West Seattle, Washington
01 Saturday
The WestSide Baby fundraising double-bill (WSB coverage here) gave birth to an Oscar party that’s being enjoyed right now – as WS Baby leader Nancy Woodland explained while sharing photos, “At this year’s Tea, one loyal WestSide Baby Tea Table Captain, Toddy Dyer, won a Oscars Party at Burien’s Tin Theater. She turned it into a diaper drive and a group of 40 women gathered to celebrate the awards and Toddy’s birthday!!” Some of the diaper donations, more priceless to WS Baby than any golden statuette:
WS Baby helps families in West Seattle, White Center, Burien, and elsewhere in south King County – here’s how you can help them, any time!
That one-minute video is the work of Bonnie Levin and 20 of her preschoolers at West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor). They have entered it in Verity Credit Union‘s “Cartwheel for a Cause” contest – and it just needs your vote, to have a chance to win – Bonnie explains:
It was a chance to teach my 3 year old students about service, community and those less fortunate. We made this video in honor of First Place School in the Central District. If you’re not familiar with First Place, it is a program for families living with, or at risk of, homelessness. They provide education and, in most cases, housing for the *entire *family. It’s a fantastic program that is in need of extra funding. If we win this contest, we plan on donating the entire sum to this organization. …
Here’s how to vote
1) go to http://www.veritymom.com/cartwheel-for-a-cause/
2) look at the right side of the page for the “ballot”
3) vote for video #20 (Bonnie Levin)Only one vote per valid e-mail address is necessary.
PLEASE help! These little guys worked really hard on this project and it’d be so wonderful for them to see it through to the donation phase.
(WSB photo of the Hiawatha wading pool)
Might be a stretch to think about wading pools on a wintry night, but the city announced today that it is looking for help long before summer gets here. Seattle Parks doesn’t have the money to add back any of the hours slashed last year, when only five pools around the city were open daily, 10 three days a week, and 7 never opened at all (3 more were closed last year but will reopen as spray parks this year, including the Highland Park wading-pool site). But if they can find sponsors/partners, they might be able to change that, and open more pools for more days. In West Seattle, only Lincoln Park was open 7 days a week last summer, so if the schedule remains the same, sponsorships could help Delridge, E.C. Hughes, and/or Hiawatha. Find details on Parks’ pool-sponsor proposals by going here.
Just in from Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby, which helps thousands of local families but can’t do it without you:
The PERFECT Snow Day project awaits you and your kids!
As you are searching for gloves and boots, many of the families we serve are in cramped living spaces with inadequate heat. Warm clothes are needed today! After filling orders this week for local children in need, WestSide Baby’s clothing shelves are extremely depleted. I hope you will consider a closet-clean out day with your kids to be a worthwhile, non-TV, do “something for other’s” way to fill a few hours if the snow or school holiday keeps you cooped up this week.
WestSide Baby provides essentials to local children (newborn to size 12) in need by collecting items from local families and distributing them through more than 90 local social service agency partners like food banks, public health and many more. Just in these 3 weeks of February, we have been unable to fill 17 Clothing Bags, 14 requests for shoes and many winter coats. We strive to meet the very real need and we need your help! In the next few days, we have existing orders to fill for many clothing articles including pants and shirts at 15 requests each. Even after a wonderfully discounted shopping spree today of larger size children’s clothes at Again and A Gain Consignment, one of our wonderful on-going sponsors, we were through those bags by day’s end.
A complete and detailed list of the clothing items we currently need can be found on our How to Give section of our website. Our facility is open for donations again on Saturday from 10-1 but we also have many drop-off locations throughout West Seattle and Burien if you can reach them easier. We also have many unfilled requests for items such as car seats, strollers, portable cribs and toddler beds (not twin) but we are slightly overstocked on toys. Feel free to leave the toy purge for another day!
