West Seattle, Washington
10 Wednesday
(WSB photo from 2019 Loop the ‘Lupe)
We’re now entering the three-month heart of major spring/summer event season. Right now, a quick reminder that Loop the ‘Lupe is now less than three weeks away, on Saturday, June 3rd. The centerpiece of this benefit for Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s social-service work in the community is an obstacle course – and this year, you have two options. An “elite wave” is for participants 16+ and will have two extra obstacles; then comes the “family wave.” The day is rounded out with a fun run, Senior Saunter, and Youth Dash. All the activities, plus live music, BBQ, and a beer garden, are happening on Walt Hundley Playfield (34th/Myrtle). If you’re not already registered for one or more of the events, today’s a great day to do it – here’s how. (WSB is a community co-sponsor for Loop the ‘Lupe.)
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“We really count on community support – this community comes through.”
That’s what longtime West Seattle Food Bank executive director Fran Yeatts told the nearly 200 community members who gathered last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy to celebrate and support WSFB.
On one hand, it was a classic fundraising gala – dinner, drinks, dessert, donations. On the other, it marked a milestone – 40 years of “neighbors helping neighbors,” as emcee Matthew DiLoreto declared early on. The food bank’s work goes far beyond food – since merging with the West Seattle Helpline three years ago, it also provides emergency assistance to help people stay housed. That is an extra-sizable challenge in Seattle where the cost of living is 49 percent above the national average, DiLoreto said.
Also taking the microphone was WSFB board president David Weld, who observed that the organization provides help that is much-needed in a world where “random” trouble can land people in need, from job loss to illness to family tragedy.
“Because fate delivers these things, there will always be those who through no fault of their own need help. We deliver that help without judgment, and reflexively.” And community help is needed to keep that work going because “the greatest source of (WSFB) funding is individual cash contributions.”
Weld also recounted a proud moment just weeks ago, when rock superstar Bruce Springsteen came to Seattle and for the third time exhorted fans to support WSFB (which had volunteers at the arena and collected almost $20,000 in donations).
That video is from John L. Scott Real Estate – Westwood (WSB sponsor), recapping their successful shredding event and food drive last Saturday at Westwood Village. They also sent the numbers and words of gratitude:
We would like to thank the West Seattle community for their support of the 5th annual Shred Event. On behalf of John L. Scott Westwood, Evergreen Home Loans (Luke Zender), and White Center Food Bank, we thank you for the generous donations! We shredded over 5,000 pounds of paper and our community donated $2,000 and 1,250 pounds of food to the White Center Food Bank. We look forward to serving our community next year.
If you didn’t get to the Westwood event, you can still support WCFB – which also serves southernmost West Seattle – by going here.
Thanks to generous donors, including many local businesses, the West Seattle Food Bank has a fun collection of items on which you can bid today and/or tomorrow even if you’re not going to the WSFB’s gala Saturday night.
The West Seattle Food Bank’s 16th Annual Instruments of Change Gala & Auction will be held tomorrow, May 6th, at The Hall at Fauntleroy. The event aims to raise funds to support the organization’s mission of providing necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter to individuals and families in need. The gala will feature a happy hour, silent and live auction along with a sit-down dinner. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn more about the work of the West Seattle Food Bank and its impact on the community.
If you did not register for the in-person event, but would still like to support, West Seattle Food Bank is hosting its silent auction online and anyone is welcome to participate. Many items are available for bid, all donated by generous local businesses and individuals. This is a great opportunity to support the organization and its mission. The auction opened this morning and will close Saturday, May 6 at 7 pm.
In addition to the online auction, donations are being accepted to support the West Seattle Food Bank. Every contribution, no matter how big or small, can make a difference in the lives of those struggling with food insecurity.
For more information about the West Seattle Food Bank gala, online auction, or to make a donation, go here!
WSB is among the community sponsors of the WS Food Bank fundraiser.
Fundraising season is reaching a crescendo, and this announcement is for local businesses – a way to promote themselves while supporting students. From Friends of Roxhill Elementary:
Roxhill Elementary is a Title 1 public school, meaning that a high percentage of students live in low-income households. This year, we are working with 5th graders to produce a high-quality yearbook that will be distributed to every student regardless of their family’s ability to pay for one.
You can help support your local school and students in your community by buying an ad to promote your business in our yearbook. This helps offset the cost of yearbooks for families who cannot pay for one themselves and introduces families to local businesses they can support. Best of all, it ensures that ALL students can keep this memento of their elementary school days.
Ads are affordable and help build awareness in your immediate community. Roxhill Elementary is made up of ~245 students and 50 teachers and staff members. All ads are printed in color and yearbooks will be distributed at the end of June 2023.
