West Seattle, Washington

23 Tuesday

71℉

How to help 4478 results

You can help! Fairmount Ravine ivy-fighting, Saturday morning
April 2, 2014 10:46 pm
|    Comments Off on You can help! Fairmount Ravine ivy-fighting, Saturday morning
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

If you can pull some ivy, the place to do it to make a BIG difference this Saturday (April 5th) is the Fairmount Ravine. You’ll recall that the annual ravine cleanup last month was followed up by a plan for a second session to save the greenbelt from all that ivy. It’s set for Saturday, and Sarah Schieron sends an update:

This afternoon my husband and I met with Michael Yadrick, an ecologist with the City of Seattle in the Fairmount Ravine. He gave us some history of the space and a better understanding of current work taking place in this greenbelt.

We also learned that if our community makes a bigger commitment to this space, the city will as well.

So, we are especially hoping for some able bodies this Saturday at 9 am. The City is lending us tools, signage (seen below), and orange vests. Please plan to join us!

Meet at Fairmount and Forest, just east of Hiawatha.

Share This

You can help! Shop now, donate Saturday to Kiwanis food drive
April 2, 2014 2:20 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Kiwanis Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news

We’ve mentioned that donation drives for local food banks count more than ever this time of year, because of the Feinstein Challenge. Our area’s next big food drive is this Saturday (April 5th), 9 am-3 pm, when you’ll find members of the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle and local Key Clubs, with Scouts helping out too, at West Seattle grocery stores “including, but not limited to, Metropolitan Market, PCC, (Junction) QFC, and Morgan Street Thriftway,” per the announcement, which adds: “All West Seattle community members are encouraged to come out and support this worthy cause.” It’s part of ONE Day, a worldwide service day which Kiwanians expect will include at least 1 million service hours around the globe. In our area, everything collected will go to the West Seattle Food Bank. (WSB photo from 2012 Kiwanis ONE Day food drive)

Share This

You can help! Last call for donations to Sanislo book sale
April 1, 2014 8:39 pm
|    Comments Off on You can help! Last call for donations to Sanislo book sale
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

An update from Lynette Jeung with the Sanislo Elementary PTA, which presents its annual 4th-grade book sale fundraiser this Saturday: She says they appreciate each and every donation they’ve been receiving, and she’s putting out one last request for more. They’ll take any type of book but books for kids are especially welcome; they are also accepting DVD and CD donations. If a donor just can’t get to the school to drop off donations, she’s looking to make one last pickup run Thursday night. If you can donate and/or if you have a question, contact Lynette at ell1970sab@gmail.com; whether you’re donating or not, go check out the sale on Saturday (April 5th), 10 am-2 pm, benefiting the 4th-grade camping trip, bring cash and/or checks. Sanislo is at 1812 SW Myrtle (map).

Share This

You can help! Join the West Seattle Bee Garden team
March 31, 2014 2:27 pm
|    Comments Off on You can help! Join the West Seattle Bee Garden team
 |   Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

In a month – as announced here – it’ll be time for the second annual West Seattle Bee Festival. But first, the centerpiece of the celebration, the WS Bee Garden, needs you:

Looking to participate in a Community P-Patch?

The West Seattle Bee Garden, located in the Commons Park P-Patch, could use your help!

We are seeking gardeners to help with weeding, watering, planting and general maintenance of the grounds. Come be part of the pollination-garden team!

To become a Pollination Gardener, please contact Lauren Englund at lcenglund@yahoo.com, or 616-502-3182

Also, everyone is invited to join us at our work party Saturday April 12th from 10 am-2 pm.
Sign up here.

More information about the garden here: westseattlebeegarden.com

The pollinators, plants and fellow gardeners thank you!

Share This

West Seattle 5K: One day left for online early-registration deal
March 30, 2014 7:19 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle 5K: One day left for online early-registration deal
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

(It’s an all-ages event, as you’ll note in this photo from our 2013 West Seattle 5K coverage)
Seven weeks from today – Sunday, May 18th – the sixth annual West Seattle 5K Run/Walk hits the street on Alki. It’s a 9:20 am start as usual from 61st/Alki. WSB is proud to be a co-sponsor again this year, as we’ve been each year since the West Seattle High School PTSA created it to raise money for student programs. And so we’re reminding you that one day is left to get the discounted registration rate online – after March 31st (tomorrow!) the online rate goes up. Earlybird prices are $30 for ages 20 and up, $20 for ages 7-19 (6 and under, free) – just go here and get registered right now!

