How to help 4403 results

A week ago, we told you about the new campaign to enlist community support in pledging volunteer time to help Junction Plaza Park qualify for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. An update now from West Seattle Junction Association‘s Susan Melrose:

As you may know, the effort to build Junction Plaza Park have been underway for several years. But this is the year we make it happen! We are in a good position to complete fundraising for the park this year. A brief update – we ‘value engineered’ the cost down to $350k, have already raised $55k mostly thanks to the Seattle Parks Foundation, and have a solid plan for securing large donors and grants. We are currently asking for $100k from the Neighborhood Matching Funds Grant.

Now community volunteer hours are needed to build support for the park and help win our grant from the Neighborhood Matching Funds. Friends of Junction Plaza Park is hosting its first meeting on Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Nelson Room at the Senior Center.

If you’d like to help build community support, please see the attached information and volunteer opportunities. And most importantly… Take the pledge by April 6th! It’s easy for individuals to pledge a handful of hours and the results are satisfying. Businesses and organizations can take the pledge too.

The pledge form is on the second page of this JP Park fact sheet. You can e-mail it to junctionplazapark@yahoo.com.

West Seattle Fashion Show (and fundraiser) in the works!

February 25, 2009 10:50 am

| 6 COMMENTS

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

Thanks to everyone who sends in event announcements – their main home on WSB is the West Seattle-wide Events calendar (with listings now stretching on into fall), but as often and possible, when something unusual comes in, we do our best to mention it here too, like this: Here’s an announcement just received for the West Seattle Fashion Show, less than two weeks away:

The historic Sanctuary at Admiral (2656 42nd Avenue SW) will be the
venue for the upcoming West Seattle Fashion Show on Sunday, March 8,
2009 from 2 pm to 5 pm. Light refreshments will be provided.

Admission for this teens-and-older event is $10 plus a donation of
canned or packaged food. Portions of the proceeds and the donated
food will be given to the West Seattle Food Bank. Helping neighbors
during the local economic downturn is the impetus for the fundraising
and the fashion show focus adds a fun element for the attendees.

The event sponsors are West Seattle businesses – Designer Labels
Consignment Boutique, the Sanctuary at Admiral, Clementine (shoe
shop), Elliot Hair Salon, Small Clothes (kids re-sale, Coffee to a Tea
w/ Sugar and Herban Feast Catering.

Clothing for the fashion show will be provided by Designer Labels and
available for purchase. Other shop sponsors will have merchandise for
sale as well.

Followup: Last chance for autism-insurance bill to advance

February 25, 2009 6:07 am

| 9 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle people

Sunday night, we brought you the story of Allison Dennis, a West Seattle mom whose son Jack (photo left) is autistic, campaigning to get a bill mandating insurance coverage of autism treatment — “Shayan’s Law“ — through the Legislature. Allison says the bill is on the brink of death unless action is taken today:

Senator Karen Keiser, chair of the Senate Health Care Committee, has today to call SB5203 up for a vote in an executive session or it dies.

Shayan’s Law (SB5203) offers protection against the prevalent insurance coverage denials of medically necessary treatments for children on the autism spectrum at an identical cost to Washington State as the Neuro-Developmental Therapies (NDT) bill [HB1412] that proposes to do the same, but falls short due to insurance coverage loopholes within the bill. The insurance industry has carefully crafted provisions that render the NDT bill utterly meaningless for all developmentally disabled individuals who need services, not just the ones on the Autism Spectrum. The influence of the insurance industry is allowing the NDT bill to gain traction on the House side.

Ultimately, states pay in cases of untreated or undertreated populations and SB5203 puts the cost of health care back where it belongs. Shayan’s Law will hold insurance companies accountable for covering diagnosis and medically necessary, evidence based treatment of autism. Under Shayan’s Law, insurers will not be able to get out of accepting their share of this devastating medical condition, as they have been for years here in Washington and around the nation.

It is unthinkable that our lawmakers would choose less protection for the same cost to the state (NDT bill), especially in the current economic crisis. Eight states have passed Autism Insurance Reform similar to Shayan’s Law and 32 more have taken it up this year. We want the same protection for our children. Now more than ever, our state needs relief from the societal costs when children don’t get the intervention they need. Now more than ever, our children need these benefits.

