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Dine out Tuesday to help West Seattle High School music
May 12, 2013 7:03 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Rotary Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

It’s been a big year for West Seattle High School‘s music program, especially the marching band, with two downtown parade appearances including St. Patrick’s Day, as shown in our video above. This Tuesday, you can help the program keep growing by having dinner at Abbondanza in Morgan Junction. WSHS’s first-year music teacher Ethan Thomas explains:

The West Seattle Rotary Club is hosting a dinner fundraiser at Abbondanza Pizzeria (6503 California Ave SW) to support the music program at WSHS.

Abbondanza will be donating 10% of their proceeds and Rotary Club volunteers will be waiting tables and donating their tips.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 14th, and come out and support our young musicians. The restaurant will be open from 5-9 pm.

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West Seattle Bee Garden: 1 week till the festival! What’s ahead – and how to help
May 11, 2013 11:46 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | High Point | How to help | West Seattle news

(Saturday photo courtesy West Seattle Bee Garden)
One year in the making, and one week remaining until the celebration of the new West Seattle Bee Garden, at next Sunday’s WS Bee Festival (May 19th). This weekend, writes Lauren Englund – whose dream, reported here in May 2012, started it all – the beehive enclosure is being finished, and you are welcome at a Sunday work party (starting at 10 am). And after that, it’s festival preparations. From Lauren:

For those who may not know, the High Point Neighborhood Association is hosting the West Seattle Bee Festival next Sunday, May 19th, to celebrate the opening of this space. It will include a picnic and parade! Here are some of the details:

Picnic Time: 11 am to 3 pm
Picnic Location: Commons Park at 31st Ave SW and SW Graham St
Parade Start: 11:30 am
Parade Start Location: West Seattle Elementary – 6760 34th Ave SW
Parade Route: North on 31st Ave SW from the WSE parking lot, across Morgan St, past the Bee Garden and into Commons Park. The total route is 0.5 miles.

Want to join the parade? Fantastic! Everyone is welcome. Set-up will ‘open’ at the West Seattle Elementary parking lot at 10:30 am. There will be face painting and an opportunity to make a flower for the parade. Look for a friendly face carrying a helium ballon for answers to questions. The Sound Wave marching band will be leading the way. Fun!

The picnic! Holy smokes some amazing people want to come hang out!

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Nine days till West Seattle 5K! Can you volunteer that day?
May 10, 2013 11:27 am
|    Comments Off on Nine days till West Seattle 5K! Can you volunteer that day?
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

If you’re not running or walking in the fifth annual West Seattle 5K on Sunday, May 19th, can you help out? Plenty of volunteer power is a must to make sure everything goes well:

West Seattle High School is looking for adult volunteers next Sunday (May 19th) to help with the 5K race. If you are able to help Sunday morning between 7:30 am to 12:00, or anytime inbetween, it would be much appreciated. Please send an email with your name and time you are available to ‘wshs5kvolunteers@gmail.com’ Any and all help will be much appreciated.

Registration is still open for WS5K (which WSB is co-sponsoring again this year), too – go here.

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Followup: Last chance for Arbor Heights-grown tomato plants!
May 10, 2013 8:36 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

Remember the call for plant pots at Arbor Heights Elementary, for teacher Marcia Ingerslev and her farming first-graders – and the great response? The tomato plants – and some radishes too, we’re told – have been on sale after school this week and you’re welcome today as they sell plants one last time before Ms. Ingerslev has to haul the remainders off to be donated! The parent volunteer who shared the photo says it’s your chance to “be a proud new home to a grown-from-seed tomato plant (or radish) for a donation that goes fully to the farm program.” It’s a short sale window – about 3 pm to 3:30 pm, we’re told – but if you can make it over to Arbor Heights (37th and 104th), the plants await you, at a $2 donation each.

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Video: Northwest Hope and Healing’s ‘Style ’13’ success
May 10, 2013 6:43 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Health | How to help | West Seattle news

From words of hope, to walks of celebration, the “Style ’13” fashion fundraiser by and for West Seattleite-founded/led Northwest Hope and Healing was a success – so we hear from Captive Eye Media‘s Edgar Riebe, who shared the video highlights from last night’s event at Showbox SODO. Edgar says NWHH announced a fundraising total of $120,000, more than last year – we will check today for any additional details. Next big benefit for NWHH is the annual Alki Beach 5K Run/Walk, August 25th.