P.S. If you missed earlier mentions – yes, the WS5K will be followed again this year by SDOT’s Summer Streets event, 11 am-5 pm.

Share This

Happening now: WS4OSO benefit all around West Seattle
March 30, 2014 12:33 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

In the heart of The Junction right now – southwest corner of California and Alaska – that’s WS4OSO (West Seattle for Oso) benefit founder Tracy Dart at center, with a squad of friends helping collect donations for mudslide relief, one of more than 40 places you can join in the benefit today. Look for flyers, collection boxes, A-boards all showing the different ways you can pitch in. Tracy mentioned a “wish tree” just up the block at CAPERS, so we headed there next:

You can write a wish on a ribbon or card, and drop a donation in a box beneath the tree. From there, we headed north to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), for the special WS4OSO caramel/raspberry latté:

Full purchase price goes to slide relief. Outside Hotwire, the LikaLove and Fashion Bar trucks are in the courtyard (same place you see West Seattle Outdoor Movies in the summer), donating a percentage of sales:

A few doors up at Cherry Consignment, check out Cherry’s West Seattle T-shirts, with $10 from each shirt sold today going to help Oso.

ADDED 1:21 PM: At Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), it’s a 2-part stop. Click! is donating a percentage of proceeds, and also hosting local artist Stephanie Hargrave, who has a personal stake in this:

Stephanie and her mom are the previous owners of smallclothes here in West Seattle. Her mom’s now retired. Her mom and dad lost their retirement cabin in the slide. No loss of life in their family, thankfully, but a loss nonetheless. Stephanie is donating all of her sales today – and Click! co-proprietor John Smersh said that had totaled more than $2,500 by the time we stopped in a little while ago. We’re hearing reports of generosity from all over – keep it coming!

ADDED 2:43 PM: On the WS4OSO page, there’s word the corner collections from 10-2 brought in more than $1,500. Meantime, we stopped in at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), where they’re donating $10 for every pair of shoes sold today. Co-proprietor Tim McConnell is wearing a temporarily customized T-shirt:

P.S. WSR celebrates its fourth anniversary next weekend!

More to come, and watch for updates on the official WS4OSO page, too.

ADDED 4:18 PM: One last stop for us – Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor), which is donating its proceeds until 6 pm. When there was a (very) brief lull in the line at the front counter, we asked Kayla and Brynn to pose:

The sun was out at the time (clouds now are heading back in as we type) and it was lovely on the Marination ma kai patio. But they have indoor seating too.

Share This

Video: Hair loss for a cause @ West Seattle St. Baldrick’s benefit
March 30, 2014 2:47 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Health | How to help | West Seattle news

(In our video, Vincent and Lisa from Shanti are shaving Gene and Leah)
Paintbrushes are the tools you are most likely to see people holding at Mind Unwind in The Admiral District. Saturday night, though, razors and scissors prevailed. It was West Seattle’s first head-shaving fundraiser for childhood-cancer-research money, via the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Mind Unwind was the venue, but nearby Shanti Salon and Spa was the official presenter, and senior stylist Emily Austin the lead organizer. Here’s Emily with the night’s top fundraising shavee, Gene Hsu:

Emily had told us, while organizing this, that she had been involved with St. Baldrick’s in Ohio, where she used to live, and was surprised to find out that Seattle, despite being a hub for cancer research, has one of the nation’s lowest participation rates. Saturday night, she hoped, would be the beginning of an end to that, and the show of support suggested she was well on her way:

So let’s get back to Gene. For one, his fundraising alone was double Emily’s original $5,000 goal for this first event. By the time the razor touched his hair, he was up to about $11,000, and was getting matching support from his employer Marchex, he said. Plus, he was donating his hair to Locks of Love – which makes wigs for cancer patients. Other shavees included Shelley and Eric Herzog:

Head-shavings happened two at a time – in the foreground below is John Trainor, who said he had been growing his beard for 11 years, but allowed it to be taken (along with his higher-up hair) in exchange for more donations:

Leah Browne just signed up the day of the event and agreed to give up half of her 15-year dreadlocks:

