celebrations enhancing that experience.

 

CSV imagines housing various progressive interfaith and arts organizations. To date, five organizations, all of them serving historically underserved communities, have agreed to work on the initial stages of saving the building as we explore the potential of building this vibrant, shared culture and interfaith space.

 

Individually and collectively, our organizations are excited about the emerging vision of a future Cherry Street Village that unites us in a collective enterprise dedicated to peace, justice, celebration, culture, and community-building – right in the heart of Seattle. Please join us in saving the Cherry Street building and in developing our vision!

These possibilities include:

·         Dunya Productions staging its performances in the building’s Great Hall, to inspire audiences to engage with the global struggle for social and political justice by amplifying the voices of the Middle East, North African, and Arab people as well as other marginalized communities.

·         The Kadima Reconstructionist (Jewish) Community coming together for its progressive, inclusive Sabbath school, celebratory gatherings, study and education, and social justice work.

·         Salaam Cultural Museum displaying its impressive educational and cultural collection from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

·         Cherry Street Mosque rehabilitating its prayer space, to continue to welcome its progressive congregation, along with a spiritual day school.

·         The Middle East Peace Camp utilizes the building and surrounding garden to unite a community of Arabs, Jews and friends based on peace, justice and compassion through recreation, education, and leadership development.

The initial Cherry Street Village partners also envision the potential of a daycare, food bank, art studio residency studio, pea patch, and affordable housing in the lot next door to welcome back individuals and households who have been displaced from the Central District due to gentrification.

Your contribution today will help save the building with urgently needed repairs and will allow the Cherry Street Village partner organizations to do further exploration and planning around this powerful vision. Every contribution is generous, no matter the size, and will go directly toward saving the building and advancing our collective exploration work.