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Taste of West Seattle: Only 1 week away
May 9, 2013 9:33 pm
|    Comments Off on Taste of West Seattle: Only 1 week away
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

It would take you months to get to all the West Seattle food and drink establishments you’ll be able to sample in one night, one place, next Thursday, during the Taste of West Seattle: Almost 50 of them, including breweries and wineries! Through the West Seattle Helpline, all proceeds go to local families facing emergencies. Just buy a ticket (and see the participant list) at tasteofwestseattle.org – they’re not expecting to have any left to sell at the door – and show up at The Hall at Fauntleroy on Thursday (May 16th), 6:30-9 pm – half an hour before that if you buy a VIP ticket (which also includes VIP seating and entry in a VIP raffle).

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Fashion & fun(draising): Northwest Hope & Healing event tomorrow
May 8, 2013 5:19 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Health | How to help | West Seattle news

West Seattleite-founded/led Northwest Hope and Healing has a unique mission for breast-cancer patients – It helps them handle everyday life even as they cope with the daunting challenge of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The video above produced by West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media introduces you to some of the people NWHH has helped – in other words, people like those you’ll be helping if you go to its Style ’13 benefit fashion show at 7 pm tomorrow. West Seattle businesses are involved as sponsors and supporters, including Carmilia’s, West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and Coastal. Online ticket sales are over but you can get yours at the door at Showbox SODO – details here.

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Speaking of history … More chances to help honor it
May 7, 2013 7:14 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

Big day at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum this Saturday – the LHM is participating in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (sale #70 on the map) 9 am-3 pm, and from 11 am-1 pm will be hosting its monthly informational event for prospective volunteers. And from SWSHS executive director Clay Eals – some specific ways you can help:

Just in time for the warmth of late spring and summer, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is ramping up its tour schedule and native-plant garden — and volunteers are welcome to help out.

Volunteer committees have formed to focus on tours and gardening. The leaders are Mark Lewis for tours and Carol Vincent for gardening. Here are details on both:

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North Delridge Neighborhood Council Beautification Committee does it again!
May 4, 2013 3:32 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | How to help

Lisa Taylor-Whitley heads up the North Delridge Neighborhood Council Beautification Committee, and every month, whether 3 people show up or 30, she and helpers are out cleaning up another corner of the neighborhood. This morning, it was the walking/biking path that leads from the Skylark Café and Club parking lot down to the bus stop at SW Spokane St. (where buses and other vehicles are detoured today and tomorrow because of repaving, remember). Before we caught up with Lisa on the path, we found other members of today’s cleanup crew wrapping up outside Skylark – Tom, Oliver, Nancy, and Jackson the dog:

They all explained that the path was in pretty good shape this time, so they only needed to work for a little more than an hour, half of the time allotted. Keep an eye on the NDNC’s website for info on upcoming cleanups – and/or send Lisa a note if you have a site to suggest (lisataylorwhitley@gmail.com).

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Happening now: West Seattle Thriftway’s 1st benefit barbecue of the season
May 4, 2013 1:28 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening now: West Seattle Thriftway’s 1st benefit barbecue of the season
 |   How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Benefit-barbecue season is off and sizzling at West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy; WSB sponsor) – we caught Michele at the grill between burger batches this afternoon; the barbecues are a Thriftway tradition, benefiting local nonprofits, and today the proceeds are going to West Seattle Helpline. You have until 4 or so to stop by for yours, if you haven’t been there already!

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Sneak peek at ‘Year of the Seal’ sculpture; May 13th meeting
May 2, 2013 10:56 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The image is courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who has an update on the sculpture in the works for their “Year of the Seal” project (first announced in January) – and your chance to come to a meeting about it on May 13th:

Seal Sitters’ educational outreach project Year of the Seal, made possible by a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods grant, is making great strides. Following a public Call to Artists and Selection Panel review, prominent Northwest bronze artist Georgia Gerber was chosen to create a full-scale sculpture of a harbor seal mom and pup. Georgia is shown here at work on the centerpiece of the project, which is designed to raise awareness about our fragile marine ecosystem.