Local businesses and artists donated prizes for ongoing drawings. Emily says St. Baldrick’s spends 82 percent of donations on research, and she added, “I think it gives folks a way of supporting a loved one who might be going through cancer treatment or might have lost a loved one to the disease.” She’s hopeful the event will grow year by year … so start growing your hair now and make it all the more dramatic when you join in NEXT time! Like Gene – before and after:

Share This

WS4OSO update: See who’s in for Sunday’s West Seattle-wide benefit to help slide victims/survivors
March 29, 2014 9:00 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

(Published on Flickr by Snohomish County government, taken during 10:37 am moment of silence today)
Some businesses and organizations have started already – we hear the West Seattle Eagles‘ dinner tonight was a sellout! – but tomorrow’s the big day for the WS4OSO (West Seattle for Oso) peninsula-wide benefit. The idea came from fabled fundraiser Tracy Dart just a few days ago and the list of participants has continued to grow – now more than 40! A caveat – there is no single pledge such as “x percent of proceeds,” so you will find each individual business/group doing something different; that’s how a grass-roots movement rolls. Where available, we’re noting what they’ve said they’re doing – most of the information is from the official WS4OSO Facebook page; some has been e-mailed, tweeted, or shared via WSB comments:

Carmilia’s
West 5
Beveridge Place Pub (see info on Twitter)
Shadowland
Cherry Consignment
Prost West Seattle
Meander’s Kitchen
West Seattle Runner
Shockwave Tees
Lika Love Fashion (truck @ Hotwire 10 am-3 pm)
Mind Unwind
Tully’s Coffee
Capers
Angelina’s
Christo’s on Alki
Clementine
The Bridge
Firefly
Hotwire Coffee (special caramel-raspberry latté with 100 percent of sales donated on Sunday)
Fashion Bar (details in this WSB comment)
Hands to Paws Massage
Pet Elements
Click! Design That Fits (donating part of proceeds, plus hosting artist Stephanie Hargrave, whose family lost a cabin and who is donating all sales)
Corner Pocket
Menashe & Sons Jewelers
Forsythe Studio
West Seattle Bowl (part of the proceeds from Friday night event)
Talarico’s Pizzeria
West Seattle Eagles (benefit dinner earlier tonight; bands and karaoke as the evening goes on)
The Cask
VAIN (25% of retail sales on Sunday)
Rachelfaunce.beautycounter.com
AmyWorks, Inc.
Chelan Cafe (matching donations, plus a Sunday barbecue, see “events” below)
Marination ma kai (donating proceeds from food sales 3-6 pm Sunday)
Second Gear Sports
Next to Nature
West Seattle Rolfing (details in this WSB comment)
Wilridge Winery (at WS Farmers’ Market)
Jan’s Beauty Supply (not open Sunday but collecting donations before/after)

EVENTS:

Sunday

West Seattle Farmers Market (corner of California & Alaska)
10 am – 2 pm
Collecting donations; FREE coffee provided by Tully’s

Chelan Cafe EbbTide Room
BBQ from 2 – 4 pm
(100% proceeds from the BBQ goes to the cause)

Monday (received via e-mail):

At The Center for Movement & Healing, we will be having a Dance and Donate Nia class on Monday, March 31st at 6:30 pm; located above Swedish Automotive at 7901 35th Ave SW.

We’ll hotlink the participants’ names by the time we publish tomorrow’s “OK, the big day is here” list, in case you don’t know where to find anyone who’s mentioned above. Again, the official page is facebook.com/ws4oso. We’ll see you around on Sunday!

Share This

West Seattle-wide WS4OSO benefit updates: Sunday’s the big day; events tonight, Saturday too
March 28, 2014 11:56 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

This pup’s helping in the aftermath of the Snohomish County slide …

…can you?

You don’t even have to head 65 miles north to Oso to do so. The WS4OSO – West Seattle for Oso – benefit just keeps growing. Proposed by West Seattle community-builder/fundraiser Tracy Dart on Wednesday night and formally launched shortly thereafter to give West Seattle businesses and residents a way to reach northward with a helping hand, it now includes events tonight and tomorrow as well as various opportunities on the main day, Sunday. Highlights:

*Tonight, West Seattle Bowl is donating part of the proceeds from its bowling/cider event (details here)

*Saturday night, the West Seattle Eagles will host a fundraising dinner, open to the public, 5:30-7 pm: “Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and dessert for $9.”

