West Seattle, Washington
08 Monday
The annual GiveBIG one-day mega-donation drive, coordinated by the Seattle Foundation, has begun. Again this year, we’ve put together a local list, with each organization name linked to its GiveBIG info/donation page – starting with the people who sent info when we put out a call for it earlier this week, followed by other organizations in local zips:
West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network (the link goes to the Seattle Neighborhood Group – in “comments,” specifically mention that it’s for WSBWCN so they will receive the $)
Friends of the Animals Foundation
West Seattle Community Orchestras
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group
Also:
Alki Co-Op Preschool
Arts Corps
ArtsEd Washington
ArtsWest
Concord International School Greening Project
Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association
Duwamish Rowing Club
Duwamish Tribal Services
Education First
Empower Mentoring Program
Fauntleroy Children’s Center
FEEST
Free2Luv
Furry Faces Foundation
Gender Diversity
Holy Rosary School
Khambatta Dance Company
Kol HaNeshamah
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children
Navos
Opera On Tap
Orca Conservancy
Plumbers Without Borders
Pongo Publishing
Reel Grrls
SafeFutures Youth Center
Seal Sitters (link takes you to ARC; write Seal Sitters in “comments” field so they’re credited)
Seattle Chinese Garden Society
Seattle Green Spaces Coalition
Seattle People of Color Salon
Seniors Creating Art
Somali Family Safety Task Force
South Seattle College Foundation
Southwest Seattle Historical Society
Southwest Youth and Family Services
Technology Access Foundation
The Kenney Foundation
The Service Board
The Village of Hope
Totem Star
Transitional Resources
Twelfth Night Productions
Urban Homestead Foundation
West Seattle Food Bank
West Seattle Helpline
Westside Baby
Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Wheelchairs For Nigeria
White Center Community Development Association
White Center Food Bank
White Center Library Guild
Whit Press
YES Foundation of White Center
The donate-a-thon is on until 11:59 pm tonight. While the Seattle Foundation is not offering a “stretch pool” this year – as explained in its FAQ for donors – it’s offering other incentives.
P.S. If we missed a local organization – please e-mail us, including your GiveBIG link, and we’ll add!
This will be the seventh year that we’ve put together an all-local (West Seattle/White Center/South Park) list for the annual GiveBIG donate-a-thon, which is happening next Wednesday, May 10th. We want to make sure we don’t miss anyone, though, so if your nonprofit is part of it this year, please send us the name and your special GiveBIG link as soon as you can – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
If you can donate blood, an upcoming drive in West Seattle invites you to sign up for a spot – they’re hoping to have 50 people donate:
Holy Rosary School is partnering with the American Red Cross to hold our first community blood drive on May 22 between 2 pm and 7 pm.
Giving blood is giving the gift of life. Please consider donating with us to support this life-giving organization. To register and reserve your spot, please visit: www.redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code HolyRosarySeattle (upper right of the page). The event will be held at the Holy Rosary School Hall, located at 4142 42nd Ave SW.
One of West Seattle’s smaller public elementary schools is reaching out to you in a big way. You are invited to this year’s Sanislo Elementary School end-of-year party – with a silent auction, tasty food, fun games, music and dancing. It’s happening Friday, June 9th, at Highland Park Improvement Club, and tickets are only $10. You can buy yours right now online by going here, or visit the Sanislo campus (1812 SW Myrtle on Puget Ridge; map) after school Wednesdays (like today!) and Fridays to buy tickets in person – school’s out at 2:05 pm. Sanislo parent and PTA treasurer Megan Garcia e-mailed WSB to share the news and says tickets will be on sale through May 26th.
Two notes from Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tonight.
