Yalla Seattle is selling traditional Palestinian pastries to raise money for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. All of the sales will go to humanitarian needs.On Sunday, the restaurant donated 50% of its sales to the fund. Cheney says they gave $1,000 to the charity, a major amount of money for a small business. Then, on Tuesday, Yalla held a fundraiser selling atayefs, raising nearly $200 dollars for relief.
Cheney started her culinary career in fine dining but after being challenged to cook different dishes by her neighbors from the Middle East, she opened her own pop-up for eight years. Today, she is learning from a Palestinian chef to improve her craft. When asked why she chose to sell food as a way to help Palestinian children, she said,"food is my love language and that's the only thing I know what to do," she says,"I just go home, I'm upset. I read the news and cry. I feel like I can't do anything, but I know I can do something here.