*Sunday, at least 27 West Seattle businesses are signed up for various types of participation – you’ll want to check with any individual participating business you visit, to be sure, but the list so far is in a couple spots on the Facebook page – mostly here, with additions here and here.

*Cash donations will be collected in the Farmers’ Market vicinity on Sunday.

If you’re interested in participating, contact info is in the original announcement published here Thursday.

ADDED 2:58 PM: By request, especially for those who don’t use FB, here’s what we’re seeing on the official page so far, in terms of participants. Again, this is VERY grass-roots, and participating businesses/organizations are doing what they can and choose to do, so if info is not listed in terms of what percentage of proceeds (etc.), please inquire when you stop in tomorrow – thanks!

Read More

Share This

West Seattle benefit Sunday for slide victims: WS4OSO
March 27, 2014 11:59 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

(WSDOT aerial of slide zone, via Flickr)
Here in West Seattle, 65 miles away from the agonizing search of the slide zone in and around the Snohomish County town of Oso – 25 dead, 90 missing – you might wonder what you can do to help.

Here’s one answer, hatched overnight on social media by one of West Seattle’s most-prolific fundraisers, Tracy Dart: This Sunday, support West Seattle for Oso, WS4OSO for short. Local businesses are jumping in to offer various ways you can help by shopping at their stores and/or dining/drinking at their restaurants/lounges; volunteers will be circulating in neighborhoods including The Junction to collect money; and other ideas are percolating. Best thing you can do right now is “like” the Facebook page that Tracy set up early today: facebook.com/ws4oso – or at least go there to see who’s participating so far (full list to come before Sunday). If you use Twitter, follow the hashtag #WS4OSO. If you are not much for social media, no worries, we’ve pledged to publish updates here. More to come!

ADDED 12:06 PM: Minutes after we published this, the first official news release arrived, including an early list of participants, and how to reach Tracy if you would like to join in:

Read More

Share This

You can help: Fairmount Ravine followup event for ivy-cutting
March 25, 2014 9:17 am
|    Comments Off on You can help: Fairmount Ravine followup event for ivy-cutting
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from March 15 cleanup)
After the 22nd annual Fairmount Ravine volunteer cleanup a week and a half ago, coordinator Sarah Schieron mentioned a followup event might be organized to get more of the invasive ivy out of the forested area. The date is set and your help would be welcome:

A group of neighbors is planning a second workday in the Fairmount Ravine. Our trash clean-up (weekend before last) was very successful but we did not make the impact with ivy cutting we wanted.

On Saturday, April 5th, at 9 am, we will meet at the top of the Fairmount ravine just south of the roundabout once again. Wear hardy clothes and bring pruning shears or loppers, if you have them. Work takes place rain or shine.

Before the 5th, I’ll be meeting with a city of Seattle plant ecologist to figure out what is the biggest priority and how to best leverage other plant restoration work taking place in the ravine.

We hope more community members will join us. It will be just as hard and dirty work and the more help we have the greater our impact.

The meeting spot is at Fairmount and Forest, less than a block east of Hiawatha.

Share This

Followup: ‘Scouting for Food’ West Seattle success stories
March 24, 2014 8:19 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

Two success stories tonight from this weekend’s “Scouting for Food” collections, door-to-door, drop-off, and outside grocery stores. From Troop 282:

Regina Arceo-Schulz shared the photos, reporting the troop collected more than 600 pounds of food and wanted to say, “Thank you, West Seattle!”

And from Pack 793:

Committee chair Brian Christenson shared the photo and message: “Pack 793 would like to thank the West Seattle Families that contributed to this event. Our Pack alone collected 391 pounds of food that went to the West Seattle Food Bank on Saturday.”

REMEMBER … Through the end of next month, donations to local food banks count for more, because of the Feinstein Challenge. You can give online – WS Food Bank here, WC Food Bank here. Next door-to-door drive will be Stamp Out Hunger, same day as West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day as usual, second Saturday in May (this year, May 10th) – leave a bag of non-perishable food by your door/mailbox and your letter carrier will handle it, that day only.

