How to help 4403 results

West Seattle scene: Click! & customers help Girls on the Run

August 27, 2009 11:46 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

We’ve reported before on Girls on the Run of Puget Sound, an after-school empowerment program that’s expanding in West Seattle this fall. Tonight, Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in the Admiral District welcomed a crowd of shoppers for a special evening event during which 10 percent of sales went to GOTR; a sparkling-wine tasting offered extra effervescence – a quality we’re sure you’ll find in its volunteer coaches (more info here on how to become one of them).

School starts soon: Help local youth by becoming a tutor!

August 27, 2009 9:40 am

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| High Point | How to help | West Seattle news

With the new school year less than 2 weeks away for most local students, it’s also time for a lot of volunteering to rev up again – and some organizations are looking for new help, like this tutoring program that asked us to help get the word out again this year – here’s the announcement:

Become a volunteer tutor with the Youth Tutoring Program! A great volunteer opportunity in West Seattle!

Catholic Community Services’ Youth Tutoring Program (YTP) is an after-school educational enrichment program for at-risk students in first through twelfth grade. These students live in low and mixed-income public housing communities in Seattle. Begun in 1991 as a partnership with the Seattle Housing Authority, YTP provides youth with a safe, positive, and stimulating environment to explore learning and experience academic and personal success.

Students attend the centers voluntarily and enjoy working with volunteer tutors-the heart of the program. Tutors work with an individual student for the one-hour tutoring session. In addition to offering academic support, volunteers serve as positive role models to the students and help strengthen their sense of self-esteem and self-respect.

During the tutoring session, tutors spend time helping the students with reading, homework (all subjects), and building math and language arts skills. No specific background is necessary, and there are a variety of resources at the tutoring center if you’ve forgotten the formula for the slope of a line or the difference between a gerund, participle, and infinitive! Volunteers must be currently enrolled in high school or have obtained a high school diploma (or equivalent).

Tutoring Centers are open 4:20-7:40 on Monday and Wednesday; 5:30-7:40 Tuesday and Thursday.

Volunteers tutor 1-3 hours per week on the same night every week.

Ideally, tutors work with the same student(s) every week.

There is a tutoring center close to you-in the High Point neighborhood of West Seattle!

Please visit our website to learn more about our program, how you can get involved and APPLY ONLINE TODAY! http://www.ccsww.org/ytp

Or call (206) 328-5659 or email volunteerytp@ccsww.org to request an application.

Community Harvest plum-picking update: Half a ton of fruit!

August 26, 2009 11:50 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

It’s been a big week for Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle since our last report on their fruit-picking season, in more ways than one. For one, they’ll be featured on TV later this week – KING5 shot CHoSS volunteers harvesting plums at Margaret‘s house earlier this week. The story is tentatively scheduled to air tomorrow morning and noontime, according to Aviva from CHoSS, who adds:

Community Harvest would like to thank all the tree owners who have been donating their trees for picking. Since the posting last week, we have harvested over 1,000 pounds of fruit from 12 trees. We appreciate all the new harvest volunteers who have responded as well, and especially those folks who have picked their own trees for donation.

Tree owners do help – like Margaret’s daughter Hazel, walking here with a CHoSS volunteer:

Donated fruit goes to keep local folks from going hungry. If you can volunteer to help pick, and/or have a tree to “donate,” contact info for Community Harvest is on its website, gleanit.org. (Thanks to Margaret for sharing the pix!)

Also today/tonight: Farmers and Mobile Markets, nurses’ benefit

August 23, 2009 7:06 am

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| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle news

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Not only will fruit and vegetables abound at today’s market (10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska, map) — here’s the Ripe ‘n’ Ready lineup — but fresh fish is in the spotlight too — Loki says via Twitter that it’s selling its last fresh Alaskan salmon of the season.

DELRIDGE PRODUCE CO-OP MOBILE MARKET: Third day of its second 4-day week, which means you’ll find them today next to Cottage Grove Park (map/address), 11 am-3 pm. The photo at left is from Saturday’s session, with rainbow carrots among the offerings again. If you’ve missed our earlier reports, this is a four-week experiment to see if Delridge can support an enterprise that would offer fresh, healthy food, explained here, and while it’s in the experimental stage, the produce is free (just fill out a quick survey!).