(Photo by David Hutchinson – taken last Friday at very-long-lens distance)
First, harbor-seal pup Taffy, who we’ve told you about before, is now in rehab. From Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey:
Early Saturday morning we were finally able to capture seal pup Taffy, whose health issues were a growing concern, especially because of the potentially dangerous location of her chosen stretch of beach at Alki. After coming ashore almost every day for over a month (with the exception of a couple of weekends when the beach was so busy with activity), her health had begun to take a downturn. Thankfully, she started out as a quite robust, older and wiser seal pup, now estimated to be 8 or 9 months old. …
Thanks to the public for being tolerant of a semi-permanent tape closure of the small grass area along the sea wall, right above her favorite little nook. Because she was so wary and skittish, she was often scared back into Puget Sound by people standing too close above her. Even with the tape buffer zone, Taffy could not get undisrupted rest. It’s tough for wildlife to find quiet spots to rest and forage in urban areas.
Taffy spent the weekend being stabilized and treated at PAWS.
Robin was awaiting an update on Taffy’s injuries and possible infection and plans to update Blubberblog here.
Meantime, want to volunteer with Seal Sitters? Here’s your next chance to jump in!
Seal Sitters will be holding our volunteer training/Spring Session on Saturday morning, May 13th – RSVP is required to ensure seating.
For details about the training and to learn more about Seal Sitters and NOAA West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, please visit our website.
(Photo by Robin Lindsey)The photo above shows volunteer Sarah, who enthusiastically protected Taffy and educated the public – even in the cold rain. We are always in need of additional great, reliable volunteers!
(WSB WS5K file photo)
Kick off summer by running/walking the West Seattle 5K along Alki, from Statue of Liberty Plaza to Anchor Park and back on Sunday, May 21st. If you’re not already registered, here’s an incentive to do it right now – through tomorrow (May 3rd), use the (updated) code MAYDAY5 and you’ll save $5 off the registration fee. 100 percent of what you pay, by the way, goes directly to support educational programs at West Seattle High School. Top three male and female finishers win a prize from West Seattle Runner, Salty’s on Alki, or Coastal Surf Boutique. Sign up at WestSeattle5K.com.
(WSB has co-sponsored the WS5K every year since it began in 2009. WS Runner and Salty’s are WSB sponsors.)
(WSB photos. Above: Joyce Ditz, Meals on Wheels coordinator for the Senior Center)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
In this more-uncertain-than-ever time for nonprofits and the people they serve … you need to know who’s at work in our community, and what they do.
Toward that goal, more than 130 people gathered this morning in Hatten Hall, upstairs at the Senior Center of West Seattle, to celebrate what it does, and to raise money so it can keep doing what it does. Their generosity surpassed the morning’s $35,000 target, eventually totaling almost $40,000, executive director Lyle Evans told WSB this afternoon.
Never been to the Senior Center? It’s far from a stereotypically dour place with dour people. It’s a place with programs, services, and gatherings offering, among other things, food, fun, flexibility, and family – the one you find, as well as the one you were born into.
(Photos courtesy Jill Boone, from 2016 cleanup)
Live/work/shop/dine/study (or …) in Morgan Junction? Show some love for the neighborhood! Next Sunday (May 7th), Jill Boone is organizing a community cleanup, and hoping you’ll RSVP ASAP if you can help, so she can have enough supplies on hand:
Bring your kids or partners or friends and come help us make our streets litter free! On Sunday, May 7 at 9 AM we will gather on the sidewalk near Domino’s and Thriftway and then spread out in groups or families to pick up litter on both sides of the street.
Children are encouraged to come (with parents)! This is a wonderful give-back to your community that even little ones can participate in. I will pick up grabbers and bags from (the city) and if you need them, gloves.
For little tykes, I suggest bringing along a pair of kitchen tongs for them to use.
Last year, Zephyr at age 3 did a great job getting cigarette butts with his tongs. A little bucket might help too.
Last year we cleaned up along 35th in the pouring rain and we still had 8 intrepid volunteers. Hopefully, we will have sunny or at least dry weather this year. And we plan to do this at least once a month through the summer season.
Please RSVP if you are going to come, so that I can get sufficient litter grabbers from the city. You can RSVP by emailing me at litterleague@gmail.com ! Tell me how many of you and ages of kids coming. Let me know if you need gloves too and what size.