As a Washington voter, I expect fiscally responsible decision making that will yield significantly lower societal costs of autism. SB5203 is an opportunity that Washington State lawmakers cannot afford to pass up. I urge anyone similarly concerned to call Karen Keiser and ask that SB5203 be put to an executive session vote. The deadline for a vote is the 25th – today. Please take part in the legislative process. Grassroots efforts do work and voter participation does make a difference! Her number is 360-786-7664.

West Seattle’s 34th District State Senator Joe McDermott is a co-sponsor of SB5203, but this district’s two State Representatives, Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson, are supporting the “NDT bill” (HB1412) that Dennis and other autism advocates say has too many loopholes.

One more good deed by local Girl Scouts: Disease-fighting “kits”

February 25, 2009 1:12 am

| 2 COMMENTS

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

Following our visit to West Seattle Girl Scouts’ cookie-case-sorting operation on Saturday, we found out a lot more about what the local Scouts are up to (including this). Now there’s one more event we wanted to share with you, because this one could use your help too: Tuesday night at Holy Rosary, more than two dozen Girl Scouts got together to put together AIDS- and malaria-fighting kits to send overseas, as part of the GS “World Thinking Day,” which had as its 2009 goal for “girls worldwide to say ‘we can stop the spread of AIDS, malaria, and other diseases’.” Fifth-grader Caroline Rouse worked to organize the project, as we learned when we met Caroline and her mom at the cookie loading dock; last night, she led her fellow Scouts in a game as part of the event:

The kits (which include items such as malaria-fighting mosquito netting) cost about $30 each to put together. Girl Scouts from all over West Seattle have been chipping in to buy them, but you can help too – some local businesses and other organizations already have — just e-mail kriskrop@msn.com to say you’d like to donate. Meantime, we’re glad to share what YOUR organization – kids OR adults – is up to, whether it’s an event listing or a heads-up about something like this; e-mail WSB at editor@westseattleblog.com any time (or if you’d prefer a different contact method, all of ours are listed here).

Happening tonight: Viaduct/tunnel, Healthy Youth, Little League

February 24, 2009 10:42 am

| Comments Off on Happening tonight: Viaduct/tunnel, Healthy Youth, Little League

| Alaskan Way Viaduct | How to help | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

VIADUCT/TUNNEL: Tonight’s the open house at Madison Middle School – drop by any time between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, express your opinion, ask questions, and get a closer look at exactly how it’s envisioned that traffic flow between West Seattle and downtown (and points beyond) will work under the current proposal. (A similar open house happened in Ballard last night; here’s coverage from our fellow neighborhood-news site MyBallard.com; disclosure, WSDOT has an ad running here through tonight to promote the open house.)

HEALTHY YOUTH PARTNERSHIP: At left, coordinator Renae Gaines and chair Phil Tavel, in a photo we took at the last meeting of the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership, which works to make sure West Seattle-area kids and families have the information they need to grow up safely — in particular, to stay away from alcohol use and abuse. As we reported before the last meeting, the group conducted a West Seattle-wide survey (results here) that turned up some interesting discoveries, including the fact that anti-drinking messages also need to be targeted at families with elementary-age children — before they get into middle school, where peer pressure and alcohol availability can intensify. Tonight’s meeting is at 7 pm at Madison Middle School, and the more people-power they can get to help spread their message throughout the community, the better.

WEST SEATTLE LITTLE LEAGUE: There’s another opportunity for in-person registration tonight – thanks to Cami MacNamara for sharing the news:

West Seattle Little League will be holding the LAST in person registration this evening from 7–9 PM at West Seattle High School , Room 212 ( 3000 California Ave SW ). Please visit http://westseattlelittleleague.com/registration.html for registration forms and payment information. If you are mailing in your registration, all registrations MUST be postmarked by today, February 24th, 2009!

Happening this morning: Generation BIG; Fat Tuesday “race”

February 24, 2009 8:10 am

| 3 COMMENTS

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

GENERATION BIG: A new program aiming to get more adults, especially seniors, involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is offering info and taking signups this morning at the Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction, 10 am. Hundreds of kids are waiting to be matched with “Bigs,” and this program makes it easier than ever to help out with a small time commitment each week. See the flyer here.