Ad Pricing:
⅛ page (2.75”x 4.25”): $40
¼ page (4.25” x 5.5”): $75
½ page (8.5” x 5.5”): $150Fill out this form by Tuesday, May 9 or email us at friendsofroxhill@gmail.com. Thanks for supporting our Roxhill RoxStars!
West Seattle’s only emergency shelter – which is entirely volunteer- and donation-powered – could use some “resupplying.” Here’s the message from Keith Hughes, who runs the shelter from the West Seattle Veteran Center/American Legion Post 160 building in The Triangle:
My sincere thanks to the West Seattle Community for your continued and generous support for the Homeless Shelter at the American Legion Hall here in West Seattle. We made it through the winter and extended cold weather this spring, but the need has been great and our food and clothing supplies have been depleted. The overnight operation has ended for this season, but we are still operating the Warm-Up Center 7 day a week from 7:30 m till 10 am including a hot breakfast every morning. This is our current need list:
Ground coffee, powered coffee creamer, 12 oz Hot cups (no lids)
Instant Oatmeal packets, Instant Hot Chocolate packets
Old Fashion or 1-minute oatmeal
Pancake mix, pancake syrup, butter, peanut butter
Cup-O-Noodles, single-serving instant soups
Safeway/QFC gift cards so we can get perishables like milk, eggs, orange juice, butter
Clothing items needed: men’s socks (9 – 12), underwear L & XL, tee shirts L & XL, cotton gloves, stocking caps. NOTE: We partner with the Clothesline for outerwear so we don’t need to stock shirts, pants, and coats this time of year.
To learn more about the Shelter or make a monetary donation, you can go to our website. www.westsideneighborsshelter.org
Thank you again for your continued support. This is an all-volunteer operation supported only by the Community. We do not receive monetary aid from any governmental entities.
The shelter is at 3618 SW Alaska.
Another online auction open to the entire community is taking bids right now – this one’s for Gatewood Elementary and bidding runs until Friday night. Here’s the announcement we received:
Gatewood Elementary’s annual auction is this Friday, May 5th – but you can get in on the silent auction now!
The silent auction is open to everyone – no ticket needed!
All funds raised go to our Gatewood school needs, teacher & staff support, and back into the West Seattle community.
Check out specific Teacher Experiences, Favorite Books, and of course preview the art! Support big and get some cool stuff and experiences in the process.
Silent Auction closes at 7 PM on Friday, May 5th.
This week brought the annual GiveBIG campaign encouraging you to support local nonprofits. Mode Music and Performing Arts, based in North Delridge, is making a special request to help build its scholarship fund, to provide music lessons to students who otherwise couldn’t afford them. Received today from MMPA:
Meet Harper, one of Mode Music and Performing Arts’ students! She has been taking private vocal lessons through our scholarship program.
For Harper, singing is part of life; ask her a question, she’ll sing her answer! Harper’s moms, Krystal and Kim, told us that “Harper has literally been singing since the time she could make noise.”
Kim added, “I’m just excited to be able to encourage her to just do whatever she wants to do, and to be able to offer that experience to her, you know? It’s just so great to see her learning and becoming whatever she wants to become with doing it.”
MMPA is dedicating 25% of our GiveBIG donation total toward our private lesson scholarship program, so students like Harper can achieve their musical dreams.
That means, if we reach our GiveBIG goal of $10,000, we can allocate $2,500 to music lesson scholarships.
The remainder of what we raise for GiveBIG goes toward making our pay-what-you-can programming possible, helping to cover the operating costs of our programs so that we can continue to offer free and discounted arts education.
Harper is one of the many students we reach through our arts programs. In 2022 alone, we served 234 kids and offered over $15,000 in scholarships to our group classes and camps at our location in Delridge! We also served nearly 100 students in our after-school arts programs in Fall 2022.
Your support for MMPA on GiveBIG matters so much! You will make a difference for our after-school programs, group camps and classes, and private music lesson scholarships. Take a moment today to make a gift to support accessible arts education in West Seattle. Click here to donate! Thank you for giving big and supporting accessible arts education today!
May 13th is not only West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, it’s also the day for Stamp Out Hunger, the annual door-to-door food drive led by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Partnering with NALC, the U.S. Postal Service sent a reminder today, including:
Donating is easy – customers should leave their non-perishable food donations in a bag near their mailbox on Saturday, May 13, before their letter carrier arrives. Food collected during the drive will be delivered to local Washington community churches, food banks and food pantries for distribution.
Customers can also donate online directly to their local food bank. [Our area is served by the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank.]
