We Are Climbing Higher and Soaring Together
120 East State Street launched its grassroots “Climbing Together, Soaring Together” fundraising campaign on October 1, as part of its project to turn the historic First Presbyterian Church on East State Street into a community hub for the arts, culture and business development in Downtown Trenton.
The “Climbing Together, Soaring Together” campaign goal is to raise $100,000 in Trenton, by December 31, 2024. 120 East State has put a stake in the ground and we want all of our friends and neighbors to be stakeholders in our project, because our success is their success,”saidW!20 East State Street Board President Cherry Oakley.
120 East State reported that in the first week, it has received five pledges totalling nearly $5,000.
“We;ve started the climb,” Oakley said, “And we want all of you to join us, so we can do this together. If we climb together, we will soar together. If someone wants to give us a check for the balance, that would be great, but you can give as little as $1.11.
“If everyone in Trenton were to give we’d be soaring in no time.”
Your gift will enable us to:
- open up: make building available to community groups such as WorkWell, Trenton Sk8s, and others
- level up: build our organization’s capacity to deliver the project in service to the community
- staff up: hire personnel to accomplish our mission to serve our neighbors
Please join us in this exciting effort to revitalize our community! Every contribution counts, so let’s climb higher and soar together.
For more details, read the official press release on our website here.
If you would like to contribute to the Climbing Together, Soaring Together” campaign, you can donate by clicking here.
“We want to continue our progress to make the Steeple Center a reality without having the wherewithal to hire critical staff,” Executive Director Molly Dykstra said, “so we’re asking people to step up to propel that next step forward. We can do this. We can make the Steeple Center happen, climbing one step at a time.”
Additional Funds Received To Accelerate 120 East State Steeple Center Project Forward
The “Climbing Together, Soaring Together” campaign funds will complement the funds we’ve already raised including the award The National Park Service (NPS) has awarded 120 East State.
NPS has awarded 120 East State $749,640 in grant funds as part of a NPS program to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
120 East State was one of 19 grants in 9 states across the country to receive such awards this year, in order to prepare sites for 2026.
The grant award will preserve 120 East State’s historic cemetery, first used as a burying ground after establishment of Trenton’s original house of worship on the site in 1727, and resting place of Revolutionary War notables, Trenton’s earliest mayors, and early New Jersey state leaders, among others. It will restore the wrought iron fence and gates that front East State Street, improving our city’s streetscape. The cemetery and the church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Click here to visit our website to find out more about this exciting update!
120 East State Will Host Tha Block Trenton for New Community-Building Dinner Series Project
Voices of Tha Block: The Heart’s Art is an oral histories initiative hosted by Tha Block Trenton, a local grassroots non-profit organization, that invites Trentonians to share the responsibility of preparing a meal while engaging in meaningful conversations that assess the needs of building a self-sufficient community.
In using meal preparation as a model for community care and collective healing, Tha Block Trenton will focus on gathering folks through various topics to target specific needs that are recurring.
This event is free to attend. Registration is required.
To register to attend, please click here
120 East State Hosts Local Artists For Art All Day Event
120 East State partnered last month with the local nonprofit Tha Block Trenton to highlight Trenton’s artistic community and featured the work of our logo contest participant, JohnEli DaCosta as part of Trenton’s Art All Day.
Art All Day is Trenton’ s annual event to highlight the city as a vibrant hub of art, creation, and innovation.
120 East State threw open its doors and arms and welcomed visitors to our building in the midafternoon to enjoy refreshments, a live DJ, and experience the creativity Trenton has to offer.
In addition to DaCosta, we hosted other artists and were proud to participate in the city’s open studio tour and creative showcase.
“We are thrilled that we got to showcase JohnEli’s work and the work of the other artists,” said 120 East State Street Board Member Latarsha Burke. “These people have a lot to offer and Trenton has a lot to offer and we hope the Steeple Center will one day be a springboard for them.”
A special thanks to Artworks Trenton for hosting this event, with support from local government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations, and to everyone who joined us in celebrating the arts!
For more information on Art All Day, visit: https://artallday.artworkstrenton.org
120 East State Participates In the Nationwide Bicentennial Celebration of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour
Two-hundred years ago, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States from France to try to calm the increasing friction roiling the country in 1824.
Lafayette had returned to France after serving as a general in the American Revolution, but in 1824, he traveled up and down the country and was hailed as a hero, no more so than here in Trenton, where he worshiped at First Presbyterian Church on September 26, 1824.
On September 26, 2024 Lafayette returned to Trenton to commemorate that historic visit 200 years earlier and community members, historic preservation advocates, and project stakeholders gathered at 120 East State for history, conversation, and connection.
General Lafayette, portrayed by reenactor Michael Halbert, spoke to crowd who gathered at 120 East State, and then heard from local reenactor Leslie Bramlett, who portrayed Hannah Till, army cook to George Washington and an acquaintance of both generals.
Attendees enjoyed a pre-event lunch and walked through First Presbyterian’s historic cemetery to visit the memorials to those who served alongside Lafayette ias part of a tour led by local archaeologist and Trenton historian Richard Hunter. The historic church bell, that today’s Trentonians hear peeling daily at noon, rang as it did when Lafayette visited in 1824. Attendees also laid a wreath at the Revolutionary War graves in the church’s graveyard. Catherine Medich of the DAR General Mercer Chapter led the ceremony in memory of those who fought for American independence.
Inside the building, guests listened as General Lafayette and Hannah Till reunited, as they had in Philadelphia in 1824. The event also featured a tour of the 120 East State building and exhibitions from the American Friends of Lafayette and the DEP’s Oh Freedom! Traveling Exhibit, which tells of the Black experience during the Revolutionary era. Visitors left with a deeper understanding of our ongoing efforts to restore this National Historic Register property as a cultural hub and economic engine for Downtown Trenton.
To learn more about the Oh Freedom! Traveling Exhibit, please visit https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/historic/oh_freedom/learn_more.html. To learn more about Lafayette’s continuing Farewell Tour 200th anniversary, please visit https://lafayette200.org/.
We thank the American Friends of Lafayette and the Daughters of the American Revolution, who sponsored and supported this event, together with everyone who attended. We are grateful for your continued support of 120 East State!
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Our profiles are packed with exclusive interviews from our dedicated board members, exciting project updates, intriguing historical facts about our location, and candid photos of our team engaging with the community. Don’t miss out on the latest news and behind-the-scenes glimpses of our journey to transform the historic First Presbyterian Church into The Steeple Center. Join us online and be part of our vibrant, growing community!
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