Share This

You can help! ‘Share your ideas, talents, and abilities’ via the Southwest Advisory Council
March 23, 2014 8:21 am
|    Comments Off on You can help! ‘Share your ideas, talents, and abilities’ via the Southwest Advisory Council
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Activities, programs, and events at Seattle Parks facilities involve more than city staffers … many also result from the work of citizen advisory councils. And right now, the Advisory Council at Southwest Pool and Teen Life Center in Westwood is looking for new members:

The Southwest Advisory Council is a group of citizens dedicated to the enrichment of our community through supporting people and programs at Southwest Pool and Teen Life Center. Its support enables us to offer a variety of programs and services for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

Our Advisory Council is always looking for new members. Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 7-8:30 pm to talk about programs, policies, and financial issues. Citizen direction, input and participation are vital to our continued success. Advisory Council members also create scholarship opportunities through grant writing and other fundraising activities. If you would like to get involved, please contact Diane Jones at 684-7440 or Stephanie Berry at 684-7438. We would love to have you share your talents, ideas, and abilities. You can make a difference in our community!

The pool and center are at 2801 SW Thistle.

Share This

Video: De-paving party at Highland Park Improvement Club
March 22, 2014 12:12 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | How to help | West Seattle news

ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:12 PM: Until 3 pm, you are still welcome – actually, we’d say encouraged! – to join the volunteers busy right now with something you just don’t see that often, captured for posterity in our 15-second Instagram video clip above: De-paving! The historic, nearing-a-century-old Highland Park Improvement Club is greening its grounds (with help from Sustainable Seattle) and taking out old asphalt to (un)pave the way for that; HPIC’s Rhonda Smith told us more about the rendering shown in our preview the other day, with not just a reconfiguration but also new planting planned next month. A donated catered lunch is on the way and work will continue today until 3 pm – just go stop by at 12th/Holden. As Blair Johnson quipped, as is done during so many volunteer work parties, they’re removing invasives – just that in this case, it’s invasive asphalt.

(P.S. We’ll be adding photos later tonight.)

ADDED 7:42 PM: As promised:

They were starting toward the south side and moving north – lots of square footage to de-pave!

A trailer filled up with pieces of removed asphalt:

The de-paved area won’t all be greenery and dirt – see the plan here. Part of the HPIC lot already had been “de-paved” for a raingarden, and this is a continuation of the theme.

Share This

Sanislo book sale ahead; donated books welcome now!
March 22, 2014 10:03 am
|    Comments Off on Sanislo book sale ahead; donated books welcome now!
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

One of West Seattle’s biggest book-sale benefits is just two weeks away – at Sanislo Elementary School, 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, April 5th – and you have a chance to help beyond going to buy books: You are invited to donate them, starting now. Lynette Jeung from the Sanislo PTA explains:

This sale benefits the 4th grade class and their upcoming camping trip to Camp Sealth! We are needing lots of book donations so please dig through your shelves, closets, kids rooms for books that you no longer need. We could use all kinds of donations. Specifically, we are looking for both children’s and adult books (both nonfiction and fiction). No instruction manuals or old textbooks please. :) For more info, please e-mail ell1970sab@gmail.com – Go Sanislo!!

Lynette even says she’ll consider picking up donations, so e-mail to ask her about that too, if it would be helpful.

Share This

Break it up! Help Highland Park ‘de-pave’ this Saturday
March 20, 2014 2:50 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | How to help | West Seattle news

Having a rough week? Saturday brings a volunteer project that might be a way to get out your frustrations. It’s happening at Highland Park Improvement Club, where a “greening” is under way, as envisioned in the plan above. Here’s what’s happening Saturday, for the next step toward that “greening”:

We’re building an oasis in the asphalt – a courtyard, replacing a portion of the parking lot with permeable pavers and more gardens. So we have some asphalt that needs to be ripped up and taken away. Bring your muscles and whatever you need to vent this Saturday and help us hoist chunks of asphalt outta here. The asphalt will be prepped, scored and ready to rumble into a big Dumpster that will cart it away.

We will start at 10 am till however long it takes. Lunch will be provided and activities for all ages. And yes, there will be beer and other refreshments after all that hard work.

HPIC is at 12th/Holden.

5:10 PM UPDATE: A little advance depaving is going on today – Highland Park Action Committee co-chair Carolyn Stauffer just shared this photo:

Just a start!