While all non-perishable donations are welcome, foods that are high in protein such as canned tuna, salmon, beans, and peanut butter are most needed. Canned fruits and vegetables, whole grain, low-sugar cereals, macaroni and cheese dinners, and 100% fruit juice also top the list of most-needed items.
The food drive is held annually in late spring because most of the food banks’ donations are received and distributed between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This will be the 31st year for Stamp Out Hunger, which resumed last year after a pandemic hiatus.
(Photo courtesy SWSHS)
A “music tour of West Seattle” in that classic car is just one of many “unique local experiences” that’s being auctioned as a benefit for the only organization devoted to local history – not just to remember the past, but also to learn lessons for the future. Some bidding starts online tomorrow! Here’s how to be part of it:
Each year, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society auction brings together the best of West Seattle business, art and experiences to raise funds to meet its mission to preserve local history through education, preservation, and advocacy.
This year, the Historical Society’s online auction opens on Monday, May 1 and closes Thursday, May 4. The auction is open to the public and features West Seattle gifts, experiences, and art. All funds raised go directly to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Log House Museum. Bidders can register for free online at loghousemuseum.org.
The auction, which was previously held in-person during the SWSHS Annual Gala, moved online in 2020. As the organization began to meet in person again, SWSHS board and staff wanted to keep most of the items available through the online auction so it could reach a wider audience.
Available items include walking tours with local historians, a private viewing of Doc Maynard’s letters with historian Phil Hoffman, tickets to local events including the West Seattle Garden Tour, Wine Walk, and Rainbow Bingo, overnight stays at the famous Easy Street Beach House, original art, and gift certificates for dozens of local businesses, restaurants, salons, and more.
Select items will be offered during a Live Auction at the society’s Spring Gala on May 5 at Salty’s on Alki. Priceless experiences, including an opportunity to create your own Husky Deli Ice Cream Flavor, a Music History Tour of West Seattle (in a vintage Cadillac no less!), a private tour of the West Duwamish Greenbelt with Duwamish Tribe Council member Ken Workman, and more are available only during this event.
The Spring Gala and the auction are the organization’s biggest fundraising events of the year, bringing in critical income to support both the operations of the Log House Museum, but also its historical collection – including two recent acquisitions, signage from the Original Bakery that closed in March and bound volumes of the West Seattle Herald from the 1920s-1940s.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society preserves local history through education, preservation, and advocacy. The Historical Society owns and operates the Log House Museum, a landmarked building located off of Alki Beach. The Historical Society’s service area includes communities across the Duwamish Peninsula.
You can bid online starting tomorrow even if you’re not going to Friday’s gala (more on that event here).
Sale season is on! Not only are we two weeks from West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, you can shop right now at a big sale raising money to help a local school. This is the Highland Park Elementary PTA‘s sale, happening at the school until 2 pm. The merchandise includes lots of kid stuff and family-fun items, of course:
HPE is at 1012 SW Trenton.
Less than two months before graduation, the West Seattle High School Class of 2023 is looking for a little community help. Sophia from the ASB emailed us to explain, “As the class of 2023 is wrapping up our senior year, we’ve made a way for members of the community to help donate to and support the different activities and events we want to be able to put on for our classmates. These include prom, senior sunset, graduation, and several others!” Here’s the link to use if you’re interested in donating; on that page, the ASB adds, “Our class was unable to fundraise for all of our sophomore year and half of our junior year due to Covid restrictions, so we really appreciate the generous contributions of parents and community members towards making the end of our time together in high school as wonderful as it can possibly be!”
Fundraiser season continues, and here’s one you can jump into right now if you have a few minutes – the Arbor Heights Elementary PTSA auction. Online bidding is open to all until Saturday night (when the PTSA hosts its in-person auction gala). The PTSA says money they raise “supports Arbor Heights Elementary students and staff through PTSA funding of classroom supplies, teacher trainings, school assembly funding, music instruction for all students, arts enrichment, literacy programs, IDEA STEM lab equipment, transportation for field trips and much more.” You can browse what’s up for bidding – including food, beverages, getaways, art, music, more – by going here.=
School fundraising parties are back in full force this year, and we’ve been asked to make sure you know about these two, starting with one looking for community volunteer assistance:
GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY VOLUNTEER SEARCH: You can help make this party happen, with some perks:
Gatewood Elementary is holding their annual auction at the Hall at Fauntleroy on Friday, May 5th, 5:30 pm-10 pm. We are looking for volunteers from our community to help out with this year’s event! We specifically need help with facilitating the games during the cocktail hour, recording drink ticket sales, and live auction spotters and recorders. Gatewood auction committee will provide volunteers with a light dinner, soda/water, and our gratitude. Volunteers will also have the option to bid on live auction items. Your participation allows Gatewood parents to relax and enjoy the Auction! Thank you for your consideration! Sign up here.