Want cleaner streets and sidewalks? Here are two more opportunities in addition to the March 5th “Clean Up Your Act” volunteer effort noted here. First, Admiral Neighborhood Association president Katy Walum posted a reminder about their Saturday Adopt-A-Street event (free breakfast AND lunch!) as a WSB comment:
… The Admiral Neighborhood Association will be having our quarterly Adopt-a-Street cleanup this Saturday, February 26th, from 9-11 am. Any interested volunteers are welcome to meet with us at 9 am at the Admiral Metropolitan Market, and spend an hour or so picking up litter in and around the Admiral business district. We will provide safety vests, gloves, bags, and trash grabbers. Metropolitan Market will provide volunteers with fresh coffee, fruit, and pastries, and a sack lunch after the cleanup to reward you for your efforts. Please e-mail me at katy.walum@gmail.com with any questions. Hope to see you litter-busters there!
And we also got word of a cleanup along West Seattle’s longest staircase, the SW Thistle Street stairs between Upper Fauntleroy and Lincoln Park. Neighbors and other stairway users will gather at its lower end at 10 am March 5th; more details in this Facebook event invitation.
Remember Michael Merta, whose anti-litter letter was published here three weeks ago? He’s mustered some support and is now – with one local leader’s encouragement – inviting you to join in a cleanup, among other things. Here’s his update:
About three weeks ago I wrote an open letter about the worsening problem of litter in the Seattle area. I’ve received many responses to that letter from other concerned citizens since then. I have still not heard back from any of the city, county, or WSDOT officials that I complained to, about their plans if any, to deal with the problem.
I have been contacted by King County Councilman Joe McDermott’s office, and they have asked me to organize a cleanup through the Facebook page that I created around this issue.
The Councilman’s office has contacted Waste Management to provide support, tools, and supplies for the effort, and we are tentatively planning it for Saturday March 5th between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Please see the Facebook page for further details, or contact me at michaelmerta@hotmail.com
It is unclear to me, and it is also unclear to officials in Councilman McDermott’s office, just who is responsible for routine litter patrol, and in which areas of town. There may be areas where indeed, no agency is currently responsible. Since I first complained about this to the various agencies, there has been no litter removed from the sites I’ve identified. It seems as if our local government does not have the resources, or has not allocated the resources to solve this problem, so we as citizens need to figure something out here.
Obviously, one cleanup event cannot solve this problem. In my opinion, it’s going to take a comprehensive effort involving frequent citizen cleanups, state and local government organized cleanups, increased fines, and increased code enforcement. A kind of full-on campaign, we could call it “Keep Seattle Beautiful.” I’d like some help with getting such a campaign started. We could all start by writing about our concerns to our local politicians. mayormcginn.seattle.gov, Dow.Constantine@kingcounty.gov
In a city that prides itself on being “green” and environmentally friendly, it seems we have allowed plain old litter to make a comeback. Today, as I was driving across the First Avenue bridge (one of the areas I first complained about) I noticed someone decided to drop off an old couch on the side of the road (see photo above). Funny thing about litter, you leave it there and it seems to multiply.
(Photo by Eilene Hutchinson)
Over the weekend, Alki’s David Hutchinson shared a photo of the debris tossed onto the Alki park and shore by the wild wind-whipped waves (second-to-last image here). Tonight, he sends word of a cleanup at the plaza – and the latest on brick sales, which help pay for maintenance:
Today, volunteers from the Alki Community Council removed sand and other materials deposited on the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza by Saturday’s windstorm. The ACC agreement with Seattle Parks & Recreation makes a commitment to provide volunteer work parties to help with the maintenance of the Plaza. Parks will be replanting the landscape beds surrounding the Plaza in the coming months making use of funds from the sale of bricks and plaques the ACC has turned over to the City. Only 90 additional bricks are available and orders received by April 1st will be installed by Parks in late May or early June. Orders received after that date will be installed in the fall. Go to www.sealady.org or e-mail libertyplaza@msn.com for additional information.
Weary of wandering in the sunshine? Duck into the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and put in a bid on rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia – as the live “Vinyl Countdown 3” auction continues till 5 pm. It’s a benefit for the Animal Aid and Rescue Foundation, and The Feedback’s website promises “a plethora of vintage vinyl, rock memorabilia, posters, shirts, 45s, and more!” 6451 California SW, in Morgan Junction. (P.S. If you didn’t, or can’t, make it to the auction, there’s another way to help – here’s the latest list of critters that AARF is trying to find “forever homes” for.)