Share This

Bowl with Seafair Commodores in West Seattle on Saturday!
March 19, 2014 9:00 am
|    Comments Off on Bowl with Seafair Commodores in West Seattle on Saturday!
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

You don’t have to wait until summer for a taste of Seafair – you’ll find it at West Seattle Bowl this Saturday, according to Seafair Commodores chief of staff Kathryn Bohot:

Looking for a little Saturday morning fun? Look no further! The Seattle Seafair Commodores will host their 22nd Annual Seattle Seafair Bowl-A-Thon on Saturday, March 22, at the West Seattle Bowl. This event is our yearly fundraiser to secure funds for the Seafair Scholarship Program for Women.

Whether you are an avid bowler or the gutter-ball king or queen, this event is for everyone! It’s always a great time and provides you a chance to support those who want to further their education.
Here’s the details!
o Contribution: $50 per bowler or $250 for a team of 5. Children 12 and under $25.
o What’s Included: Shoes, ball and games (Scores are calculated on your first 2 games)
• When: Saturday, March 22nd
• Time: 9:30 am until Noon
• Where: West Seattle Bowl 4505 39th Avenue SW

To register in advance, contact Kathryn Bohot, Chief of Staff, at chiefofstaff@seattlecommodores.com or call 817-994-6898. We’ll see you on Saturday!

Share This

After you go green for St. Patrick’s Day, go bald for St. Baldrick’s
March 16, 2014 5:14 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Health | How to help | West Seattle news

Heard about St. Baldrick’s?

Organizer Emily Austin is asking West Seattleites to agree to go bald on March 29th to help kids with cancer. She and Shanti Salon are organizing the fundraising event at Mind Unwind (2206 California SW) in The Admiral District, just a few blocks from the salon.

(St. Baldrick’s Foundation photo)

The act of giving up your head hair, says Emily, is “a gesture of solidarity for children who lose their hair in treatment, or anyone else who has gone through the hair loss trauma while undergoing treatment.”

Cheering on the shavees – who will have gathered sponsor pledges ahead of time – is just part of the event, so you’re invited even if you’re planning on keeping your hair. Says Emily, “There will also be silent auction items, raffle items and other ways to donate. We are still in need of a few donations of goods, services, gift cards, or table ready baskets to auction off.” But most importantly:

We’re actively searching for a few more folks who would consider shaving their heads and in particular, those willing to collect donations in advance. Our event link makes it quite easy to sign up, and sometimes, people or businesses will even form a team to make things more interesting. Anyone can get involved, from getting shaved, shaving heads, sweeping hair, helping collect donations for the raffle tickets that evening, to just coming by the event and lending support.

Emily hopes to build the event in the years ahead to where 100 people will get their heads shaved in a single evening. If you’re willing to help her head in that direction – sign up here. And join her at Mind Unwind on Saturday, March 29th, 6-8 pm.

Share This

Fairmount Ravine cleanup followup, plus: How about an ivy-fighting day – are you in?
March 16, 2014 2:03 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle news

After the 22nd annual Fairmount Ravine cleanup, a lot of work’s been done, and much remains. The photo, report, and question, are from Sarah Schieron:

23 volunteers joined to remove 65 large bags of trash, 4 tires, 5 chairs, a kids swimming pool, and many many cans and bottles out of the Fairmount Ravine this morning.

This year, we saw fewer volunteers than last year despite very favorable weather conditions. However, those that participated, to a person, worked hard and made a valuable contribution. Volunteers ranged from 2 to 86 years of age and over half were participating for the very first time. We were grateful to have veterans, John Lang and Blair Constantine, participate for their 22nd consecutive year as their history and experience in this green space is so useful.

Our thanks to Metropolitan Market, Zatz a Better Bagel and Natalie Steffens of the Admiral Starbucks for donating generous refreshments. SPD Officers Flores and MacNeil were a very helpful presence and arranged for trash pick-up at midday.

Each year the majority of our time and effort is under the Admiral bridge. We do some invasive plant cutting, but we never make the impact we would like on this growing concern. We wonder if our community has the interest and commitment for a second work day specifically to cut back ivy? There are many trees that are overcome by this invasive plant and will die and fall without some intervention. If helping in this way interests you, please contact sarahbroz@yahoo.com so we can plan another community workday in the next month (before the nettles grow taller).

Thank you to the volunteers, donors, and police team who made Saturday such a success!