MADISON BEACHY BULLDOG BASH: This party is happening 6-10 pm next Saturday (April 29) at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon). The Madison Middle School PTSA says tickets are available here. But also: “Even if you can’t make the event, you can still support our students, staff, and community by bidding on items or making a donation here.” They also have warm words of thanks for private donors and businesses who have already contributed – more than 100 have donated auction items.
One month from today – at 9:30 am Sunday, May 21st – Alki Avenue SW will fill with runners and walkers during the first West Seattle 5K since 2019. This is presented by, and benefiting, the West Seattle High School PTSA. If you haven’t registered yet, keep in mind that now’s the time to get in at the lowest price – general registration goes up May 1st, student fees on May 15th. (As announced last month, this year WSHS students have an incentive to participate – the grade that registers the most participants gets a cash grant!) The West Seattle 5K is powered not only by registration fees but also by community sponsors – see them here. Ready to register? Here’s the link.
Book purchase in your future? Through Sunday, do it at Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW) and you can not only be supporting a local independent business, but also be supporting local independent Tilden School (WSB sponsor). Here’s their announcement:
Paper Boat Booksellers is hosting a book fair / fundraising event for Tilden School this week until Sunday, April 23. Selected books earmarked for the school library will be available for purchase in a designated section and held at Paper Boat. For all other purchases, mention “Tilden” at checkout to ensure a portion of the purchase price will go toward additional purchases for the Tilden library!
Got your ticket(s) yet for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s May 5th celebration? SWSHS has announced five women as the spotlight speakers:
West Seattle is thriving – and not just because the bridge has reopened. It is also because of community leaders and their ability to foster meaningful connections, forge strong coalitions, and work together to promote the well-being of all who call the Duwamish Peninsula home.
On Friday, May 5th the Southwest Seattle Historical Society will celebrate those who are making lasting impacts across West Seattle. Guest speakers from organizations across the Peninsula are the highlight of the 2023 Spring Gala – Celebrating Connections, Together We Thrive.
The event takes place at Salty’s on Alki from 6 – 8:30pm, will feature music from the Chief Sealth International High School Jazz Ensemble, will open with a blessing from Duwamish Tribal Councilman, Ken Workman, and of course, feature Salty’s food and a cash bar with Cinco de Mayo themed margaritas.
“We hope our guests enjoy the opportunity to visit with each other and our speakers throughout the event, to celebrate and create new connections,” said Elizabeth Rudrud, the Historical Society’s Programs and Outreach Director. “It is also an opportunity to have fun, bid on unique West Seattle experiences during our live auction, and support the Log House Museum and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.”
The Spring Gala is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Funds go to operational costs, programs and collecting and preserving local history. “The event is open to everyone and we think this is a great opportunity for our neighbors across the Peninsula to learn more about what we are doing and why it matters.” An online auction will be held in advance of the Gala on May 1 – 4.
The event is designed to be a social mixer but also features a program with community leaders who serve diverse communities from Alki Beach, the Junction, Delridge, Highpoint and South Park. The historical society announced its speakers this week. Full bios of the speakers, and registration information for the Gala and online auction can be found at www.loghousemuseum.org.
Southwest Seattle Historical Society Spring Gala Guest Speakers Include:
Stacy Bass-Wolden, co-founder of Alki Beach Pride. Alki Beach Pride has a mission is to unite Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community and celebrate Queer culture in a dignified way that acknowledges the intersection of race.
Joanna Florer, West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group. The West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group is a community-based organization with a mission to create a larger Duwamish Peninsula trail system, with a spur to the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, focused on native species restoration, serving the hiking and walking community with space for other uses.
Mesha Florentino is co-director of Housing and Finance for the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. DNDA is a non‐profit organization devoted to social, racial and environmental justice dedicated to preserving and increasing affordable housing for a range of incomes, enhancing the natural environment, and providing such vital resources as arts and cultural opportunities, education and youth programs for our neighbors.
Rosa Lopez, organizer, Reconnect South Park. Reconnect South Park is a grassroots coalition that wants to remove the segment of SR-99 that cuts through South Park and create a land trust to ensure the 40 acres it will free up are developed equitably.
Christine Mackay, Executive Director, West Seattle Junction Association. The West Seattle Junction Association is a nonprofit which produces community events throughout the year including Art Walk, Wine Walk, Summer Fest, Outdoor Movies, Harvest Festival, and Hometown Holidays. The Junction helps to keep the streets of the Junction safe, clean and beautiful.
