(Photo courtesy Theresa Beaulieu, from 2013 “Denny-Lincoln Classic” ride)
It’s a matter of health, safety, and fun! Denny International Middle School parent Theresa Beaulieu is trying to get more kids on bikes – and is hoping you’ll chip in:

For the last couple of years, I have been working hard in trying to get more students to ride their bikes to school. We have a very long backup of cars that pull in and drop their kids off in the front of the school every morning and I would like to see less cars and more bikes and walkers. We have been awarded Safe Routes to School mini-grants through SDOT for the last two years that have given us the funds to host Doughnut and Fruit days for kids who ride their bikes. These days are to encourage them. We also were able to have our new annual Denny-Lincoln Classic family bike ride that we started last year, that included t-shirts for each rider, designed by a sixth grader.

I have been working with the Major Taylor Project coordinator to get a cycling after-school program started to teach students the rules of the road, how to ride safely, and bicycle maintenance. This would be a similar program that they have going on at Chief Sealth, our shared-campus high school. This could also lead into an earn-a-bike program in the winter months. The idea is to start the kids off at Denny on Mountain bikes and then they could transition to the road bikes they have at Sealth. I was encouraged after reading the reports about the Kimball Elementary teacher who raised over 20K in funds to purchase the whole school with Seahawks jerseys so I started my own GoFundMe site. … Our school consists of many students from low-income families who don’t have access to bikes. This would give those kids and other kids the opportunity to ride. The bikes we want to purchase will be used for the after-school program and offered for the Denny-Lincoln Classic bike ride to students who have taken the after-school class. They would be stored at the school and maintained by the students themselves.

So if one community could raise $25,000 for jerseys, certainly ours can muster $8,000 for bikes! Here’s the link again. And there’s a deadline now – the money needs to be raised by March 15th to get the program started this spring.

Tomorrow, you can help the West Seattle Democratic Women launch a campaign that’s not about politics – it’s about lives:

Throughout 2014 and beyond, the West Seattle Democratic Women will be sponsoring Human Trafficking Awareness meetings hosted by various local organizations and groups throughout Greater West Seattle. At these meetings, attendees will learn how to recognize the problem and what to do when they see it!

On Saturday, January 25th, 2014, at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library, 9010 35th Av SW, from 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm. WSDW will be having its “KICKOFF” meeting with presentations from

*Robert Beiser, Ex. Director, Seattle Against Slavery,
*Brian Taylor, King County Sheriff’s Department Detective & “Dignity Award” winner for his work helping vulnerable and exploited kids,
*Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, noted State Legislator on the subject, along with the viewing of “Chosen”, a film on how easy it is to have children drawn into these circumstances.

There will be light refreshments. Buses #21 & C Line support the Library’s address. Everyone is welcome! No reservations are needed!

Since we reported January 10th on those South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) Aviation Maintenance Technology students’ plan for national competition a week and a half ago, they’ve encountered a hitch: They’re short on funding for the trip to the competition in Las Vegas in late March. Team member CrystalRose Hudelson explains, “The school has been gracious enough to pay for our training and supplies and been very supportive. However, (this week) we were informed that they have a lack of funds for our hotel and travel expenses. If we cannot get the funding, we cannot afford to go. Two of our girls are international students seeking a good education in America. One of our teammates is a single mother raising two children. Another member works full time and pays for her education solely out of overtime worked. And the last woman saved up her money and gave up her booming career at Microsoft to follow her dream in aviation.” This is an all-woman team representing a 96-percent-male program, hoping to draw more women into their field. So instead of giving up short of the goal, they have launched a crowdfunding drive – the online equivalent of a donation jar. Here’s the link. (Or, if you have or know a business or person who might be interested in sponsorship, here’s their proposal document with sponsorship information.)

Fun fundraiser to start your weekend – from the WSB inbox:

Come join us for the West Seattle Lions Club‘s annual pancake breakfast Saturday (January 18th) at the West Seattle Senior Center, 8 o’clock to 11 in the morning, 4127 SW Oregon. $6 per person; 10 and under, $4; free for children under the age of four. We will be serving pancakes, sausages, eggs, orange juice, coffee, and tea. Come and have a great time, and thank you for supporting The West Seattle Lions Club!!!

Jimie Martin PZC
West Seattle Lions President

The music video is by OK Sweetheart, the band that’ll be featured at the first fundraising gala for the West Seattle Veteran Center, coming up February 22nd, with tickets now on sale:

West Seattle Veteran Center (WSVC) will host its first annual special fundraising event in its Pershing Hall. Guests will enjoy live music (Seattle’s OK SWEETHEART and special guests), performance painter (West Seattle’s Jimmy Gersen), cocktails, hors d’oeuvres (Seattle’s Garden Grow Organics) and a silent auction. One hundred percent of proceeds will benefit this landmark building that has served veterans for nearly a century.

