West Seattle, Washington
28 Saturday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
We were sitting down at a Delridge coffee shop with Laura Bermes from the board of Family Promise of Seattle – the West Seattle-headquartered shelter for homeless families, profiled here previously – for what we had envisioned as a simple “how are things going?” story, when she dropped a bombshell: Family Promise has just closed its doors to go “on hiatus,” and won’t reopen until it has raised at least $90,000.
That means, Bermes says, there is currently no shelter for homeless families between downtown Seattle and Kent.
This is not just a matter of closing a facility and laying off some staff – Family Promise has hundreds of volunteers because of a unique partnership with 18 congregations, including several outside West Seattle. It does not have a physical overnight shelter, but rather rotates families between those partners’ churches, one week at a time, with each partner housing and feeding the family during “their week” – not proselytizing, simply serving, and caring.
These aren’t happening IN West Seattle, but the recruiting notice for volunteers to help with two drills is shared by WSB’er LyndaB, and given our peninsula’s leadership role as a hotbed of disaster preparedness, somebody out there just might want to help. And the volunteers for the first one can be as young as 14 – high-school students, that means community-service credit! Read on:Read More
(Photo from last year’s backpack giveaway, courtesy West Seattle Helpline)
Three weeks from today, it’s the first day of the new school year for most Seattle Public Schools campuses – with many private schools starting then (if not sooner) too. And that’s why West Seattle Helpline< is revving up its annual backpack drive right now. They’re collecting not only backpacks to give away to students who need them, but also school-age clothing to give away with the backpacks. To find out how/where to donate clothing, just call the Helpline at 206.932.4357; you can drop off backpacks not only at Helpline HQ but also at CAPERS in The Junction.
(Photo added 12:55 pm)
TODAY: Till 4 pm, West Seattle’s most renowned 3-Day for the Cure team, Team Tracy, is outside West 5 selling bracelets and T-shirts and accepting donations – the big walk is a little over a month away (9/24-9/26, Redmond to Seattle). West 5 also is donating a portion of today’s proceeds during the fundraiser, if you head in (air conditioning!) for food and/or drinks.
TWO WEEKS AWAY: Just 2 weeks left till Northwest Hope and Healing‘s Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run! 9 am Sunday, August 29th, leaving Alki Bathhouse for a 5K round-trip course along the water. This year for the first time they’re closing Alki Avenue for the event – the projected time frame is 8 am-11 am – with more than 1,000 people taking part, that’s just too many to funnel onto the sidewalks/bike path. Signed up yet? You can do it online here.
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Two events tailor-made for dogs and the people who love them – At West Seattle’s only off-leash area this morning, 9:30 am-noon at Westcrest OLA, the Westcresters PAWSWalk team is raising money with a treat sale … Then, starting at noon, CityDog Magazine‘s Cover Dog Search returns to West Seattle Thriftway – concurrent with a pet-food-donation drive for West Seattle Food Bank (whose clients’ dogs need food too!) – details here … This afternoon West Seattle Nursery has another Beer Fest, this time with Beveridge Place Pub pouring and Furry Faces Foundation benefiting, 1-4 pm (WSN also starts a big sale today) … The Highland Park Sunday Market is up and running 11 am-3 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club‘s parking lot, and West Seattle Farmers’ Market is open 10 am-2 pm as always, 44th/California (here’s today’s fresh sheet) … And 2 closure reminders: West Seattle Library (Admiral branch) closes for four weeks after today, for roof work plus the systemwide money-saving closure period, reopening 9/11 – and the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct will close 10 pm tonight till about 5 am Monday, for work to get ready for the opening of the new 4th Avenue S. offramp (after the Monday morning commute). … More on the calendar!