Here’s the direct link for tickets.
Fans of the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, you still have more than two hours to be part of a major fundraiser that helps keep the festival free for all. It’s happening at Endolyne Joe’s (9261 45th SW) and you have two ways to support the festival there right now – until 9 pm you can buy tickets for the gift-basket raffle, and/or you can dine/drink before Joe’s closes at 10 pm, and part of the proceeds will go to the festival.
The gift baskets span a variety of interests, from cooking to gardening to sports and more.
(WSB file photo)
Paintable pumpkins are part of what’s needed to put on the fun, free Fauntleroy Fall Festival every year. If you’ve ever been, you know the festival also offers live music, birdhouse-building, salmon-hat-making, a cakewalk, a chance to see raptors up close, a climbing wall for kids … and it’s all powered by donations and volunteers. One of the biggest donation events to raise festival funding is happening this week, Tuesday (April 18th), at Fauntleroy restaurant Endolyne Joe’s (9261 45th SW). On Tuesday, go to Joe’s for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner – its hours will be 8 am-10 pm that day – and part of the proceeds will be donated to the festival. At dinnertime, you can buy tickets for the gift-basket raffle (5-9 pm), even if you’re not dining. Meantime, set your calendar – this year’s festival will happen on Sunday, October 15th.
One of the 28 highlights on today’s West Seattle event list is continuing until 4 pm – the Giving Gardens plant giveaway at The Heron’s Nest. As explained in this preview, these are edible-plant starts, grown by volunteers; your part of the deal is to take them home, plant them, and donate produce to people in need.
Heron’s Nest Sprouts is not the only volunteer-powered project at The Heron’s Nest today – youth volunteers are focused on a drainage-related project today, as site restoration continues:
(You’re invited to Volunteer Land Stewardship events like this most Saturdays and Mondays – check this calendar.) One more reason to visit – one of The Heron’s Nest’s periodic outdoor markets is happening until 5 pm:
If you’ve never been to The Heron’s Nest (featured in this 2021 WSB report), it’s just uphill from West Marginal Way, south of the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse – here’s a map.
If you’re looking ahead to gift-giving for your mother and/or “special other” next month, Hope Lutheran School wants you to know about this fundraiser for their 7th- and 8th-graders’ East Coast trip:
It’s never too early to start planning for your Mother’s and Special Other’s Day [May 14th]! Why not take the guesswork out of the perfect gift? Show your appreciation to the special women in your lives and help Hope students at the same time!
Hope Lutheran School is partnering with local businesses Bakery Nouveau and Market vendor, Friendly Hmong Farms, to offer chocolates and flowers for Mother’s Day! Delivery available within West Seattle!
Click the link: form.jotform.com/230777727637166
Deadline for orders is April 27th.
(WSB/WCN photo, June 2022)
Again this year, White Center Pride is inviting neighbors far and wide to a daylong block party – this time set for noon to midnight June 3rd. WCP asked us to publish their call for volunteers, vendors, and performers:
White Center’s annual Pride Block Party is less than two months away! We are looking for volunteers, entertainers, and vendors to celebrate with us. On June 3rd , we will block off 16th Ave SW between Roxbury and SW 100 th St, and fill the street up with music, shows, wrestlers, local businesses, food and beer gardens, and our first ever kids area with the White Center Library’s book mobile, face painters, storytellers, and more.
Please visit our website at whitecenterpride.org/white-center-pride-festival to learn
more. We need volunteers to assist with all types of activities for the day. We are also looking for local businesses to help fill out the street with booths and food trucks. And finally, we want to put out the call for entertainers that want to celebrate our region’s LGBTQIA+ community. Any questions, feel free to email info@whitecenterpride.org. Thank you!The White Center Pride Committee
501c3 Nonprofit
(Mayor’s Office photo)
As announced by Mayor Bruce Harrell today, registration is now open for volunteering opportunities during this year’s One Seattle Day of Service, on May 20th. We checked the map/list, and noted a dozen opportunities in this area. Most have caps on registration, so if you’re interested in helping out somewhere on that day, sign up fast! From the announcement, here’s what you can expect:
Volunteer opportunities include a variety of options for people across ages, abilities, and interests. Most volunteer shifts are 2-3 hours, ranging from just a few volunteers to up to 100 per shift. Nearly half of activity opportunities are open to all ages, and more than one third are open to all abilities.
Volunteer activities include:
Cleaning and beautification – collecting trash, removing graffiti, building repair, and painting
Gardening and restoration – weeding, planting, storm drain protection, and trail repair
Helping neighbors in need – grocery packing, donation organizing, and tiny-home construction
The locations and registration links are here.
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