BENEFIT FOR NURSES’ TRIP TO SENEGAL: Tonight’s your chance to support nurses Syd and Susie‘s trip to provide health care in Africa (previewed here) by donating supplies and/or money – and the place to do it is The Bohemian, starting at 5:30 pm.

More in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

Update: West Seattle Helpline/Clothesline back-to-school help

August 22, 2009 1:30 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news

We’ve got an update on the West Seattle Helpline back-to-school backpack drive (sponsoring WSB right now to help get the word out) from Helpline director Anna Fern – including information on how you can help, not just with backpacks, but also with clothing donations:

We have collected about 130 backpacks towards our goal of 200. Along with the backpacks, people are donating lots of school supplies. The community response has been overwhelming. The West Seattle Rotary made a large contribution towards the program and the Helpline. A local attorney donated money for over 20 backpacks. Members of the First Lutheran Church of West Seattle donated over 60 backpacks. And individual donations from West Seattle residents are still coming in!

We have over 150 requests for backpacks with appointments for picking them up (including) next Tuesday and Thursday. (But we are receiving over 10 requests a day…so we will end up having more than 200 requests by the middle of next week. We have limited it to just families in the West Seattle area–98106, 98126, 98136 and 98146 zip codes.) …

We still need more backpacks, but even more than that we really need “gently used or new clothing” for school age children. Most families will be picking up the backpacks and then shopping at the Clothesline at the same time.

You can donate backpacks by dropping them off at Capers in The Junction (map/address), Coffee at the Heights (WSB sponsor) in Sunrise Heights (map/address), or Helpline HQ (map/address). To donate money so Helpline can buy more backpacks, use the button atop its website. And to find out how to donate clothes for Clothesline (we’ve reported on this “clothing bank,” here and here), here’s how to contact them.

Once-in-a-decade chance: Last call for the neighborhood survey

August 20, 2009 8:10 pm

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| How to help | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Tomorrow’s the final day – after an extension – to fill out a relatively quick survey (explained here) regarding your thoughts on the state of your neighborhood (or, if yours isn’t in the survey, one that you visit frequently) and how you’d like to see its future shape up. The Seattle Planning Commission has been updating that bar chart lately, and while on one hand it looks like Ballard/Crown Hill is insurmountably ahead, if you add up the five West Seattle neighborhoods that are included (Delridge, Junction, Admiral, Morgan Junction, Westwood Village/Highland Park) the peninsula is number one – but we still haven’t even totaled 1,000 responses – need fewer than 200 to hit that mark – so can you spare a few minutes to have a say on how you think it’s going and where you think it should go? Start here – deadline’s tomorrow.

Golf in West Seattle tomorrow with Ken Griffey Jr.’s mom!

August 20, 2009 12:28 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Just got word there are still a few spots left to golf tomorrow in the Seniors for Juniors benefit tournament at West Seattle Golf Course. In addition to the info you see above, there are also tickets available for dinner/auction afterward, also at WSGC (banquet room) – those tickets (no golf) are $25, same contact info. Here’s our original preview; here’s a list of the items being auctioned; even more info here.

Fundraisers planned to help Morgan Junction salon owner recover

August 20, 2009 9:31 am

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| How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Here’s the news release we received from West Seattle Dawg, a WSB sponsor and one of the businesses in the Morgan Junction block that’s home to Christopher’s Salon, whose owner is recovering from surgery:

A few weeks ago, the owner of Christopher’s Hair Salon fell ill and was hospitalized and had surgery. He spent significant time in the hospital. When he was released from the hospital he had missed weeks of work, and had a mountain of hospital bills.

The neighboring businesses wanted to help Christopher out so we are beginning to do a fundraiser to help him. West Seattle is a great business community, and many business know and support one another. West Seattle Dawg, a few doors down, began contacting people to help Christopher.

“Christopher has been kind to us since day one when we opened our doors, said Rex Post, owner of West Seattle Dawg. “We wanted to do something to help our neighbor who is a kind and wonderful person. So we are asking businesses to do different things to help our neighboring business owner.”

This Friday West Seattle Dawg will begin giving half of their baked-goods sales to Christopher. We will donate 1/2 of Friday, Saturday, and next Friday and Saturdays sales to help him. We are also coordinating a raffle that will have various items from businesses and do a raffle on August 30, 2009 at Christopher’s Salon. The tickets will be $5 each and available for purchase at Christopher’s Salon beginning this Friday August 21st.

We will also have a list in participating business that will donate items, services, and have donation jars available.