2nd weekend in September gets busier: In addition to the Alki Community Council Family Fun Day on September 12th (missed our preview with a call for talent show and dog parade participants, plus sponsors and vendors? see the story here), Holy Family School is having its annual Street Fair Sept. 11-12th. They want to get the word out about openings for both tablers and sponsors (maybe you want to do both!) – to see about tabling, e-mail Betty at betwell@comcast.net; for Spanish-speaking tablers, Victory at ramirez.victormanuel@hotmail.com. For sponsorship information, contact principal@hfseattle.org. The HF site says they’re having chili and salsa cookoffs, too.
Meet the group working on one of West Seattle’s biggest events in the works for summer’s end: The Alki Community Council “Family Fun Day” – from left, Laura Sue Hoover, Paul Carr, Libby Carr, and Antonio Fernandez. We met at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza – for which, you’ll recall, Libby and Paul led the charge three years ago – to talk about the big event they’re planning on Sunday, September 12th, for what you might call the second anniversary of the plaza’s dedication. And with only a month to go, they’re casting a net right NOW for sponsors as well as for entrants in the youth talent show as well as the dog parade – you do need to sign up in advance! – read on for the details:Read More
Quite the show of force from Seattle Police and King County Sheriff’s Office leaders inside Westwood Village Target a couple hours ago. Many in the lineup came all the way from downtown! No crime, though – instead, they were there for the annual “Shop with a Cop” school-supplies spree, in partnership with the Salvation Army, which donated tens of thousands of dollars of Target gift cards for the occasion. Outside, the young shoppers lined up:
Once inside the store, the law enforcers chaperoned the young shoppers, each of whom was given an $80 gift card, according to the news release on the SPD Blotter site.
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Since January, we’ve been following the story of Lisa Town, diagnosed with breast cancer at age 43, and her husband David Town, who committed to participating in this year’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Climb to Fight Breast Cancer on Mount Rainier.
Here’s our original story from January; then in March, they held a fundraiser at Talarico’s to help them get to their $5,000 goal, the amount required to participate in the climb. Tonight, we can report that not only did they reach their financial goal, but David summitted Mount Rainier on July 24th during Climb for the Cure.
“It was a great feeling … a big relief,” says David.
That video clip is tonight’s KING5 story about Jayme Miller, a White Center woman, and 1994 West Seattle High School graduate, whose friends are working to get the word out about a fundraiser coming up in a little over two weeks. As you’ll hear in the story (here’s the full online version with text), she is fighting her way back from a rare neurological problem, transverse myelitis, that struck out of the blue three months ago and left her suddenly, terrifyingly paralyzed. Jayme’s friend Sydni Smith also sent WSB word of the fundraiser (and a photo), explaining:
… While in therapy Jayme surprised the doctors again and again. She pushed her herself harder and added new challenges each day. Walking 10 feet down the hallway last month, using a walker and with an aide behind her in case she fell, was a monumental victory. Every time she was told she might not be able to regain a function, she willed herself right through that obstacle.
Jayme went home on Tuesday the 20th of July. She still has many mountains to climb, but hopefully she will keep progressing and regain full function. At this point she’s able to walk short distances with the aid of a walker and a “spotter” behind her in case her legs suddenly give out.
She has medical insurance, thankfully, but with three months of hospitalization and being away from work, her medical bills are another mountain she’ll need to climb. The ten-day stay in the hospital cost $200,000. The Doctor visits while in the hospital were between $80 – $140 each. The ambulance ride cost nearly $900 and each day in Mount St Vincent she was charged $575 a day for the room alone.
We’re holding a fundraiser/birthday bash we’re calling Walk On, Jayme! which will be held at RockSport Bar and Grill August 21st. There will be a silent auction from 7:30 to 9:30. Bring cash or your checkbook and bid on items from local artists and businesses and follow it up with Karaoke and dance hits hosted by DJ Tony B.
You can also donate to help her right now – via PayPal (which works if you have a credit card – you don’t have to be a PayPal accountholder), click “Send Money” and send it to WalkOnJayme@gmail.com. Or if you can give something for the silent auction at the August 21st event, e-mail Sydni at heysyd@gmail.com. There’s a sharable Facebook event page for this too – find it here.
Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhood District Coordinator for the city Department of Neighborhoods, just put out the call for volunteers for a big event coming here later this month: The 2010 Seattle Race Conference will be held at South Seattle Community College, 8 am-4:30 pm on August 28th. The theme: “Racism and Health Inequities: Eliminating Barriers and Healing Our Communities.” Registration is open at seattleraceconference.org, and since the event is “100 percent volunteer-powered,” they’re looking for help – if you can pitch in, contact Joyce at Tseng_joyce@hotmail.com or 206-579-5330. Read on for the list of volunteer opportunities:Read More
Hundreds of people spread out across the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center last Thursday night to enjoy the first of this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association (co-sponsored by local businesses including WSB) – and you’re invited to join the fun again tomorrow night for concert #2: 6:30 pm, with Back Burner onstage playing bluegrass. ANA president Katy Walum says kids can get free face-painting (2 painters will be there!) – the concert of course is free – but tomorrow night, please bring nonperishable food and/or money for the West Seattle Food Bank. Katy shares this note from WS Food Bank’s Anna Guitchounts:
The West Seattle Food Bank would like to thank the Admiral Neighborhood Association, Hiawatha Community Center, and all of the sponsors and community supporters of the Summer Concert Series at Hiawatha Community Center this year. We are very honored to be the recipient of the donations collected at the concert being held this Thursday August 5th. Last fiscal year this agency provided food and other supplies to families in need more than 36,000 times. The support of our community is essential in helping us fulfill this need. We thank you for your support of this event and the West Seattle Food Bank and we look forward to seeing you there!
Here’s our as-it-happened coverage from last Thursday’s concert – and the current forecast for Thursday night.
(Alki Beach 5K photo from September 2009)
Less than four weeks till the Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run (WSB sponsor) – coming up August 29th, benefiting Northwest Hope and Healing, a West Seattleite-run organization that helps newly diagnosed breast-cancer patients all over the region. If you’re not signed up yet, you can get a $5 discount on your registration fee during a special Alki Beach 5K Registration Party at Coastal (2532 Alki SW) this Friday, 4-7 pm. “Treats, drinks, giveaways” also are promised in the announcement on Coastal’s website – plus a 20 percent discount on one item, if you sign up while there. (If you just can’t make it to the party, you can register online by going here.)
The family friend who is helping organize efforts to assist the family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, the West Seattle sailor found dead in Afghanistan last week, has just set up a website: You can make donations to help PO3 Newlove’s family by going to jarodnewlovefamily.blogspot.com; the 25-year-old sailor leaves behind a wife and two very young children. Their friend, Hailey, also says they’re working on plans for a public event to remember and honor PO3 Newlove – no date/place set yet. 4 PM UPDATE: That event is now set for Tuesday – we’ve published a separate story here.
If you have a bicycle you can spare – somebody needs it on the other side of the globe. On Saturday, you can drop it off in The Triangle – and volunteers will take it from there. From Gatewood resident Tom Furtwangler:
A bicycle can truly have a transformative impact on the life of someone who lives several miles from their school, work, clinic, or water source: cycling reduces their time in transit, and increases the load they can transport.
There are many great organizations working to move used bikes to Africa, and build programs on the ground there to make sure bikes get in the right hands. And we have one right here in the Northwest – The Village Bicycle Project, which recently celebrated shipping its 100th container of bikes to Ghana!
Village Bicycle Project is having a bike drive this Saturday at the West Seattle YMCA from 9-5, which makes it incredibly easy to drop of an old bike, bike frame, bike wheel, pile of parts, whatever you have lying around, while you are out doing your weekend errands!
The Y is at 4515 36th SW (here’s a map).
Newly hung murals are gracing the walls of the closed-again Genesee Hill Elementary School … ironically, relocated from another closed Seattle Public Schools building, the former home of Van Asselt Elementary on Beacon Hill. That’s part of what’s happening as the new Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council continues working with the district to keep the vacated campus from becoming an eyesore (or worse) – and they’re inviting you to join in a cleanup this Saturday, 9 am-1 pm: it’ll involve gardening, too, starting with the front beds and moving to the north playground as time allows. The GSNC also promises, “There will be free popsicles at noon!”
