Cosponsor Shuruq 4.5: A Digital Arab Festival

Dear Friends,

Since 2012, with support from many of you, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice has provided a biennial Olympia Arab Festival coinciding with Olympia’s Fall Arts Walk. Plans were underway for our fifth festival this October when the realities of COVID-19 hit. We quickly determined that the pandemic would not stop us! We feel a great sense of responsibility for the health of our community, and the RCF office has been closed since March except for mail pick-up and essential tasks. But our small staff and dedicated volunteer committees are working as hard as ever remotely.

We’re thrilled to let you know that with the addition of youthful, creative and technical energy, and growing comfort with online platforms, we’ll be bringing Shuruq 4.5, a digital alternative to the fifth Olympia Arab Festival, to you and others.

Throughout the entire month of October viewers will be able to select, enjoy, and be inspired by an array of events featuring new work from Arab writers, Arab films, and pre-recorded and live presentations and performances exploring and celebrating Arab culture and the 22 Arab countries.

The schedule is firming up; logistics are being worked out; and excitement is building! You can expect a Moroccan cooking class, a Dabka dance tutorial, discussions on topics relevant in today’s Arab world, new poetry and prose from Arab contributors, and more. We’re thrilled to bring people together digitally from far and wide to learn and to grow in their appreciation of our Arab neighbors - in the world, and right here in the Northwest and Olympia.

Many of you receiving this message have cosponsored one or more of our previous Olympia Arab Festivals or contributed in other key ways to this hugely successful project. We need your help now to pull off this new rendition of Shuruq!

We’ve added staff time for event management, and we have fees to cover for digital platforms and multiple film screenings throughout October, for stipends to presenters and performers who are lending their support during challenging times, for new graphic design work being completed, and more.

Please take a moment to review these individual, business, and organization cosponsorship options!

SHURUQ 4.5 COSPONSORSHIP LEVELS & PERKS

Olive Tree Level: $25-$100

• Individual Cosponsor: Name appears on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites and on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event through the month of October.
• Business or Organization Cosponsor: Name and link appears on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites. Business or organization name will also appear on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event through the month of October.

Cedar Tree Level: $101-$200

• Individual Cosponsor: Name will appear on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites and on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event through the month of October. A cosponsor at this level will also receive a $5 RCF Shuruq 4.5 coupon good for one year for purchase of RCF mission-related books and educational materials, Palestinian embroidery, and olive oil products.
• Business or Organization Cosponsor: Logo and link will appear on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites. Business or organization logo will also appear on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event through the month of October.

Fig Tree Level: $201 and above

• Individual Cosponsor: Name will appear on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites and on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event. Donors will also receive a copy of Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie signed by Cindy and Craig Corrie and a $5 RCF Shuruq 4.5 coupon good for one year for purchase of RCF mission-related books and educational materials, Palestinian embroidery, and olive oil products.
• Business or Organization Cosponsor: Logos, links, and a brief mission statement will appear on the Shuruq 4.5 cosponsorship page for both Rachel Corrie Foundation and Shuruq 4.5 festival websites. Business and organization logos will also appear on a print visual at the open and close of each online Shuruq 4.5 festival event through the month of October, and organizations and businesses donating at this level will be orally acknowledged, with their name and brief mission statement, at each online festival event.

If you can, please join us as an individual, business, or organization cosponsor!

Just fill out the brief online registration form and send your contribution through the donation button at the top of this page. If you prefer, you can also print the registration form form to fill out by hand and mail your donation to the Rachel Corrie Foundation, 203 East 4th Avenue Suite 402, Olympia, WA 98501. Deadline is Friday, September 25th.

If you know of other individuals, businesses or organizations who would also like to cosponsor, please have them contact me for additional information.

Shukran (“Thank you”) in advance for your years of support and for any help you can provide now. Stay healthy and get ready for a lift in October with Shuruq 4.5 (“Sunrise")!

With appreciation and warmest wishes,

Cindy Corrie
President, The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice
cindy@rachelcorriefoundation.org