That’s Kayla Huggins, store manager at Starbucks in Morgan Junction, with boxes full of donations they’ve received for a drive continuing until 4 this afternoon, for the women and children of Hope Place:
HOPE PLACE
Seattle Union Gospel Mission’s Hope Place is one of the few shelters for women and children in Seattle and one of the only to accept women with male children up to the age of 18. Hope Place is an essential lifeline for families fleeing from domestic violence, recovering from substance abuse, or simply without a safe place to stay.
OUR GOAL:
*To include and connect our community around a single objective, where together we can support the needs of the women and children at Hope Place!
*To collect as many clothing items for woman (All sizes), boys and girls clothing items (birth – 18 years), and unused, unopened hygiene products for women and children.
PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A PART OF THIS EVENT! THANK YOU!
This year’s Junction Day of Giving is under way! Our first stop was 42nd SW/SW Oregon:
That’s Reid Curry, manager at Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor). EWA, where you’ll find outdoor apparel as well as fishing-related merchandise, has chosen the Wild Steelhead Coalition as its beneficiary today. EWA is one of ~30 shops and restaurants promising 10 percent of today’s proceeds to local nonprofits of their choice.
ADDED 1:03 PM: We’re back in The Junction checking in with more Day of Giving participants, like Fleurt proprietor Sam Crowley:
Fleurt is where you’ll find flowers and gifts. They will be selling flower crowns like the one Sam’s wearing, for Mother’s Day, when they’ll have a floral tepee outside the shop at 4536 California SW and special photo ops (bring Mom! Grandma! Great-Grandma!) as a fundraiser for West Seattle Food Bank. But today, their Day of Giving beneficiary is Nature Consortium.
A couple doors south of Fleurt, you’ll find Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) at 4540 California SW.
Proprietors Frances and John Smersh chose the Alzheimer’s Association as their beneficiary for Day of Giving; as reported here in November 2015, Frances is living with early-onset dementia. Their shop is a treasure trove of unique jewelry, art, housewares, gifts, and more.
See the full list of who’s participating and who they’re donating to by going here – and in The Junction, look for signs with red balloons, like these:
(Photos courtesy WestSide Baby)
Volunteering is often described as “lending a hand.” A multigenerational group of women did just that today at WestSide Baby in honor of National Volunteer Week. Among them: centenarian and “knitter extraordinaire” Virginia Carmichael, a volunteer visiting from The Kenney:
She and others from The Kenney visited to drop off hand-knit items for babies in need. WestSide Baby says she “has been knitting as much as one baby sweater per week for 5 years for WestSide Baby.” Several other residents from The Kenney “regularly create garments and quilts to keep their littlest neighbors safe, warm and dry,” explains Jess Sweetman of WS Baby.
The knitters’ creations were exhibited at The Kenney recently before being taken to WS Baby. Virginia says she’s volunteered all her life, going back to her days as a Girl Scout. She told WS Baby that she likes to keep busy and “benefits as much from making the sweaters as the children who receive them.”
The announcement of today’s donation visit also quotes WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland (at right in the second photo above) as saying, “We are so excited to celebrate these very dedicated and talented volunteers and everything that they do to support kids in our community. We are privileged to be a part of an incredible community of support made up of over 1,800 volunteers who dedicated over 18,000 hours of service last year. Volunteering benefits our entire community.”
Thinking about volunteering for WestSide Baby? Here’s how.
Wednesday means it’s time to plan your weekend … so we have a few things to spotlight today.
First: Here’s an update on the West Seattle Junction Day of Giving this Saturday (April 29th), when participating merchants are donating part of their proceeds (10 am-6 pm) to give local nonprofits a boost. More than 30 are participating, and the Junction Association has published a list showing them and their chosen beneficiaries – you can see it here.