(Earlier WSB as-it-happened coverage of today’s WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” in West Seattle can be seen here)
About half an hour after the last diaper donations arrived at the WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” donation-drive site at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, the diaper-filled bus pulled up in White Center – where WS Baby is headquartered – to unload, and the volunteers you see in our video got to work. Before the bus left West Seattle, WestSide Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland had given us the quick tally on what they’d counted up, as of just after 2:
That followed a sudden down-to-the-wire flurry of donations – including these three deliveries just minutes after 2:
We didn’t get everyone’s names but we know the last three – local architects Brandon Nicholson and Shanna Kovalchick (whose business is headquartered in The Junction, steps away from the Stuff the Bus site) and toddler son Benjamin. And even though the donating finally stopped there around 10 past 2, it moved on down the street, where we caught up with Full Tilt Ice Cream‘s Justin Cline for the second time today (without even going to his White Center HQ):
His famous ice cream was served at the West Seattle Nursery Ice Cream Fest till 4, to raise money and collect diapers (note the boxes that had already arrived). Add to that volunteers at three local Safeways – we’ll check with WestSide Baby tomorrow to see if there’s a final total yet. But the bus-stuffing isn’t done – while last year they collected at locations in West Seattle and Burien on the same day, this year they’ve broken Stuff the Bus (co-sponsored by WSB) into two events, and they’ll have the bus at Burien Town Square during “Hot August Nights” on August 7th – spread the word! (You can also donate to WestSide Baby online anytime – go here.)
Need your car washed? Head to the West Seattle Eagles‘ south side parking lot before 3 pm – Pencil Me In For Kids will benefit, raising money for school supplies for kids in need (September gets ever closer) … look for the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) VW Bug on California outside the entrance, balloons and all.
Also up and running till 3 pm – the Highland Park Sunday Market‘s third edition at 12th/Holden. More edibles this week, including the Full Tilt Ice Cream bike – we even spotted Full Tilt proprietor Justin Cline chatting with the Street Treats truck crew:
Among the other offerings – gorgeous cedar planters made by a Highland Park resident:
(He’s also stocking up the West Seattle Nursery Ice Cream Fest under way now till 4 pm, raising money for WestSide Baby and collecting diapers on Stuff the Bus day.) And Alki Cab Company‘s Kelly Merten is selling her jewelry as well as her books about raw food and raising vegetarian/vegan kids:
You can get raw food at a couple booths with fresh produce, by the way! The market’s in the Highland Park Improvement Club lot.
(Adding in-progress reports till the 2 pm final tally)
9:08 AM ORIGINAL REPORT: That’s the sizable WestSide Baby contingent in Saturday’s American Legion Post 160-presented West Seattle Grand Parade – promoting today’s big event, the annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive (co-sponsored by WSB), 10 am-2 pm at West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Go buy some diapers and drop them off at the school bus you’ll see parked on 44th SW by the market. If you can’t make it there, you’ve got options – during the same hours, 10 am-2 pm, volunteers are collecting diapers at all three local Safeways (Roxbury, Jefferson Square, Admiral). And at West Seattle Nursery from 1-4 pm, you can drop off diapers during the Ice Cream Fest (featuring Full Tilt Ice Cream, with proceeds also benefiting WestSide Baby). They help thousands of local families every year – here’s a simple chance to be part of helping them keep the littlest members of those families healthy and happy. We’ll see you there.
10:08 AM UPDATE: We got to the bus just in time to photograph the first donors – Ava and Helen, who brought more than 50 diapers! Note that WestSide Baby also is having a bake sale – with cupcakes, cookies and more. It’s under a tent immediately north of the bus. Check out the cute fish cookies:
We’ll be checking back!