The Alaska Marine Lines loading dock along West Marginal Way Southwest is usually bustling with trucks – but this morning, minivans and SUVs ruled the day, as West Seattle Girl Scouts and troop leaders picked up this year’s supply of cookies. Inside, stacks of boxes awaited each group that dropped by from predawn till noontime:
Service Unit cookie manager Cheryl Brown says this year’s West Seattle order totaled 35,016 boxes – 5,220 more than last year. No new flavor this year – same ones as last year. If you pre-ordered, deliveries are starting tomorrow; if you didn’t, look for Girl Scouts selling cookies outside local stores and businesses starting next Friday (February 25th) and continuing through March 13th. Wondering where to find them? The online Cookie Locator is up and running again this year too – just go here. (Use it to search by zip code, or within a certain distance of a zip code; this appears to be the complete list of WS sales.) And if you’d like to buy cookies to donate to U.S. military personnel, Operation Cookie Drop is back in business as well (read about that here).
After Thursday night’s kickoff for this June’s cancer-fighting Relay for Life of West Seattle, Rebecca Polivy sent in a report – and an invitation if you haven’t signed up yet:
The West Seattle Relay Kickoff event held (Thursday) night, February 17th, at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar in the junction was a huge success! New and old participants gathered for a night of food, entertainment and information. Event Chair Jilyan Perry spoke to new and old relay participants and got everyone very excited for the event which will be June 10-11 at the West Seattle Stadium. Dwaine Casmey, captain of Team Avanade, entertained the crowd with his brillant tunes while everyone munched on delicious cupcakes from our hosts.
If you haven’t had a chance to participate in Relay for Life it’s not too late! Please visit our website and contact us with any questions. Team registration fees will be half price through this weekend – so sign up today!!! All are welcome.
As declared by King County Executive Dow Constantine – as you can hear him say, in our video – this was “Christy Rowe Day” in the county. That’s in honor of the devoted volunteer honored at tonight’s second annual West Seattle High School Foundation benefit dinner/auction, held at The Hall at Fauntleroy. Rowe’s volunteerism even has her leading the WSHS Foundation as its president this year. She and the county executive, of course, are WSHS alums (’72 and ’80 respectively), and she had a few things to say too:
We’ll be checking on the fundraiser’s final totals in the morning, but we watched a spirited auction – including two bidders winning lunch for 4 with Constantine, at $400 each. Lunch with Seattle School Board President Steve Sundquist was also up for grabs – he was at the event too (winning bidder for that one was the principal of Ingraham High School!). The event included one round of “fund a need” bidding, as many such auctions do, for a new sound system to make school events more audible; between bidders and a WSHS PTSA match, they brought in almost $11,000 of the $15,000 needed for the system. (Not too late to help – there’s a donation address on the WSHSF website.)
Last week, we previewed this week’s blanket drive at West Seattle Montessori/West Seattle Academy (WSB sponsor) – the brainchild of a young WSMS student. This morning, our friends at KING 5 went to the school to talk with her, and the video clip above includes one of their reports (recorded live). Through tomorrow evening, you can take blankets (and sweaters!) to WSMS at 11215 15th SW, or to Carmilia’s in The Junction (4528 California SW).
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Family YMCA)
The West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) is more than just the facilities you’re familiar with in The Triangle and at Fauntleroy Church – they are behind a wide variety of youth programs all around the area, including at local schools and community centers, helping kids of all ages. Right now, they’re in the midst of the annual Partners With Youth fundraising campaign and just got the first report last night: $53,000 toward a community-campaign goal of $200,000. Samantha Bowes from the Y adds, “Special thanks to Talarico’s Pizza for donating 100% of the food for the report night – more than 100 people dined very well thanks to their generosity! Belated thanks also goes to Husky Deli for sponsoring the food for Partners With Youth volunteer campaigner trainings in January.”