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2 ways to help Stamp Out Hunger food drive on May 11th
April 30, 2013 1:30 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

As always, letter carriers’ nationwide Stamp Out Hunger food drive coincides with West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (second Saturday in May) – and whether you’re shopping or selling on Saturday, May 11th, we encourage you to set out a bag of donated nonperishable food by your mailbox/mail slot first thing that morning. There’s one more way to help – we’ve just heard from Food Lifeline, and they’re looking for volunteers to help with donations at the Westwood and Junction post offices that day: If you can spare some time, and are at least 16 years old and able to handle heavy lifting, please go here to sign up ASAP!

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1 more way to offload unwanted items this weekend: Hope Lutheran donation drive
April 25, 2013 2:28 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

Spring cleaning? In addition to the events we’ve already mentioned for this weekend – shredding, recycling, drug take-back events all detailed here – we have word of yet another way you can do something useful this weekend with items you no longer use. Hope Lutheran Church is having a donation drive 10 am-2 pm Saturday (April 27) for newly arrived refugees – including furniture as well as other items that help make a house a home:

We are collecting donations of:
*kitchen tables and chairs
*couches
*twin- and full-sized beds
*nice blankets/sheets/towels
*kitchenware/pots and pans/utensils
*microwaves
*TVs/dvd players
*computers with all parts/laptops

***All must be in good, usable condition (no major tears or stains, please)
***Will NOT accept clothes or other furniture pieces not on list

See you there! Put on by Hope Lutheran Church and Lutheran Community Services NW Refugee Resettlement Program.

The church is at 4456 42nd SW, northeast corner of 42nd and Oregon.

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Benefit skate at Southgate Roller Rink this Sunday
April 25, 2013 9:16 am
|    Comments Off on Benefit skate at Southgate Roller Rink this Sunday
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | White Center

This Sunday, you can go rollerskating at Southgate Rink and not just have a good time, but also do a good deed. West Seattle resident Kathy Himes has organized the event to help her friend Pauline Hunt, a former professional mountain biker who now is living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They’re raising money for a Habitat for Humanity renovation for the home where Pauline and her family, including her two young daughters, live, so that it will be wheelchair-accessible. It’s a global effort – Pauline is in Canada and her friends around the world, including Kathy, are helping. So come skate 5-7 pm on Sunday, April 28, for $12, covering skate rental and a suggested donation. Kathy says there’ll be raffles too, thanks to donations from generous businesses including Zippy’s Giant Burgers, Full Tilt Ice Cream, and Meander’s Kitchen. (See the event flyer here.)

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Six West Seattle, White Center restaurants in Dining Out for Life
April 22, 2013 4:22 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Six West Seattle and White Center restaurants are signed on for this year’s Dining Out for Life fundraiser for Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Participants in West Seattle are Buddha Ruksa, Eats Market Café, Skylark Café and Club, and Talarico’s; participating restaurants in White Center are Company and Proletariat Pizza. The event is this Thursday (April 25th), and all six of are participating at dinnertime, donating 30 percent of their proceeds (at Skylark, it’s 50 percent).

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Earth Day and beyond: What to do if you spot a honey-bee swarm
April 22, 2013 12:58 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Honey-bee swarm photographed in Genesee last year by Ute Herzel-Harding)
On this Earth Day, here’s a simple way to take action – save this information about what to do if you encounter a honey-bee swarm. Don’t panic – don’t be afraid – do report them to beekeepers who can give them a new home, which is what some bees are looking for at this time of year. Here’s expert advice from Puget Sound Beekeepers Association president Krista Conner, who happens to be a West Seattleite:

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association wants you to be prepared to help the bees!

With recent losses of bee populations worldwide, seeing a few bees around the garden is something to celebrate. But what do you do when a few thousand bees show up?

Most swarms are the size of a football, more or less.