FAT TUESDAY “RACE”: Metropolitan Market in Admiral is scheduled to be the site of Fat Tuesday fun this morning at 11 am — involving a treat called paczkis, an eating contest, and a run around the building. You’re invited; full details on the market’s events calendar.

Pogo’s odyssey: A lost-dog search takes a wrenching turn

February 24, 2009 1:51 am

| 41 COMMENTS

| Delridge | High Point | How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

The Hoffmeister family of North Delridge is searching for Pogo, their Papillon, so relentlessly and creatively, they’ve already traced her trail … to a new dead end.

Of all the pets we’ve posted to the Lost/Found section of the WSB Pets page, Pogo’s odyssey is the most agonizing one since the theft and recovery of Butch the Shiba Inu three weeks ago (original WSB report here; followup here).

And according to what Betsy Hoffmeister and family have discovered since Pogo disappeared Friday night, Pogo and Butch seem to have something in common …Read More

“Cookies do good work”: West Seattle Scouts’ Bronze Star project

February 23, 2009 7:47 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

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

(Members of Troop 2092 outside Rainier House, with some of what they donated)
Over the weekend, we showed you West Seattle Girl Scouts getting ready for their annual cookie sales, and some WSB’ers joked about the calories. Local Girl Scout mom Tracie Luthi e-mailed WSB to make sure everyone knows cookies are about a lot more than indulgence and calories – the sales are the main fundraiser for local troops, and they do some amazing things with the money, including this one that Tracie tells us about:

West Seattle Girl Scout Troop 2092 has been working on their Bronze Star award, which is the highest award a Junior troop can earn. These Fifth and Sixth graders chose furnishing an apartment at the new Rainier House as their project. The Rainier House is housing through the Downtown Emergency Service Center, which helps vulnerable mentally ill homeless people transition to apartment living.

The apartments are opening this week on Rainier Ave. I believe there is an opening ceremony (today) for the building as a whole, and on Tuesday 50 new residents move in. The troop set up the apartment (Sunday) afternoon with items they purchased with their proceeds from last year’s cookie sales. Cookies do good work!

You can read more about Rainier House in this Times article published today; as reported in our cookie-arrival story Saturday, cookie sales start this Friday (if you want to buy some and have trouble finding them, this webpage can help). Plus, you’ll hear a bit more about what local Girl Scouts are up to, after we cover a “World Thinking Day” event tomorrow night during which the Scouts will be taking action to help improve the health of people half a world away.

New food-bank garden needs someone who has a way with worms

February 21, 2009 8:00 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Gardening | How to help | White Center

White Center Food Bank director Rick Jump is thrilled to have received that container to be turned into a worm-compost box for WCFB’s new “edible garden” – now he just needs a worm-savvy volunteer to help the box fulfill its destiny! He showed us the box when we stopped by this afternoon toward the end of a work party, during which Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle volunteers removed ornamental plantings from a long, narrow strip in front of the WCFB building, and started turning the space into the “edible garden”:

That’s Aviva from CHoSS – she brought kale and collard plants from her own garden to get into the newly tilled ground outside WCFB (which serves part of West Seattle, as well as White Center). The rich soil you see is partly thanks to compost donated by Cedar Grove, but that worm box we mentioned will have a big role in the future too – do you know how to set up and manage a box where worms will turn clippings and scraps into garden-ready compost? If so, please contact Rick at WCFB – rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org or 206.762.2848.

West Seattle’s Girl Scout Cookies have arrived – all 60,000 boxes

February 21, 2009 2:34 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

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

Those West Seattle Girl Scouts (and some adult volunteers too) spent their Saturday morning working inside a big loading-dock building at Alaska Marine Lines on West Marginal Way, getting ready for their organization’s tastiest event of the year: Girl Scout Cookie sales! This morning, nearly 3,000 cases of cookies arrived, totaling about 60,000 boxes, approximately one for every person in West Seattle; they had to be sorted for troops to pick up, in stacks like this:

The cookies delivered and sold here are made by Little Brownie Bakers in Kentucky, one of only two GS Cookie bakeries in the nation. 25 West Seattle troops will be selling cookies, with the official kickoff date February 27th (next Friday), and sales continuing through March 15. What’s new this year, you ask? Dulce De Leche (think caramel; read about all 8 available cookie varieties here). Cookie prices? $4/box. If you don’t encounter a Girl Scout selling cookies outside your nearest store, or some other way, send a note here and they’ll have someone contact you. And you won’t be surprised to hear you can become a “fan” of Girl Scout Cookies on Facebook. P.S. Tomorrow is Girl Scouts'[ “World Thinking Day,” and while covering the cookie arrival this morning, we got word of a big project the West Seattle girls are working on – stay tuned for more on that.