Info on two fundraisers to share – this first one is happening tomorrow (Thursday) night but just came in. From Peter:
All proceeds from food sales at the Alki Tavern (1321 Harbor Ave SW) tomorrow night, Thursday, February 17, 2011, are being donated to the West Seattle Food Bank and Family Promise of Seattle. Readers of the wsblog are already familiar with the great work being done by the WS Food Bank in our community, and they will also recognize Family Promise as the only homeless shelter in West Seattle. The Alki Tavern is well known for its Taco Thursday promotion where they sell tacos for $1.00 apiece, and the view from the tavern is the best in all of Seattle. Good food, good friends, good view, all with a view to building a stronger community. Come join us.
Family Promise, you may recall, is working to raise $90,000 so it can reopen its program housing homeless families with volunteer help from local congregations. Meantime, Jennifer is inviting you to a benefit at the West Seattle Eagles‘ HQ weekend after next – and collecting auction donations now:
Event- 2nd annual Art Erhmann Cancer benefit
Where- West Seattle Eagles, 4426 California SW
When- February 25th, 530-1100 pm
Silent Auction preview starts at 330 pm.We will have pulled pork sandwiches, beer specials, silent auction, and entertainment.
I’m currently taking donations of any kind of stuff we can put into a gift basket; deadline for donations will be Thursday the 24th by 11 pm. In addition, for any business donating, we will provide a form for tax purposes.
My contact info – 206-938-4426
Jcollinsyoung@gmail.com
The Cascade Bicycle Club‘s Major Taylor Project, to help get tweens and teens into bicycling, is rolling into West Seattle, and you can be part of it at a “Spinathon” this Thursday night. 5-8 pm at Allstar Fitness in North Delridge, there’s a fundraiser for expanding the project to South King County sites including Chief Sealth International High School. Organizers say there are 2 ways to help:
1. Ride in the Spinathon – some spots still open! You can ride for 1 hour, 2 hours, or all 3 hours – from 5-6pm, 6-7 pm, or 7-8pm time slots. To register: e-mail opa@cascadebicycleclub.org or ed.ewing@cascadebicycleclub.org. Cost is a minimum $25 per hour donation. Checks can be made out to ‘Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation‘, which is a (501)(3)c. Participants can bring their donation the night of the event or mail to the address below.
2. For those not riding – you can help the program reach more kids in West Seattle
by donating to the Major Taylor Project. Two ways to donate:Online (you’ll need to set up an account)
shop.cascade.org/content/major-taylor-project-stp-donationor postal mail:
Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation Major Taylor Program
7400 Sand Point Way NE, Suite 101S
Seattle, WA 98115
Should it stay or should it go? The fate of the big birch tree shown above is one of the issues that came up as about 50 people joined in the first design meeting for the new 34th/Barton P-Patch, Saturday afternoon at Southwest Community Center.
Landscape architect John Barker, who’s leading the design work, told attendees that an arborist checked out the tree with him earlier in the day, and proclaimed it to be perhaps the healthiest European paper-birch tree she had seen in the city. On the other hand, materials prepared for the meeting show it casts a significant shadow, so the design process will have to determine whether that’s an impediment to maximizing the site, or perhaps a feature for cool shade on warm summer days. Toward the start of the meeting, a show of hands was requested, and the “keep the tree” hand-raisers significantly outnumbered those supporting “take out the tree” – which is the only tree of any kind on the site. Barker estimated that it would cost about the same to keep it or get rid of it.
But the tree’s future was just one topic, albeit one that took up a fair amount of time.
Lots of early Valentine’s celebrations today, and things are especially heart-y at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor), in the throes of its annual “Have a Heart Day” fundraiser. Illusions team members donate their time, and the salon offers reduced-price haircuts with all proceeds going to charity – this year, it’s Pencil Me In For Kids, to make sure no student has to go to school without the supplies she/he needs. The salon was busy when we stopped in a while ago, but Illusions’ Sue Lindblom told us they still had a few openings – so you can call 206-938-3675 to see if there’s a chance they can get you in before 4. More reasons to stop in – the artists they’re currently showcasing are on hand too; and they’re offering salon merchandise at a 14% discount. They are accepting Pencil Me in for Kids monetary donations too, so even if you aren’t getting a cut, you can stop by and help the cause – 5619 California SW.
