CITY COLLEGE NEWS
Andrea Johnson
Thursday, April 08, 2010
That solution is the Muslim Youth Recreation Center. The plan is to give youth a place to go to keep them out of trouble and feel like they're part of a community. The aim is for the Center's doors to open within five years. The Muslim Youth Recreation Center will have activities for kids and young adults, tutors to help with homework, and childcare services for parents. There will also be family oriented activities. It will be a place where families can go together and part ways to find stuff to do separately or together.
The Center will be rooted in Muslim principles to fill a need in the community so Muslims have a place to feel at home. For example, the Center will have separate pools and workout areas for men and women to respect Muslim principles of modesty. The Center will be the first of its kind in the Western world.
While the Muslim Youth Recreation Center's primary goal is to build a safe place for community Muslims, the organizers stress that everyone will be welcome. Women who feel more comfortable swimming and working out without men nearby will be able to swim and work out in the women-only part of the building. Non-Muslim parents who need support services will be welcome to join the support groups.
The goal is to connect communities and create understanding, which will ultimately pave the way to a reduction in violence and crime.
True to the spirit of the project, people from different parts of the community are working on this project including Minneapolis Community and Technical College President Phil Davis. Also offering help on the project by the way of offering in-kind donations are Mortenson Construction and Will and Perkingson architecture.
A feasibility study is presently underway to predict community reception, both with Muslims and non-Muslims. Once the results from that come back, planners will know how to proceed.
The Center will also feature spaces for weddings, a commercial kitchen (which will be utilized to cook for the childcare programs to feed the kids healthy food), health care facilities, legal services and a gallery to display Islamic art. The ambitious plan comes with an estimated price tag of $48 million.
Right now the organizers spearheading the project are looking for private donors and are planning small-scale fundraising activities to get the beginning steps of the project underway. In time, organizers hope to locate large-scale private donors. Membership dues will keep the project financially sustainable.
Ultimately the Center will do more than just give the Muslim community in the Twin Cities a place to go and participate in their community. It will be a place where everyone will be welcome, and will foster an understanding between populations.
For more information about the Muslim Youth Recreation Center and to learn how you can help, please visit: www.myrcenter.org