Share This

Need a break? WSHS student leaders offering ‘Parents’ Night Out’ to benefit community-service project
March 15, 2014 12:32 pm
|    Comments Off on Need a break? WSHS student leaders offering ‘Parents’ Night Out’ to benefit community-service project
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Student leaders at West Seattle High School are working on a service project to help homeless people, but they’re not just asking for donations – they’re offering you a chance to leave your kid(s) with them and go have a fun night out this coming Friday (March 21st). Here’s what they’re offering and how to sign up:

We will provide dinner, snacks, and beverages for your children, and then we will be playing games and movies in our theater and gym!

Minimum Donation: $20 per kid with $10 for each additional child in family

Time: 5 – 10:30 PM

Dinner: Pizza, snacks, and veggies!

Sorry, but no diapers!

We will be having experienced students and teachers there at all times. Please RSVP at wshsparentsnightout@gmail.com

To RSVP please include: parent’s first and last name, child’s name and age.

Share This

Happening now: 22nd annual Fairmount Ravine cleanup
March 15, 2014 10:42 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

If young volunteer Woodrow can do it, you can too. The Fairmount Ravine cleanup is under way and if you happen to see this before 11:30 or so, extra hands are still very welcome – their trash pickup is scheduled at noon (so bags aren’t blocking the sides of the not-so-wide road used by many on foot and on wheels) and the more that gets bagged by then, the better.

The ravine runs under the Admiral Way Bridge – you can get there via the south end just east of Hiawatha or the north end at Harbor Avenue.

Share This

You can help! Be one of the West Seattle neighbors cleaning up Fairmount Ravine tomorrow
March 14, 2014 10:03 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from 2013 Fairmount Ravine cleanup)
One more advance shoutout for a community cleanup tomorrow (Saturday, March 15th) that REALLY needs you. Every year for more than two decades, Fairmount Ravine neighbors have joined forces to get out and not just pick up some of what’s been left behind, tossed out, dumped in the ravine, but also to pull invasives. You might know the area better for the road that runs from Harbor Avenue uphill/south almost all the way to Hiawatha, under the eastern Admiral Way Bridge. The road and bridge are used by far more than just the area residents, so consider pitching in. The basics:

*Saturday, March 15th, 8:30 am (stay as little or as long as you can)
*Meet at the top of the hill at Fairmount and Forest – directly east of Hiawatha (map)
*Refreshments provided (donated by Metropolitan Market and Zatz A Better Bagel)
*Please wear gloves, boots and old clothes as we remove garbage and invasive plants
*All ages welcome
*Rain or shine

Neighbor Sarah Schieron says they’d also like to thank SPD Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores “for participating with us this year and helping us haul out our garbage in an expedited manner through a noon pick-up.” Whatever time you can spare, the intrepid neighbors of Fairmount Ravine hope to see you Saturday.

Share This

You can help! Join hunger-fighting West Seattleites’ donation drives
March 12, 2014 11:10 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Three ways West Seattle neighbors are helping fight hunger – including opportunities for you to join in, starting with:

SCOUTING FOR FOOD: It’s that time again, for West Seattle’s Troop 282 and other Scouts to carry out a door-to-door food drive. This Saturday, March 15th, they will leave door tags at homes in the West Seattle area between 8:30-10:30 am. They will come back the following Saturday, March 22nd, between 9 am and 10 am to collect food for the West Seattle Food Bank. If you would like to donate and need a pickup, call, 206-890-2237.” Above, Troop 282’s collection last year – they’re hoping for even more this time!

CURVES FOOD DRIVE: Both West Seattle branches of Curves are collecting food right now for the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank – you’ll recall that donations to both, through the end of April, can go farther because of the Feinstein Challenge. Just stop by during their regular hours; addresses and hours are on their websites, here and here.

Finally, hunger-fighting kudos for Holy Rosary School:

Holy Rosary teacher Jon Barker shared the photo from last Friday, the first in a series of special giving occasions during Lent:

Parents and students at Holy Rosary School will be making Lunches of Love every Friday during Lent (March 5-April 18) for the men at St. Martin de Porres shelter. (Last Friday) there were approximately 125 lunches taken to the shelter. We also collected men’s gloves to donate.

As explained on its website, this shelter assists homeless men age 50 and over.

Share This