12:11 PM UPDATE: As of noon, the bus hit 10,000 diapers. The photo above shows volunteers Yvonne and Jordan at Admiral Safeway – one of the three local Safeways where diapers also are being collected till 2 pm, just like the bus at the Farmers’ Market; when we stopped there around 12:30 pm, they’d already rounded up 800 diapers at Admiral Safeway (where you can say hi to Anne from Ventana Construction [WSB sponsor and “Stuff the Bus” co-sponsor] between now and 2). If you’ve got kids, bring ’em along to donate at the bus – they get to beep the horn!
2:18 PM UPDATE: 27,000 diapers’ worth of donations at the bus (and totals to come from satellite dropoffs)! You can bring diapers to West Seattle Nursery till 4 pm (and buy Full Tilt Ice Cream to raise $ for WS Baby). Separate update in the works for later. Nancy Woodland of WS Baby says this may be the best year yet!
(Photo from today’s West Seattle Grand Parade, by Christopher Boffoli)
You couldn’t miss the reminders all over the WestSide Baby entry in today’s West Seattle Grand Parade (other coverage here and more to come) – tomorrow is their biggest donation drive of the year, “Stuff the Bus,” with a school bus to be set up right at the 44th SW entrance to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, waiting for you to show up with armloads, bags, wagonloads, whatever, of diapers to donate. 10 am-2 pm. If you can’t get there in time, there are several other places you can drop off diapers as part of the event – like the Ice Cream Fest at West Seattle Nursery, 1-4 pm tomorrow (selling Full Tilt Ice Cream, and part of the proceeds going to WS Baby) – and also breakfast at the White Center Eagles, 9 am-noon (details here) – plus volunteers will be ready to accept your diaper donations 10 am-2 pm tomorrow at all three local Safeways.
Marra Farm in South Park – which grows tons of food for donations each year – recently got hit by tool thieves, and put out a call for donated replacements. We heard about it on the e-mail list that hundreds in South Park use to get and share news, and asked if it would help to share that call here. Robin DeCook from Lettuce Link said yes, they’re still looking for 2 donations: A gas-powered lawn mower and a gas-powered weedwhacker. If you can help, call Marra Farm coordinator Sue McGann at 206-694-6746, extension 1.
The banner at Admiral Way Viewpoint is one of several you’ve probably seen around the peninsula – this Sunday is WestSide Baby‘s biggest diaper-donation event of the year, “Stuff the Bus” – they bring a school bus to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska in The Junction), you bring the diapers, and by the time 2 pm hits, if all goes well, the bus is stuffed!
(WSB photo from July 2009 “Stuff the Bus”)
WSB is proud to be co-sponsoring the event again this year. There are usually a few satellite locations where you can drop off diapers if you can’t get to The Bus – we’re checking on that – but we just got word of one: West Seattle Nursery is having an Ice Cream Fest on Sunday afternoon, 1-4 pm, collecting diaper donations there too – and money from the ice cream (provided by Full Tilt Ice Cream) also benefits WestSide Baby. So it’s a Sunday doubleheader!
Another look ahead to the next big summer weekend – Saturday midday, Fauntleroy Park – another of West Seattle’s green treasures – needs some helping hands. Four of them are above, in the photo shared by Judy Pickens along with this preview:
Steve Hodson introduced his daughter, Georgia, to pulling English ivy when she was just a toddler. Now she’ll be joining her dad and park neighbors and users this coming Saturday in a major assault on the invasive vine in the southeast section of Fauntleroy Park. Steve, a long-time volunteer steward of the park, is coordinating with the Green Seattle Partnership and EarthCorps on the event. Meet at the 97th St. entrance to the park [map] at 9:45 AM and bring a lunch. Work until 2 PM or as long as you can. Contact Steve at noahsark10@msn.com.
(Thanks to all the volunteers who are out in greenspaces around West Seattle every weekend (and often between weekends!) – previews about/reports on/photos from your work parties are always welcome; here’s where to send ’em.) 3:40 PM: See the comments for an update on the new meeting site for this work party.
| 13 COMMENTS