Among the participants are these WSB sponsors:
Click! Design That Fits (donating to the Alzheimer’s Association)
Emerald Water Anglers (donating to the Wild Steelhead Coalition)
Menashe & Sons Jewelers (donating to the West Seattle Food Bank)
Thunder Road Guitars (donating to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
VAIN (donating to the Senior Center of West Seattle – including select haircut appointments this week)
See you in The Junction on Saturday (looks like some sunshine, too)!
Next Thursday will bring this year’s Dining Out For Life fundraiser, with five West Seattle and White Center restaurants participating. Heather Logue from Lifelong explains that you’ll be helping neighbors:
Lifelong AND Dining Out For Life are closely connected to West Seattle, because on a weekly basis Chicken Soup Brigade (the food program of Lifelong) delivers crucial food and nutrition services to 91 homebound people living with serious illness in your neighborhood! And over the last year we have delivered to over 200 West Seattleites. Many of these folks are just out of the hospital and going home alone to an empty refrigerator, so we began the “Welcome Home Program,” which provides the healthy meals and social support to keep them on the path back to health.
She adds that, “Much of our management team at Chicken Soup Brigade lives in West Seattle! This means that not only do we love our neighborhood, but we’re also often privileged to make deliveries on the way home from work.” So here’s where to go on Thursday:
El Chupacabra Alki (for lunch only)
Noble Barton (White Center)
Here’s the full citywide list of participants, including what percentage they’re donating, and which meal(s) on Thursday.
Just announced – a new benefit 5K to add to your summer schedule: 9 am June 10th at Lincoln Park, the first ever “Roll Hawks” 5K to raise money for the Chief Sealth International High School Cross-Country Team. Interested? You can register online by going here.
Looking for someplace to make a difference tomorrow, on Earth Day? We’ve already featured Duwamish Alive! – but there are smaller events, too, like this one at Lafayette Elementary, all ages welcome:
On April 22nd we will be celebrating Earth Day here at Lafayette from 9:00 am-12:00 pm. It is a Saturday morning and we will be having a community clean-up day. We are joining hands with our self-help and Jackson Lewis P.C. We will have at least 25 volunteers. Please bring your child and help clean up/ freshen up Lafayette’s grounds this Earth Day! There will be water, juice, donuts, and coffee.
The school is at California/Lander.
Here’s a simple way to help local students. From Roxhill Elementary PTA president Amanda Kay Helmick:
We know the West Seattle community is generous and wants to help! And here is an opportunity to do so. Roxhill Elementary started a school fundraiser today! What’s great is that you can look at all the items online. Roxhill is trying to raise money for field trips, classroom supplies, school community events, and playground equipment. It runs from today until May 2nd. If you know a Roxhill student, you can buy things under their name, or just buy items for the school at large.
If you don’t have a specific student to support at Roxhill you can put in SM4 as both the first and last name in order to support some of our higher-needs students. Roxhill has two classrooms that support students with autism, Down syndrome, and other capabilities. Some of these students might not be able to engage with neighbors and the community to sell fundraising items. But you can support them by putting in their class name so that their classroom earns prizes and participates in drawings. Thank you for your support of Roxhill and all of our students!
To enter a name (or SM4 SM4 as Amanda mentioned), use this link – or, you can go to the general Roxhill online storefront here.
(WSB photo, November 2016: TEALS founder Kevin Wang and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray at left, visiting CSIHS)
The Technology Education And Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program at Chief Sealth International High School – which got a high-profile visit last fall (photo above) – is looking for volunteers to help next year. From Sealth principal Aida Fraser-Hammer:
Chief Sealth International High School is extremely excited to announce that we are entering our 3rd year of partnership with the TEALS program, which provides support to students who want to explore computer science in the classroom.
We are now planning for the 2017 – 2018 school year and as in years past, we are reaching out to the West Seattle community in search of software programmers or engineers willing to share their programming skills with our students. Volunteers are needed in the classroom as team-teachers 2 days per week for the next school year. No teaching experience is necessary; all training and additional supports will be provided by the TEALS program.