If you own a business, and would like to have something in the raffle, please contact: info@westseattledawg.com. Tickets will be for sale [starting] this Friday [tomorrow] at Christopher’s Salon at: 7009 California Ave SW.

On Sunday, August 30th, from 9 am – until ?, Caryn and Nick will be doing haircuts all day, with 100% of all sales going to Christopher.

If you have any questions please contact Rex at info@westseattledawg.com or call Caryn at 206-932-1760. West Seattle is not just a city, it’s a wonderful community that wants to help one another.

The block with Christopher’s and West Seattle Dawg is between Myrtle and Frontenac on the west side of California SW (map).

Don’t let the fruit rot – help pick it with Community Harvest!

August 19, 2009 8:57 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

This morning, Steve wrote to share this story:

> So, we have this gigantic plum tree in our yard. Way more than we could ever eat on our own. Way more.

Typically we spend the end of the summer wiping smashed plum off our shoes and depositing plums into the yard waste bin. This year, we got in contact with a cool organization called Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle (in West Seattle). You call them or fill out an online form about your fruit trees. They show up with a bunch of volunteers, pick the ripe fruit, deliver it to local food banks that night. You can help pick or not. Really nice people, super easy to work with. They came and harvested the plums last night, they left us as many as we wanted for ourselves and took the rest. Might be cool to let people know about this — I was vaguely aware of the idea, but finally remembered to track them down this year.

Shortly after Steve’s note, we coincidentally heard from Aviva at Community Harvest, who says they’ve got more trees waiting to be picked – 10 new tree donors this week alone! – but they need a hand – more than one hand, actually:

This year has been an amazing year for plums, and it is hard to keep up with the calls and e-mails. We are looking for more volunteers to help pick plums, figs, apples, and pears, and supply our food banks with fresh local fruit. Volunteers can pick standing or from a ladder and are welcome to take home a small bag of fruit. If you are interested, you can contact Aviva at 206-762-0604 or info@gleanit.org. You can sign up directly from the website: www.gleanit.org . Help your community with a fun evening picking fruit.

And if you have friends in other neighborhoods – a citywide tree-mapping effort has just begun at cityfruit.org (recently featured by our fellow independent neighborhood-based news-service providers at Rainier Valley Post).

Pencil Me In For Kids adds another dropoff spot for donations

August 19, 2009 3:58 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news

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Three weeks from today, it’s the first day of school for most area kids. Local businesses and nonprofits are working to help make sure they all go back to school with the supplies they need – among them, the volunteers at Pencil Me In For Kids. Gipsie Gitane at Washington Federal Savings in Morgan Junction just sent an announcement to get the word out that they’re now a dropoff spot – and they have another program they’d like to tell you about, too:

The local branch of Washington Federal Savings is now a drop off point for “Pencil Me in For Kids” donations to benefit West Seattle-area schools. This school supply drive helps students of all ages with donations from local residents. Please take a moment of your time to donate new school supplies to West Seattle students in need. Washington Federal is located at the corner of California and Faunterloy at 6428 California Ave SW.

In addition to participating in “Pencil Me in for Kids,” Washington Federal Savings is also launching a new “Save at School” program designed to teach elementary-aged kids good financial habits with regular deposits to a savings account. PTAs or school administrators interested in having their school participate should contact Washington Federal. The bank will match the first $5 each student deposits.

Find out more about Pencil Me In For Kids at pencilmeinforkids.org – other dropoff spots are Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) at 5619 California SW (map) and Edward Jones at 7354 35th SW (map).

Time to spare Thursday night? WestSide Baby needs you!

August 18, 2009 4:53 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news | White Center

This Thursday, 7-9 pm, it’s another After Hours event at WestSide Baby, which helps families in need in the West Seattle and White Center areas – and they’d love to have you pitch in:

Kids are heading back to school and need clothes! WestSide Baby partners with our community to provide essential items to local children in need by collecting and distributing diapers, clothing, toys and equipment. All those donations need to be prepared for distribution. WestSide Baby invites volunteers to join us this Thursday, August 20 from 7 pm to 9 pm to help us sort clothing and other donations. We promise to provide lots of projects and fun for those who can join us and lend a hand. Volunteers must be at least 14 years old to attend alone or 8 years old to attend with an adult. Please RSVP to sarah@westsidebaby.org if you are able to join us and, if volunteers are under 18, we appreciate knowing so we can prepare appropriate projects.