Fighting leukemia, x 2: Climb the Columbia; poker for biker

February 21, 2009 12:59 am

| Comments Off on Fighting leukemia, x 2: Climb the Columbia; poker for biker

| How to help | West Seattle people

In the past few days, we’ve heard about two Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraisers that we want to share with you – organizers of both are looking for pledges to help West Seattleites succeed in two upcoming events: First, from MJ Benavente at Snap Fitness (WSB sponsor) in The Junction –

Snap Fitness is sponsoring a team for “The Big Climb” at the Columbia Tower on March 22nd. It’s a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and we are trying to raise pledge money for our team members. Anyone interested in supporting the Snap Fitness climbers can contact the club directly at 206.299.1597, or via e-mail at seattlewest@snapfitness.com

The Big Climb is the regional LLS chapter’s biggest fundraiser, according to this webpage. And as for what it’s like to climb all the way to the top of Seattle’s tallest building – this video from a stairclimb participant who posted his achievement on YouTube in 2007 gives a hint:

Now, the other LLS fundraiser – this note came in from Mandy:

I am doing the Seattle to Portland ride this year and am training with Team in Training. As a part of this team, I need to fundraise $2800 which goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To raise part of this money, there will be a poker tournament at the Admiral Pub on Friday, March 13th. It is free to play, and thegame that night is Omaha Hold’em. People do not need to know how to play–it is just for fun! Starts at 7:00 pm. If people want to play poker, they need to call the pub at 933.9500 to sign up. There is already a list started.

I will also be selling raffle tickets and the prizes are generously donated from local businesses. People are encouraged to come to the pub that night (even if they don’t play poker) to join in on the raffle, have dinner, play darts, and I will also be making delicious baked goods to sell for the cause.

Also–I am still looking for gift certificates from local businesses to enter into the raffle. This is an excellent way for local businesses to get their names out there and gain new customers!

If people are interested in donating to this cause on my page, they can donate
securely at: pages.teamintraining.org/wa/stp09/mwilliaeho

Businesses can contact me at this e-mail address if they are interested in donating a gift certificate.

Delridge Produce Co-op update: More pitch in; still room for you

February 20, 2009 10:28 pm

| Comments Off on Delridge Produce Co-op update: More pitch in; still room for you

| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

After another meeting this week to get the envisioned Delridge Produce Co-op further down the road to reality, Galena White shares how it went, including word of a possible produce source, and a search for entertainment experts! Read on for Galena’s full report:Read More

Morgan Junction Park name campaign: Time for you to help

February 19, 2009 12:35 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(photo taken today, added 4:50 pm)
Local neighborhood leaders have been working for months (9/08 WSB report here) to get Morgan Junction’s new park – under construction now and scheduled for dedication at the Morgan Community Festival June 13th – named for the late longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, who lost his cancer fight a year ago. The campaign has run into some roadblocks, including Parks Department policy stipulating at least 3 years between a person’s death and a naming honor like this. But supporters aren’t giving up, and now they are asking for your help: Pete Spalding just sent word that he and several other of the aforementioned leaders, including Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker, Steve Sindiong, and Chas Redmond, are starting a petition drive, hoping to gather signatures to present to West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who has the final say on park names. Download a copy of the petition here, gather some signatures ASAP, and send them to Pete, whose address is on the form. (Also look for the petition at upcoming community meetings – Pete says signature-gathering began at meetings last night including the Delridge District Council.)