Spring approaching – and it’s the major season for fundraising galas. Some of them are annual traditions – and then every year new ones emerge, like this one: The intergenerational three-group West Seattle Community Orchestras have just announced their first-ever Spring Gala, to raise money for their youth programs – that’s half the WSCOs’ 120-musician membership! – as founder Toni Reineke notes in the announcement, the group “fill(s) the gap for students wishing to pursue their talents in music, at a time when many local music programs have suffered budget cuts.” If you buy your ticket early, there’s a discount. A night of music, with a silent auction and light dinner, is promised, at West Seattle’s Kenyon Hall. The gala is at 7 pm Saturday, March 12th (doors will open at 6:30 pm), with tickets $20 if purchased before March 1st, $25 afterward. To get your advance tickets, e-mail Abe Santini at abe@wscorchestras.org.
From West Seattle Montessori/West Seattle Academy (WSB sponsor) – If you have a blanket you don’t need (or can buy a new one to donate), get ready to donate it in a blanket drive, inspired by pre-primary student Morgan Williams, who wants to “help the homeless people of West Seattle stay warm,” according to the school’s announcement. Next week, February 14-18, they’ll be collecting clean blankets – new and used – in a bin set up outside the school, so anybody can donate, not just students, staff and families. They’re at 11215 15th SW (map). P.S. Morgan says, “You can give them coats, too!” (One more WSMS note – the elementary play “Fiddler on the Roof” will be performed again tomorrow night, 7 pm, West Seattle High School Theater.)
(Illusions Hair Design Twitpic from last year’s Have a Heart Day)
Need a haircut? You have a chance to combine a good look with a good deed if you get an appointment for this Sunday’s “Have a Heart Day” at Illusions Hair Design (longtime WSB sponsor). The Illusions team is donating its time so that all proceeds go to charity – they’ve done it every year since 1994. This year the beneficiary is Pencil Me in for Kids, which gets school supplies to students who have trouble affording them otherwise. Illusions says some spots are still left (and prices are reduced, too) – 11 am-4 pm this Sunday, February 13th. Call for an appointment ASAP – 206-938-3675.
It’s full speed ahead for the latest phase of the longrunning playground-improvement project at West Seattle’s most populous elementary school. Organizers of the Play It Forward campaign raising money for Lafayette Elementary‘s playground say they achieved the goal of matching funds/labor/materials to get the $100,000 city grant they had won, so they “are on schedule to head out to bid for the project as soon as some of the construction drawings are finalized,” according to Deborah Hazlegrove, who adds: “Our intention is to break ground after school is out and have a brand-spanking new playground for the kids when they return in the fall.” In the meantime, you’re invited to the next community meeting updating the project – February 17th, 7 pm, school library – and they’re still fundraising, so if you have ideas to help with that and/or with promotion, they’d love to see you there, or to hear from you any time (e-mail Holly at rhgrambihler@msn.com).
(WSB photo from orchard work party last month)
Another step ahead for the new Community Orchard of West Seattle – it’s sprouted a website! You’ll find COWS online at fruitinwestseattle.org. And there you also will find details of two upcoming events to which community volunteers are heartily invited – classes followed by lunch and a work party, 10 am Saturdays, February 12 with the topic “Perennial Plantings” and March 12 with the topic “Annual Plantings.” It all happens at the north end of South Seattle Community College on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge (6000 16th SW) – RSVP info is on the brand-new website.
Tabling in The Junction at noontime today were Jilyan Perry and Tamara Judy on behalf of Relay for Life of West Seattle, the all-night cancer-fighting fundraiser that draws hundreds to West Seattle Stadium every June. The relay isn’t until June 10-11, but the kickoff celebration is just a week and a half away, 6-8 pm Thursday, February 17th, at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar. Relay for Life of West Seattle, and events like it around the country, benefit the cancer-fighting work of the American Cancer Society; you’re invited to come to the Feb. 17th event to see how you can help – by planning, organizing, sponsoring, organizing, any or all of the above. (This year the WS Relay for Life also is on Facebook and on Twitter.)
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