Forest Hills Cafe To Fundraise For Tree Of Life Shooting Victims

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A Forest Hills coffee shop is raising money to help the families of Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 people died in a mass shooting last year.

The Red Pipe Cafe will host an art exhibit called "The Tree of Life" starting May 1, according to the Forest Hills Times. Nine Rhode Island-based artists will show about 40 works, including oil paintings and marine botanical prints, and donate a portion of proceeds to the families who attend the Pittsburgh synagogue.

"My mission as an artist is to bring people together through art to create a better future," David Chatowsky, an artist and gallery owner who coordinated the exhibit, told the Forest Hill Times. "When I first heard about the Pittsburgh massacre, I became very sad and felt compelled to help."

The artists participating in the three-month-long exhibit are: David Chatowsky, Anthony Chatowsky, Mary Chatowsky Jameson, Mary Johnson, Matt Kieron, John Klippel, Elizabeth O’Connor, Scott Moran, and Sarah Seaman.

The Anti-Defamation League described the October synagogue massacre as likely "the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States."