Sponsorships ($100+), silent auction items and ticket sales ($50-75) will benefit the WSVC and its community outreach efforts including the complete renovation of the old West Seattle American Legion Building or, for West Seattleites, the building with the big cannon in the front lawn. Once the remodel is complete, the WSVC will operate seven-days-a-week with Veteran staffers aiding and counseling Veterans in the greater Seattle community. The WSVC will offer a wide range of veteran-related assistance including education, home loans, counseling, disability qualifications, family needs.

The WSVC will house a new elegant Bistro and Lounge with food from Garden Grow Organics. The WSVC will also connect the community through rotating art exhibitions, concerts, classes, community events and conference space. All combined, each element is designed to bring together the Seattle Veteran community and local neighborhoods all in support of Veterans and their families. Lack of funding has held up the next phases, and the gala will help finish the project.

The WSVC is still seeking sponsorships and silent auction items. To contribute, contact savannah@pershinghall.org.

Interested in volunteering, but not a major/recurring commitment? Here’s something simple, but important:

Help us count homeless youth on January 23rd at Seattle Public Library Sites! Each year since 2011, King County has conducted Count Us In, a point-in-time count to gather information on homeless and at-risk youth. In 2013, 776 youth and young adults were counted as homeless or unstably housed.

Join us this year as we survey youth to better understand the extent and nature of youth homelessness in our community so that we can more effectively address this critical issue. Surveys will be completed by youth at youth shelters, community centers, parks, nonprofit agencies and libraries. Help us do better this year!

This volunteer must be high-energy and outgoing and will serve at different branches of the Seattle Public Library. Volunteers commit to one 2 to 4-hour shift on January 23rd, 2014. Want to volunteer? Click the “I’m Interested” button and we will follow up with you. **Please let us know the time and library you are interested in volunteering at.

(Editor’s note: Southwest Branch Library is the one West Seattle library listed, but we’re including the entire list in case another one is convenient for you or someone you know:

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From new Senior Center of West Seattle board member Nichole Casado, word of two volunteer positions the center needs to fill, fast:

At our recent meeting I learned the Senior Center is in urgent need of a volunteer to pick up food at the Food Bank located at Morgan and 35th and drive it to the Senior Center around 9:30 am every Tuesday. An SUV or regular-sized truck is a large-enough vehicle. The Food Bank has staff to load the vehicle and the Senior Center has folks lined up at drop off for the unload.

Also, the Senior Center is looking for a volunteer who would like to work in the Café on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-1:30. This person would prep and serve soup-and-sandwich-type meals. Anyone interested in either of these much-needed roles should contact Karen at the West Seattle Senior Center – ksisson@seniorservices.org

The center’s number is 206-932-4044. It’s in The Junction at California/Oregon.

(Click image for full-size view)
Just hours to go until the New Year, and that means time for reflection on the old one – individually and organizationally. WestSide Baby‘s executive director Nancy Woodland asked if we would share this with you:

As 2013 comes to a close, I’d like to thank the West Seattle community for its amazing support this year. We have increased our service by thousands of children, started to reach new neighborhoods and stretched ourselves to do more. Most of this is because of this community. While we continue to reach to other parts of Seattle for support, we want to pause and acknowledge what has happened locally. Individuals, families and children have collected 110,000 MORE diapers for us this year than in 2010. That’s incredible and, in large part, because of West Seattle!! Donations of new car seats have increased and we’ve been able to distribute 5,000 clothing bags mostly from the used items that come from the children prancing around our local parks and elementary schools.

Since opening our new rented facility in White Center in 2010, we have almost doubled the number of volunteer hours donated, from about 5,000 to nearly 10,000! This growth translates directly to increased impact all around King County and most of these volunteers come from within ten miles. In the last week, we’ve had to close down to item donations because of the requirement to do inventory (volunteers did most of that work too!) but we look forward to re-opening to item donations on January 2nd. Thanks to all for your patience in holding on to the things you’d like to clear out of your homes after the holidays.

On Sunday our constituents received an e-mail outlining the continued need for car seats, diapers, basics, and financial support. We focused on a poignant photo by (WSB contributor) Christopher Boffoli, that captured a rollover accident where an infant’s stroller was thrown from the car but the child had only minor injuries. I can only assume a car seat played a role in that.

The interconnectedness of everything we do it what makes WestSide Baby special. From local families, to local businesses to large corporations and foundations the combined support allow us to do what we do best, focus on the critical items to keep children safe, warm and dry. As Mary from Mom’s Plus agency shared with us, “We work with homeless families and it means so, so, so much to them to receive assistance with diapers. It means that they have extra money for food and other necessary expenses and it also means that they can change their babies diapers more often.”

If you want to know how you can be a part of what we do, please consider donating, signing up online to volunteer or to attend our big benefit Tea on February 9, telling someone else about us – even if they don’t live in West Seattle and please continue doing all the things you do – we need you as we grow. Thank you, West Seattle!

P.S. Today’s the last day to get an earlybird $35 ticket for the WS Baby Tea – go here.