WestSide Baby HQ is at 10032 15th SW (map).

Benefit 1 week from tonight: 2 nurses, 3 bands, belly dancers!

August 16, 2009 7:51 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

At left, that’s Susie Drake, a local nurse, with people she has helped in the African nation of Senegal. She and fellow nurse Sydnie Phelps are going to Senegal (map) this fall, and friends are helping them raise money and collect donations to take along to an orphanage and mission – you can help too, at a fundraiser in West Seattle one week from tonight. Their friend/co-worker Shanna Mosher shares the news (and the photo above, from Syd and Susie‘s website):

*Two remarkable nurses, three rocking bands and a troupe of belly dancers will be at the Bohemian in West Seattle on Sunday August 23 for a fundraiser benefiting the less fortunate in West Africa. *

*This is a unique opportunity to have a direct impact improving the quality of life for those in need in Senegal. Your much-needed donations of medical supplies, funds and other necessities will be personally delivered directly to the LaPouponniere Orphanage and the Kahone Mission in Senegal, assuring that your donations will be utilized by the people who need them most. In addition to delivering your donations, they will be providing unconditional love and care for orphaned infants, and assisting the nuns at the Mission with their medical expertise. *

*Senegal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of $500 per year. Nearly 1 in 160 women in the rural areas die from child birth. Nearly 1 child in 7 dies before the age of five, and 1 in 4 suffers from chronic malnutrition, malaria and upper respiratory infections. Still, the government of Senegal is committed to keeping health a priority and is striving to create a forward thinking medical community. *

*Thanks to generous nurses like Syd and Susie, and to supporters like YOU, we hope to help bring supplies and equipment so local trained health care practitioners can implement their skills.*

*The show starts at 5:30 pm and is free, but donations will be greatly appreciated. There will also be a raffle for tickets to see the Sounders FC in** action.***

The Bohemian is at 3405 California SW (map). More on the trip, here.

Happening now: Cover Dog Search; Team Tracy fundraiser

August 16, 2009 2:10 pm

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| Fun stuff to do | How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

That’s Richard with Lulah, who he’s entered in West Seattle-headquartered CityDog Magazine‘s Cover Dog Search, continuing at West Seattle Thriftway till 3 pm. (On the other side of the camera is J. Nicole Smith of Dane + Dane Studios.) CityDog’s Brandi Ahlgren tells WSB they’ve had a big turnout – last year they got 50 dogs total; this year as of 1 pm they already had 70 signed up. And as noted here earlier, they are collecting pet-food donations for West Seattle Food Bank, too:

Also at Thriftway till 3, the Seattle Humane Society MaxMobile with adoptable pets. Meantime, in The Junction, we stopped by to say hi to Team Tracy – that’s namesake and breast-cancer survivor Tracy Dart at right:

Their booth accepting donations for Team Tracy’s Breast Cancer 3Day fundraising is set up outside West 5 till 5 (inside, at least two servers are donating tips to the cause – 12 women doing the walk next month). Then tonight at 8 down the block at Easy Street Records, local bands Bend and Stevedore perform, with the $7 cover charge (21+ only) plus beer sales (donated by West 5 and Georgetown Brewery) going to Team Tracy. (If you can’t make it to the tent or the concert, you can donate to Team Tracy online – go here. We’ve got a video clip to add here later too.)

Delridge Produce Co-op “Mobile Market”: Lots to give away today!

August 16, 2009 12:53 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Delridge | Health | How to help | West Seattle news

On Friday, we reported on the debut of the “Mobile Market” pilot project that the Delridge Produce Cooperative is trying out over the next four weeks — setting up a mobile produce stand at one of four Delridge locations each Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday in that time frame, to give out free fruit and vegetables and get answers to a survey about the potential market for selling fresh produce in the area. Today, DPC is at the Delridge P-Patch, next to Cottage Grove Park (5206 26th SW; map) till 3 pm, and asked us to:

… let people know that we’ll have peaches, plums, tomatoes, squash, cherries and apples today – lots of them, that we need to get rid of before the end of Monday’s stall. We also have fresh organic carrots from Full Circle Farms today. It’s a smorgasbord!