West Seattle YMCA fundraising drive: Halfway home

February 18, 2009 10:52 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle YMCA fundraising drive: Halfway home

| How to help | West Seattle news

(Photo provided by West Seattle YMCA: Campaign volunteer Benita Buchanan records the
total raised to date at last night’s report meeting)
Right now, the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) is in the middle of its annual push to draw donations to make sure their programs are accessible to all – They did a check-in last night, and Samantha Bowes sends this report:

Last night, West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA Partners With Youth campaign volunteers gathered at the Fauntleroy YMCA to report on their progress toward their fundraising goal. They’ve raised over $96,000 on a goal of $205,000 in donations to keep YMCA programs accessible to kids, teens, and families in West Seattle, South Park, and Vashon

This is half of the overall campaign goal of $410,000 – our Board of Managers is raising the other half, and is at more than $115,000 to date, for a total of $211,000 raised on that $410,000 goal.

175+ volunteers make this effort a success every year – our thanks to them and to the hundreds of local residents who contribute to the campaign.

To learn more about the campaign, volunteer to help, or make a donation, contact Samantha Bowes at sbowes@seattleymca.org or 206-935-6000.

A place to play: Come take a new look at Cottage Grove

February 18, 2009 9:31 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

It’s an often-used quote attributed to the late music legend John Lennon: Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans. This manifests in ways large and small – just ask North Delridge resident Betsy Hoffmeister, who’s spent the past year spearheading an effort to create a place at Cottage Grove Park (above) for the littlest kids in her neighborhood to play (here’s our first report from 2/22/08). We reported two weeks ago that the plan was evolving, and now Betsy is inviting you to help:

Are you interested in building a play space appropriate for the youngest children in Delridge at 26th Ave SW and SW Brandon St? If so, please attend a site review meeting with the Department of Parks and the Department of Neighborhoods on Thursday, February 19 at 11 a.m. If the weather is really bad, we will meet at the Neighborhood Service Center next door to the library on Delridge Way. Some background:

It’s been exactly a year since a group of parents in the Delridge neighborhood of Cottage Grove brought up the idea of building a tot lot at the site of the Cottage Grove Park on 26th Ave SW and Brandon. The City recently put in a new playground there, and we neighbors find it really difficult to use. The equipment is intended for older children, but the kids in our neighborhood don’t seem to play on it. There is absolutely nothing for toddlers to do, so families with mixed groups of kids tend to go to the other playgrounds in other communities. We held a series of discussions and public meetings to come up with an idea and decided on building an additional playground on the site, to contain a double bay swingset for tots and older kids, a small climber, and some spring toys. Lots of neighbors and businesses chipped in, we brought this to the City, and were awarded a Small and Simple Grant to pursue the project but with lots of preconditions.

One of the preconditions was for a landscape architect to draw a site design. A lovely volunteer architect drew up a site plan and ushered it through the City’s multi-step review process.

The result of the review process was a bit of a shock. The Parks Department folks decided that with all the concrete retaining wall, building drainage, moving irrigation pipes, moving trees, and other hardware stuff, the project is likely to cost on the order of $200,000. Yeah, I know, that’s a little nuts, considering that the equipment itself is less than $20,000!

Their suggestion was to come back and ask the neighborhood – rather than building a new playground, what could we do with the playground we already have to improve it? In the very near future, we will have a big old public meeting to discuss this. I have finally met one single family who loves this playground and we want to hear what they love about it, but we also want to hear from folks who don’t love it, what they’d like to change.

In the meantime, we went ahead and applied for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant to try to get the money we’d need to build out, but that is only up to $50,000 matching. The meeting on Thursday is to look at the site, discuss options, and talk about preparing the full proposal to the city. We need some warm bodies, with or without children, to come along and demonstrate the difficulties of using this play equipment and talk about what we would like to see done. Please come out and help. Contact me, Betsy, at betsy at hoffmeisters dot com for more information.

Cottage Grove Park is at 5206 26th SW; here’s a map.

Mayor’s call to action: Where to find volunteer opportunities

February 17, 2009 5:35 pm

| Comments Off on Mayor’s call to action: Where to find volunteer opportunities

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

In his State of the City address today (full text here), Mayor Nickels put out the call for 10,000 more people to volunteer. We know you’re probably volunteering already. But in case you’re not – the city’s partnering with United Way of King County to round up that help, and here’s the start link on the United Way site. (Side note: WSB often reports on ways you can help, and all those stories can be found, newest to oldest, in our “How to Help” archive; we’re always ready to get the word out about more volunteer opportunities, so contact us anytime!)