Longer days bring a surge of blooming trees and flowers which create a short window of time for healthy honey bee colonies to split and create new colonies. This split happens when honey bees swarm: roughly 10-15 thousand bees and their queen will leave an existing colony and land upon a tree branch or side of building. Once there, this mass of bees can resemble a very large pine cone or football shaped mass. Swarming is the natural process that honey bee hives go through to create new colonies and spread their genetics to new locations.

Honey bee swarms are vulnerable outside the hive to weather, animals and more importantly people. They need to find a new home quickly. In a rural setting this is usually a hollow tree but in the city with loss of habitat this can take the form of a wall or attic of a house where they become a problem for homeowners.

If you encounter a swarm it is important to remain calm and to call a beekeeper quickly before the bees leave to a new home or take up residence in an undesirable location. It is important to not kill or disturb the honey bees by spraying pesticides or even water on them.

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association offers the community a “swarm list” – a list of beekeepers who are willing to collect swarms. The swarm list should be your first resource to manage a honey bee swarm. Swarm collection usually is provided for free if the bees are within easy reach and are not inside a wall or house. Follow the directions on the list for confirming help is on the way. While you wait for the beekeeper, the best thing you can do is get your camera ready and make sure people stay 10-15 feet away from the swarm.

When a beekeeper arrives they will remove the swarm by transferring them into a hive box. Bees in a swarm are less likely to sting because they have nothing to defend and are gorged with honey so they have energy to build a new colony. The beekeeper may work bare-handed or in a full suit to transfer the football sized swarm of bees into a hive with a shake of a branch or by the handful if they are on a wall. Once the majority of the bees are in the hive the beekeeper will wait for any stray bees to find their way into the hive box before closing the hive up to take to their new home.

Here and anywhere in the greater Seattle area, please refer to the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association swarm list to find a swarm-catching beekeeper: pugetsoundbees.org/psba-swarm-list

Thanks for helping the bees!
Puget Sound Beekeepers Association

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Happening now: Heels for Hounds – shoes, tunes, sips, tastes
April 21, 2013 4:00 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Luna Park | Pets | West Seattle news

Lots of time left to get to Ola Salon in Luna Park for Furry Faces Foundation‘s first-ever “Heels for Hounds” – not just a silent auction of some cute shoes (casual as well as fancy, as shown in the photo above), but also wine tasting, appetizers, and live music, all to benefit animal advocacy:

Ola’s at 2942 SW Avalon Way.

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Taste of West Seattle update: 45 food and drink participants!
April 21, 2013 3:12 pm
|    Comments Off on Taste of West Seattle update: 45 food and drink participants!
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

45 local food-and-beverage businesses are signed up to be part of this year’s Taste of West Seattle, the West Seattle Helpline fundraiser that’s now just under a month away (May 16th, The Hall at Fauntleroy) – the poster at right (click it for a full-size PDF) just went up around the area, and the full list of participants can be seen on page 2 of this PDF. Helpline executive director Tara Luckie told us at this past week’s West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting that tickets are still available – $45 general (cheaper than the door price IF they don’t sell out, which they did last year), $90 for VIP (early admission, special seating, special raffle). “Not only are the food and drinks amazing,” Tara says, “but it’s a community effort of local establishments and West Seattle residents coming together to raise funds for families in need in West Seattle.” Tickets are available online here (note it’s a 21+ event).

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‘The Mama-logues’: Comedy, charity in West Seattle next weekend
April 19, 2013 8:37 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(Clip from last year’s edition of ‘The Mama-logues’)
It’s a good time and a good deed – your ticket to “The Mama-logues: A Comedy about Motherhood,” next Friday and Saturday (April 26-27), 7 pm each night, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge. Here’s what it’s all about:

Now in its second raucous year, The Mama-logues: A comedy about motherhood, is two hours of spit-your-beer-out-funny in celebration of motherhood! Local actors will be doing staged readings from mom-tastic blogs, books and articles including Ellen Degeneres, Moms Who Drink and Swear, The Bloggess, Samantha Bee, Rants from Mommyland, Haiku Mama and many others! And oh yes, the dance pieces! Stand aside, Lady GaGa! Here comes ‘Bad Mom Pants.’ Oldies Queen fans may also be treated to a reprise of ‘Mommy Rhapsody.’

Beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and a wide array of desserts and swag will be offered for sale at the event. Bring your girlfriends, be they mamas or not! Heck, you can bring your man-friends! There is a little something for everyone to laugh at in this show.

New for 2013: The SHOUT-OUT!

Want to give a ‘Shout-Out’ to a mom you know and love? For $50, we will include a photo of your mom pal and a message to her in the video portion of the show. For $100, we’ll include her photo and message in the video and strategically insert her name as a character in the performance! Send an electronic photo of the mom (or moms – you can include yourself!), the message exactly as you would like it to appear in the show, and the evening your ‘Shout Out’ Mom will be attending, to Laurie Levy at laurie@laurielevy.net.

All proceeds benefit WestSide Baby and Open Arms Perinatal Services; get your $15 tickets online right now by going here.

P.S. While it’s about motherhood, it’s not for the littlest members of your family – it’s recommended for ages 13 and up.

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Another school-volunteering opportunity: Tutors needed this fall
April 19, 2013 7:19 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

If you like to plan ahead – Our Lady of Guadalupe School is looking right now for adult volunteer tutors who can help out starting this fall. Here’s the request:

Adult volunteer tutors are needed in the fall for OLG School’s after-school tutoring program. The program meets on most Wednesdays of the school year from 2:15-3pm and pairs tutors with 1-2 students in grades 1-5. Tutors help students with reading, math, and/or writing skills.

The school has a strong need for math tutors for grades 4 and 5, but needs other grades and subjects as well.

Previous experience helpful but not required. Training is provided. Called to Protect and background check are both required.

For more information please contact Katie Bucy, Early Intervention Specialist, kbucy@guadalupe-school.org , 206-935-0651 extension 127 or visit this website.

The program has been in existence since the fall of 2000, and serves approximately 50 students each year.

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Delridge Grocery: Meeting on Monday – and part of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 11th!
April 19, 2013 3:16 pm
|    Comments Off on Delridge Grocery: Meeting on Monday – and part of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 11th!
 |   Community Garage Sale Day | Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

A two-part announcement from Delridge Grocery – first, it’s their regular monthly meeting on Monday (April 22nd), 6:30 pm at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW), with a call for volunteers – people to help at a community event, talk with their neighbors, and otherwise help as the DG team works toward its future storefront. They’re also putting out a call for donated items to sell at their benefit sale on West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, which is three weeks from tomorrow. You can arrange for pickup or dropoff by contacting them at delridgegrocery@gmail.com (and/or, go to Monday’s meeting and connect with DG leadership there).

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Help those who help our waterways and their residents: Shanti’s benefit bake sale for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance
April 19, 2013 1:21 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Sea lions on a buoy in the bay are among the sights Puget Soundkeeper Alliance volunteers (like Tom Foley, who shared the top photo) see when they go out on patrol. Often, the sights are less pleasant – pollution pouring from an outfall, litter floating on the water (though Tom reported a little less of that during the recent patrol). Even if you can’t get out on the water and take action, you can support the Soundkeepers’ work today through Sunday by stopping by Shanti Salon and Spa (WSB sponsor) for their benefit bake sale – with treats like these, made by members of the Shanti team:

Shanti is on the north end of The Admiral District, at 2138 California SW, open until 7 pm today, 9 am-7 pm on Saturday, 10 am-6 pm on Sunday.

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Spring-cleaning time: A chance to recycle clothes you don’t want
April 19, 2013 11:30 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

We’ve already featured upcoming opportunities for shredding and non-routine recycling – If you’re planning (or doing) spring cleaning, here’s a chance to recycle clothes! West Seattle Brownie Troop 43779 invites you to drop off donations for its clothing drive; they’re getting the word out now so you can save up items you might otherwise dispose of:

Clothing Drive – Week of April 29th through May 4th

Please bring your gently used clothes to the collection box out in front of the Gatewood Elementary office.

Spring cleaning? Brownie Troop #43779 community service project is collecting used clothes for the Northwest Center!

Saturday, May 4th: General public clothing drop off in Gatewood’s back parking lot (California Ave SW and SW Frontenac) from 11 am – 1 pm

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