Today: Team Tracy, Farmers’ Market, “Dog Days,” “Music Man”

August 16, 2009 8:26 am

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| How to help | Pets | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle news | West Seattle video | WS culture/arts

TEAM TRACY: West Seattleite Tracy Dart and the legion of friends known as Team Tracy are fundraising again today to fight breast cancer, which she’s been dealing with for more than a year (and reports she’s now been cancer-free for two months!): They’re walking in the local Breast Cancer 3Day again next month — Tracy is being joined by 11 women, and with a fundraising minimum of $2300 each, they need to raise $27,000, which goes to the kind of research and care that Tracy says saved her life. Today they’ll be raising $ in a tent outside West 5, 11 am-5 pm, as a prelude to a fundraising concert at Easy Street tonight at 8, with local bands Stevedore and Bend (21+, cash only, $7 cover, proceeds from sales of beer donated by Georgetown Brewery and West 5 also benefit Team Tracy).

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Also in The Junction, it’s market day – 10 am-2 pm; here’s the link to the latest list of what’s fresh.

“DOG DAYS OF SUMMER”: In Morgan Junction, West Seattle Thriftway is the place to go today for three things: 1st, think your dog should/could be a star? West Seattle-headquartered CityDog Magazine is back at WST for its Cover Dog Search, noon-3 pm. (Full details here; last year’s WST winner, Cohen, went on to become the Cover Dog!) Bring — or buy at the store — pet food to donate to West Seattle Food Bank, whose clients have hungry pets, too. And from 11 am-3 pm, the Humane Society’s big bright-yellow Maxmobile will be on site with adoptable pets.

“THE MUSIC MAN”: It’s not really blowing the plot of this classic musical if we show you how the Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) version ended last night at West Seattle High School:

Even in a darkened theater, there’s no mistaking the Seattle Schools All-City Band, directed by Marcus Pimpleton, who’s led the music program at Denny Middle School and is adding Chief Sealth High School duties this fall. They, and the “Music Man” cast of 50-plus (with a live orchestra), brought the sold-out house to its feet (as the video shows), and you have four more chances to see the show: 3 pm today and next Sunday, 7:30 pm next Friday and Saturday. Advance tickets are available online.

Garage-saling? Duwamish sale today, plus WSB Forum listings

August 15, 2009 6:03 am

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| How to help | West Seattle news

Two reminders: The Duwamish Longhouse is scheduled to be the site of the Duwamish Community Garage Sale today, and you’re welcome to be a seller as well as a buyer – first-come first-served for table space, 10 percent of proceeds go to the legal fund for the tribe’s federal-recognition fight. Tribe chair Cecile Hansen‘s famous fry bread is promised, as is the tribe’s famous salmon lunch. 9 am-6 pm, Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle (4705 West Marginal Way SW; map). And if you’re looking for random garage/yard sales to shop, be sure to check the WSB Forums‘ Freebies/Deals/Sales section, which is where anyone can post sales for free – at least three so far for today, see ’em here. (P.S. Shoppers may also want to check out C & P Coffee‘s arts/crafts fair, 9 am-3 pm, 5612 California SW.)

Pet-food donation drive added to “Cover Dog Search” Sunday

August 14, 2009 10:00 am

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| How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

The West Seattle Food Bank needs pet food, and CityDog Magazine is going to collect donations — unopened dog or cat food — during its “Cover Dog Search” event at West Seattle Thriftway, noon-3 pm this Sunday. As for the “Cover Dog Search” itself – last time CityDog photographed prospects at Thriftway, one of them turned out to be the winner — Cohen! (That’s his CDM cover at left.) Find out more about how to participate by going here; another reminder, Thriftway is raising money for the Seattle Humane Society with its 11 am-4 pm barbecue tomorrow, and Sunday also will feature the Humane Society’s MaxMobile bringing adoptable pets there, 11 am-3 pm (the MaxMobile calendar shows it’s in West Seattle on Saturday, too, in The Junction at Next to Nature, 2-5 pm).

Delridge Produce Cooperative’s “Mobile Market” debuts today

August 14, 2009 6:18 am

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| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

After more than six months of planning, preparation and awareness-raising, this afternoon the Delridge Produce Cooperative launches its biggest project yet: The “Mobile Market.” DPC’s leader, Galena White, explains both the co-op and the Mobile Market, as well as how you can get involved:

Delridge Produce Cooperative is a group of residents in the Delridge Neighborhood who wish to establish a cooperatively-run, non-profit produce stand on Delridge Way SW to furnish the residents with healthy food in what is now a healthy-food desert. To make the community more aware of the issues, we have engaged the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association as our fiscal agents and obtained a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods to host a demonstration project this summer.