TEALS volunteers have enjoyed a successful partnership with Sealth by exposing students to challenging coursework which has been extremely successful in getting students hooked into computer programming and interested in pursuing higher education in the field of computer science. Volunteer training is provided during the summer and involvement in the classroom varies. Volunteers can team-teach or simply help out in the Computer Science classroom. They commit to two days per week during the 1st period of the day which allows them to maintain their regular work schedule.
Past volunteers have provided classroom support to students and have enjoyed helping teach CS in the classroom. Others have actually used the opportunity as a testing ground to explore a career in teaching. In fact, two-year Sealth volunteer Jon Fincher saw TEALS “as a chance to explore my interest in a more formal teaching role. It wasn’t long before I was fully stuck in. Within a few months, I knew teaching was going to be my post-tech career. I went back to school to get my CTE credentials to follow my passion.”
Although only a few TEALS volunteers explore teaching as a second career, all report, as Fincher does, “When I see a student ‘get it’, and see them take what they learned and do something I never thought of, I get as much satisfaction as they do.”
Sealth students started exploring Python 2nd semester this year, and although Python mastery is absolutely not a requirement for volunteers we would be particularly excited if any Python pros would like to help us for next year.
Interested CS professionals are encouraged to explore more at the volunteer section of the TEALS website or contact Sealth teacher John Wright (206-252-8550) for more information.
(WSB photo by Leda Costa from last fall’s Duwamish Alive! work party at Herring’s House Park on the river)
One week from today, it’s the spring edition of the multi-site work party that does good deeds for the Duwamish River, its watershed, and all that depend on it – including you and your neighbors. Next Saturday (April 22nd) is Duwamish Alive! – this year, coinciding with Earth Day – and it will begin with a 10 am celebration at the T-107 public-access site (4700 W. Marginal Way SW), featuring a welcome by Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen as well as remarks by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition coordinator James Rasmussen and U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith speaking. This year’s John Beal Environmental Stewardship Volunteer Awards will be presented, too.
T-107 is just one of the dozen-plus work-party locations that are looking for help 10 am-2 pm April 22nd. See the others here – many are in West Seattle; choose one where you’d like to go.
Fighting hunger in West Seattle is done in many ways – including donating food and/or money, volunteering – and here’s one more way you can help. WSB is among the sponsors for this year’s Instruments of Change event, benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank, which shares this update and invitation:
It’s just 4 weeks until the West Seattle Food Bank’s biggest fundraiser, the 10th Annual Instruments of Change Dinner/Auction on Saturday, May 13th at the Seattle Design Center. The West Seattle Food Bank plays an important role in our West Seattle Community. This fundraiser will ensure that the programs provided to those in need will continue. Programs like the new “Shopping Model” distribution that better meets the needs of the diverse population that the WSFB serves; the Mobile Food Bank, which brings nutritious food to the homes of homebound seniors and disabled individuals; the Backpack Program that provides schoolchildren at risk of hunger with kid-friendly meals for the weekend; the Baby & Child Corner that distributes diapers, formula, baby food, and other important items to help infants & toddlers get a good start in life; or the Community Connections that help families access additional information and services from dozens of partner organizations.
Instruments of Change is a fun event featuring a hosted happy hour, Bourbon & Tequila tastings, silent & live auctions, a delicious dinner by Tuxedo & Tennis Shoes Catering, dessert dash, Funds for Food, and a program awarding Metropolitan Market and their customers with the Instrument of Change Award.
Please join us! You have 2 more weeks until April 28th to get the early bird price of $100/guest or $1000/table of 10. On April 29th, tickets will go to $120/guest and $1200/table. Purchase your tickets and get more information on Instruments of Change at westseattlefoodbank.ejoinme.org/InstrumentsofChange.
For more information on sponsorships or auction donations, please contact Judi Yazzolino, WSFB Development Director at 206.932.9023 or judi@westseattlefoodbank.org.