Remember the time capsule? There’s still … time!

February 16, 2009 11:10 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Alki Statue of Liberty | How to help | West Seattle history

Remember last November 13th? The day people all over Seattle were invited to save a memento of the day and contribute it to a time capsule that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is putting together? Turns out – there’s still time to get your contribution in, according to Andrea Mercado, who called us this weekend with the reminder. (Jogged our memory too, since we had failed to print out the 11/13/08 WSB entries we intended to contribute!) So if you set something aside and just forgot to send it in – a photo from that day, art you created, a program or agenda from an event you sponsored or attended, or anything else signifying “how life was lived in Seattle 11/13/08” – e-mail digital contributions (photos etc.) to loghousemuseum@yahoo.com , or, for postal mail, find the SWSHS address here. The time capsule will be going into the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza when additional bricks are installed later this year, and they’d love to have more to put into it – just get it in by the end of this month. (Photo courtesy David Hutchinson)

Happening today: Farmers’ Market, WSB Forum potluck, more

February 15, 2009 7:06 am

| Comments Off on Happening today: Farmers’ Market, WSB Forum potluck, more

| How to help | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle online

All from the Sunday section of the WSB West Seattle Weekend Lineup:

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, as always. The fresh sheet wasn’t published this week – but you’re bound to find a tasty surprise.

HEALTHY HEART DAY: There’s one more thing you can do in The Junction today to be kind to your heart (besides buying fresh produce at the Farmers’ Market) — Pharmaca (WSB sponsor) is celebrating Healthy Heart Day, 11 am-3 pm, with free cholesterol screenings, raffles, and more (details here; also, take along this WSB coupon to get $10 off a $50 purchase).

MORE DOG DONATIONS: The folks at Muttley Crew Cuts have some more bake-sale goodies today, raising money to help the North Sound puppy-mill rescue effort. (The Saturday sale raised more than $1,000, according to Muttley Crew co-owner Kelly; Bernadette from The Wash Dog also was raising money on Saturday, half the proceeds from self-serve dog washes, more than $700!)

WSB FORUM POTLUCK AND DONATION DRIVE: Furry Faces Foundation, which also is helping the puppy-mill rescue effort, is one of two nonprofits for which WSB Forum members are inviting donations during a potluck get-together today (the other is Seattle Education Access). Everybody’s welcome! 1-5 pm at Big Al Brewing in White Center; read more here.

MUSIC FESTIVAL TO HELP KIDS: This afternoon, 2:30 pm at Grace Church, it’s the concert and fundraiser (for Baphumelele, a South African children’s home) organized by Seattle Lutheran student Lauren Vanderpool as her senior project. Full details and a map await you here.

Happening tomorrow: Enjoy local music, help orphaned children

February 14, 2009 3:34 pm

| Comments Off on Happening tomorrow: Enjoy local music, help orphaned children

| How to help | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

That’s Khayelitshe, South Africa, home to the Baphumelele Children’s Home, which helps kids whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow afternoon, you’re invited to a Children’s Music Festival — the senior project of Seattle Lutheran High School senior Lauren Vanderpool (left) — to benefit the children getting assistance from Baphumelele Home. It’s at 2:30 pm Sunday, Grace Church (10323 28th SW; here’s a map), and a free-will offering will be taken at the door. Lauren writes, “Children and teens from Seattle Lutheran and around Seattle are sharing their musical talents in a variety of ways. … There are over 14,000 orphaned children in the small village of Khayelitshe. Baphumelele is a haven for these children whose lives are affected by AIDS. Right now the women of Baphumelele are in the process of building several more ‘Cluster Homes’ so the children have a warm place to sleep, and a health clinic (they have a doctor and two nurses who visit twice a week). Baphumelele is run by local women from the Khayelitshe village. The children of South Africa need our help and support.” You can find out more at www.baphumelele.org.za — and by going to the Children’s Music Festival tomorrow afternoon at Grace Church.

West Seattle weekend scenes: Need sweet Valentine treats?