At our ‘Mobile Market’ stalls, we’ll be handing out fruits and vegetables to Delridge residents for FREE this weekend, and next weekend we’ll also have free tote bags and tons of information (in 13 different locally-spoken languages) about other free and low-cost local programs to promote health and community:

August 14th, 2009 – September 7th, 2009
All events are on Delridge Way SW
Fridays: 9050 (map), Watts Electric, 3:30 pm-7:30 pm
Saturdays: 6535 (map), Care-A-Lot Learning Center, 11:00 am-3:00 pm
Sundays: Delridge P-Patch (next to Cottage Grove Park on Brandon; map), 11:00 am-3:00 pm
Mondays: 4408 (map), Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 3:30 pm-7:30 pm

We hope that this project will increase community awareness of food sustainability and security, and that there will be a resulting growth of support for organizations like Delridge Produce Cooperative. Neighbors will be able to take part in a survey about what they want in a neighborhood produce stand, and will be able to sign up to be among the first members of the co-op. Once the ‘Mobile Market’ project is finished, we at DPC will begin the work of designing a business model, deciding whether we will be a non-profit, and finding ways to actually fund our startup. EVERYONE is a part of Delridge Produce Cooperative, and we hope that many will join us in creating a new place for healthy food on Delridge.

We still have plenty of need for donations or volunteers for the ‘Mobile Market’, so (here’s) our email address (delridgeproducecoop@gmail.com) or phone number [(206) 271-1880] for those who want to get involved! Volunteer slots are available in three- or six-hour shifts starting and finishing one hour before and after the regularly scheduled hours of operation. If anyone has got any extra garden produce, they can drop it off at the ‘Mobile Market’, and we’ll give it away for free!

Back to school: Who’s helping, and how you can help too

August 12, 2009 10:58 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news

First: Pencil Me In For Kids needs HUNDREDS OF GLUE STICKS before its volunteers finish putting together school supplies for kids in need – Sue Lindblom from Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) tells us tonight, “We are still taking donations and are SHORT 500 glue sticks!! Drop off at Illusions, 5619 California SW or Edward Jones, at 7354 35th SW before Aug. 31 … Staples at Westwood gives a great discount so cash or checks made out to Rotary of West Seattle really works well …Thanks for everyone’s support!!” Speaking of Westwood:

(Photos courtesy SPD media unit Sgt. Sean Whitcomb)
Above left, it’s Seattle Interim Police Chief John Diaz, and above right, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, as they chaperoned two of 25 “Shop with a Cop” participants at Westwood Village Target on Tuesday. The Salvation Army was provided with thousands of dollars in gift cards to help kids from around the region have $100 shopping sprees at seven Target stores. Public-safety personnel chaperoned the kids – kindergarten through 6th grade – at each location. The Salvation Army has another event coming up, “Stuff the Bus” with school supplies this weekend (10 am-6 pm Saturday and Sunday) at Fred Meyer in Burien – they’ll take donated items (from backpacks to clothes) or cash. And if you’re picking up backpacks, there’s still room for LOTS more to be donated to West Seattle Helpline‘s backpack drive, with three dropoff locations: Capers in The Junction is working to “fill its window” with donated backpacks; Coffee at the Heights (WSB sponsor) in Sunrise Heights is taking dropoffs too; and you can also go to Helpline HQ at 35th/Morgan. Too busy to buy a backpack? Donate $25 to Helpline (you can do it online) and they’ll buy one on your behalf.

Neighborhood-plan survey deadline near: Rally to beat Ballard!

August 9, 2009 11:05 am

| 13 COMMENTS

| How to help | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

A week and a half ago, West Seattle neighborhoods had a heartening turnout at a once-in-a-decade meeting to talk about the “neighborhood plans” for the five WS areas that created them in the late ’90s: Admiral, Delridge, Highland Park/Westwood Village, Morgan Junction and The Junction. However, just getting people to the meeting was only part of the process. A followup meeting will happen this fall – but the city needs to hear from hundreds (even better, thousands!) more residents regarding growth and planning in their neighborhoods and what they hope to see over the NEXT decade or so. You can do that by taking an online survey. The graph above shows how response is going from the neighborhoods around the city that have had these update meetings. As you can see, Ballard has had the most responses … but they didn’t even have to turn in 200 to get way out in front, so with more than 35,000 households on our peninsula, we should be able to muster a larger response. Not that there’s a prize – although there’s certainly value in having a say in your neighborhood’s future. And the city Planning Commission makes it clear: Even if the neighborhood where you live doesn’t have a plan, fill one out for the one you regularly visit (that means in West Seattle almost all of us qualify for The Junction). Example – we live in Fauntleroy, but it doesn’t have a plan, so we’re doing the one for Morgan Junction, the nearest business district, where we spend a lot of time. The deadline is DAYS AWAY (the actual site says “Tues 8/12” but Tuesday is the 11th so we’re checking on the real deadline) – so please take a few minutes now – it really will make a difference.