Be part of history – the first-ever Loop the ‘Lupe event in West Seattle. Our Lady of Guadalupe is launching the obstacle course and 5K fun run/walk on June 4th at Walt Hundley Playfield (kitty-corner from the church and school, at 34th/Myrtle), and sponsoring WSB right now to help get the word out.
Not only will Loop the ‘Lupe include a 5K and an obstacle course, organizers add that the lineup for that day (start times here) also includes “a quarter-mile, flat, obstacle-free ‘Senior Saunter‘ for those aged 50+ and a ‘Youth Dash‘ for kids younger than 8.”
Loop the ‘Lupe is a benefit for the Walmesley Center at OLG, as explained on this page where you can donate to support the center even if you can’t be part of the June 4th event:
… the Walmesley Center at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (is) a valuable community resource that hosts numerous athletic events and social outreach programs that benefit all of our West Seattle neighbors, whether they’re members of the parish or not. The Walmesley Center has hosted more than 20,000 kids and families through its athletic programs since its opening. The Center is also the place where more than 3,000 people every year volunteer and take part in events like free community meals for seniors, blood drives, flu shots, and and presentations on social justice concerns.
Sign up for Loop the ‘Lupe by next Saturday (April 15th) and you get the early-registration rate, $25 – you can do it right now by going here.
P.S. Here’s the course map.
This year’s West Seattle Junction Day of Giving – with many businesses giving part of their proceeds to local nonprofits – is coming up in less than three weeks. For most, all you have to do is show up and shop that day. For salon/shop VAIN (4513 California SW), you also have the chance to make appointments now for an extra round of giving during the week before. Here’s the announcement:
As part of the Junction Day of Giving, VAIN will be donating 10% of retail sales on April 29th to the West Seattle Senior Center. We will have sales specials and gifts with purchase.
In addition, we have select haircut appointments available April 23-29th, with 100% of the service cost to be donated. For more information or to book an appointment please call VAIN at 206-535-2595 and request a haircut to support the Senior Center. Haircuts are available with the following stylists; Sam, Jason, Angie, Della, Ivy, Jessie, Ashlee, TT, Peyton, Misa, Nicola, and Janae. A style appointment is available with Zoe. Stylist profiles can be viewed at vain.com/stylists
VAIN loves the Senior Center and we are excited for this opportunity to lend our support to this important community resource!
2:25 PM: If you weren’t at last night’s STYLE ’17 fashion-show fundraiser for Northwest Hope and Healing, that video will give you a sense of what it was like, as the West Seattleite-founded-and-led nonprofit raised $205,000 to help cancer patients with the everyday expenses that unfortunately don’t stop for those who are in the fight of their lives. That’s West Seattleite Kristina Dahl, NWHH executive director, at the start of the video, which was produced by West Seattleite Edgar Riebe of Captive Eye Media. The models are all survivors, and as you can see in the clips, they have a lot of fun.
This was the 15th year for STYLE, held for the first time at Block41 in Belltown; NWHH also raises money with the annual summertime Alki Beach 5K – watch here for info on this year’s event soon – and in the meantime, you can help NWHH any time by going here.
5:05 PM UPDATE: NWHH’s Dahl just told us the tally is now past $225,000: “We could not have done it without the support of our incredible community, and we are grateful to every single attendee, donor, volunteer … and of course our amazing models.”
Before we get to previews for today, two reminders for tomorrow that a great way to start your weekend is to give a little of your time to help a local neighborhood shine. We have cleanups north and south, and every single extra person makes a big difference:
(Photo from 2013 Fairmount Ravine event)
25TH ANNUAL FAIRMOUNT RAVINE CLEANUP: As previewed here, this is not just a cleanup, but also some TLC for trees – ivy removal. 8:30-10:30 am Saturday; meet at Fairmount and Forest, at the top (south end) of the ravine [map]. We are told the Southwest Precinct Community Police Team will be helping this year too.
25TH AND TRENTON: The South Delridge Community Group and Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council are teaming up at this site [map] and will be happy to see you join them here for one quick hour of work, 10 am-11 am Saturday.
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