February 14, 2009 11:02 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | Pets | West Seattle businesses

From left, John, Kelly, and Lauren are the family who unleashed Muttley Crew Cuts on West Seattle – and as we mentioned earlier this morning, they’re having a bake sale today to raise money for the North Sound puppy-mill rescuees/rescuers. You can’t miss the bake-sale tent outside their shop on the west side of California south of Hanford (map) – that’s what caught our eye and led us to pull over for a quick photo on the way back to WSB HQ from another story. (Inside, 50 percent of the proceeds from today’s bath-only canine clients go to the same cause, and The Wash Dog in Morgan Junction is doing the same for self-serve dog washes.) They’re there till 7 (bake sale too, for as long as the ample supply of treats last!). ADDED 10 PM: Kelly e-mailed to say the bake sale alone brought in $1,000 today! And that doesn’t even include the 50% of “bath dog” proceeds they were planning to donate. She adds, “We had a wonderful day and thank everyone that came out and supported us. We will be here tomorrow starting at 10 am to groom cats; I will have the left-over goodies here if anyone wants to stop by and donate. Please no dogs tomorrow, it’s hard enough grooming cats :) We are all going home and going to bed!!!!”

Happy Valentine’s Day, West Seattle! Today’s highlights

February 14, 2009 6:21 am

| Comments Off on Happy Valentine’s Day, West Seattle! Today’s highlights

| How to help | Pets | WS beverages | WS culture/arts

HELP PUPPY-MILL RESCUEES BY GETTING YOUR DOG/S CLEAN: Self-serve dog washes at The Wash Dog and “bath-only dogs” at Muttley Crew Cuts both will send 50 percent of today’s proceeds to help the puppy-mill rescuees/rescuers in the North Sound. For The Wash Dog, hours are 8 am-7 pm; for Muttley Crew, hours are 9 am-7 pm, and you need to call for an appointment — 932-6888 — they’re having a bake sale with hot coffee and cocoa too.

HELP STUDENTS BY GETTING YOUR CAR CLEAN: 10 am-3 pm at West Seattle High School, student fundraiser car wash, suggested donation $10.

FREE STRAWBERRY WHITE MOCHA: Go to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) and mention you heard about the free drink at West Seattle Blog – they’re open 7 am-7 pm.

FREE EXERCISE: 9 am at Youngstown Arts Center, the NiaDivas (WSB sponsors) invite you to start Valentine’s Day by doing something good for your heart (and the rest of you) – in a free “Welcome to Nia” introductory class.

FREE MUSIC: Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for all the places you can enjoy free music today and tonight – one late add, Henta and Marias performing 3-5 this afternoon at Pearls on Delridge.

Those are just a few of today’s biggies — the full list is here.

Delridge Produce Co-Op is off the launch pad!

February 13, 2009 9:24 am

| 4 COMMENTS

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

We told you about this growing effort – last night was the first open meeting to discuss how to make it happen, and Galena White has posted a report on the co-op website – including:

We all agreed that a working mission statement could be, “Bring inexpensive organic produce to Delridge.” We’d like to see a storefront as soon as possible, but we know that we need lots more people to get involved to make that happen. Most of us liked the idea of a Mobile Market, with the exception of Jen, who has experience in that area and says that: while a Mobile Market could be useful, in the long term she thinks that a storefront would work better. We were all interested in the prospect of a cafe attached to a storefront that would use the fresh ingredients at their peak of ripeness, because Delridge lacks a healthy restaurant.

As Galena mentions in the full report, there’s still plenty of time to get involved – next meeting’s next week.

Out with the grasses, in with the food: A hunger-fighting garden

February 12, 2009 9:39 pm

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| Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news | White Center

We’ve also posted this at partner site White Center Now, but thought you might be interested too, as the White Center Food Bank also serves part of West Seattle. From Aviva at Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle:

Community Harvest of SW Seattle in partnership with the White Center Food Bank will be removing some grasses and other ornamentals to make room for a food garden. This demonstration garden, designed by a SSCC horticulture student, will have sections for traditional Asian greens, square foot gardening, northwest berries, and containers. The intention of this garden is to inspire and educate on the possibilities for growing food, even in limited spaces.

Seattleworks volunteers will be digging up existing landscaping on February 21st, and we would like to offer some of these lovely grasses and bushes in exchange for compost (or $$ to buy compost!) All donations of time or money will be happily accepted and will go toward this project and other projects which encourage food growing amongst low-income residents of West Seattle and White Center.

Contact: info@gleanit.org