Pencil Me In For Kids: Can they pencil YOU in for support?

August 5, 2009 11:35 am

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| How to help | West Seattle news

Though school doesn’t start for a month, it’s time to make sure that every student has the supplies needed for educational success. One of the local efforts working hard to make sure that happens is Pencil Me In For Kids — you may even have seen promotion in last month’s West Seattle Grand Parade (banner at left). One of the local businesses leading the charge to help local kids by supporting PMIFK is Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor), whose proprietor Sue Lindblom sends this update:

Pencil Me In For Kids is winding up their yearly drive. The bulk of the supplies they will donate to local public grade schools will be purchased from Westwood Staples this week. If anyone has any school supplies (pens, paper, glue sticks, washable markers) they would like to donate drop them off at 5619 California Ave. SW [map]. Also, if anyone would like to make a cash donation, make checks payable to Rotary Club of West Seattle and in the memo line write ‘Pencil Me In For Kids’. Staples gives a great discount for this yearly drive. This is the 15th year PMIFK has been supplying basics to kids in our area. All the volunteers want to say ‘thanks’ for past, present, and future help! And the kids thank you too!!

We’ve also received word that you can drop off supplies at the office of local Edward Jones financial adviser Jon Gerhardt, who’s at 7354 35th SW (just north of the northeastern corner of 35th and Webster; map).

Fire followup: Local band Bend affected; benefit events planned

August 5, 2009 8:32 am

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| How to help | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

That Night Out party southwest of The Junction last night included a show of support for neighbors who have just been through a tough time: The victims of the house fire one week ago today near 45th/Erskine (map).

(July 29 photo by Tony Bradley)
The day the fire happened, the main headlines included firefighters following special procedures because of the historic 103-degree heat, one resident going to the hospital with burns, and investigators saying the fire was started by embers from a barbecue igniting a deck and spreading to the house. We’ve since learned there’s another story: A well-known local band, Bend, recorded at the house, and members’ friends and co-workers are organizing benefits to help. One of the fire survivors told us at last night’s block party that the items lost in the fire included some of the studio equipment and computers; his housemate who suffered burns is out of the hospital and staying with relatives on the Eastside. Meantime, benefit organizers haven’t locked down the details yet, but several tell us they’re talking about an event in the next few weeks at Feedback Lounge and possibly one at Skylark (both WSB sponsors), so organizers asked us to share the word that they’ll announce it as soon as details are settled. They’re reaching out to help in other ways too, such as a collection at Shadow Land, workplace for one band member, and donations were being collected at last night’s Night Out party — the only one to our knowledge with this distinctive type of “street closed” alert signal!

2 “garden parties” ahead: Benefits for Senior Center, 34th DDs

August 4, 2009 10:15 am

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| Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

After most (but not all! Arts in Nature, for one, is still to come) of the festivals are over, August is a time for subtler summer fun. Two “garden parties” are coming up to raise money for major local organizations:

SENIOR CENTER OF WEST SEATTLE: Carol Johnston from the Senior Center shares word of “A Sunset Patio Party” that lifelong West Seattleite Florabelle Key is hosting at her Morgan Junction apartment at 7 pm next Monday (August 10th). Carol says, “The beautiful gardens with its flower garden and candles and many patio tables and chairs will be filled while guests enjoy appetizers and assorted desserts while being serenaded by The Ukes, a ukulele group. Donation is $8 and guests may bring their own spirits. Paid reservations can be made at the Senior Center and info (is available) by calling 206-932-4044, ext. 3.”

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Days before the primary-election votes are counted, West Seattle’s biggest political group will gather for its biggest fundraiser of the year, the Garden Party, 6 pm August 14 at West Seattle Nursery. Emcee this year is Gatewood’s own New York Vinnie. Lots more info here.