West Seattle, Washington
04 Wednesday
The West Seattle Giving Spirit sustains thousands of people in our area. Among them, the families served by WestSide Baby, the next spotlighted organization in our holiday-season series. Three times a week through year’s end, WSB is bringing you this special holiday-season opportunity to learn more about, and support, some of our area’s tireless nonprofits, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation. Here’s how to “Give Joy,” and more, via WestSide Baby:
For nearly 25 years, WestSide Baby has been a lifeline for families in King County, providing essential items to children in need. Through the generosity of our community, we support thousands of families each year.
One of our most meaningful efforts is our Give Joy campaign, which runs through December 31st. This campaign addresses the need for warm clothing and diapers, as the colder months approach. Winter can be especially challenging for families facing financial hardship, and Give Joy helps ensure children have the basics they need to stay warm and healthy.
Over the past year, WestSide Baby has seen an increased need for our services. In 2023, we distributed more than 2.7 million diapers and this year, we’ve fulfilled more than 15,469 orders — a 14% increase over last year at this time.
As the need for our services grows, we’re calling on you to help us make an even-bigger impact. Every donation makes a difference and helps us reach even more families in need. We invite you to join us in spreading joy and supporting families when they need it most.
Questions? info@westsidebaby.org
Scroll through our archive of West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights here (newest to oldest), and watch for the next one on Wednesday!
Another cold night begins … and the West Seattle Giving Spirit sustains the Westside Neighbors Shelter, our next spotlighted organization in our holiday-season series. Three times a week through year’s end, WSB is bringing you this special holiday-season opportunity to learn more about, and support, some of our area’s hardworking nonprofits, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation. Tonight – consider this one-of-a-kind shelter:
On a freezing night in 2019, Keith Hughes opened the doors of the American Legion Hall to a handful of people with nowhere to sleep safely and stay warm. As Commander of American Legion Post 160, he was used to assisting veterans; however, he knew he also had to respond to the emergency needs of the men and women huddled outside his door.
Since then, Westside Neighbors Shelter has expanded to act as a morning warmup center year-round, with hot drinks and breakfast. From November into March, the hall becomes a sleeping room filled with cots, giving unhoused adults a place to stay warm and dry when the outside temperatures fall to dangerous levels. Hot dinners and breakfast are provided by the local community. People experiencing homelessness can shower and get clean clothing. All adults are welcome, regardless of gender, whether or not they’re a veteran.
Westside Neighbors Shelter is a volunteer-operated emergency shelter; it currently receives no funding from government sources. The shelter has only one paid employee: a security professional who watches the hall when it’s occupied overnight. Community donations of money, labor, and supplies help provide food, heat, and basic sanitation for the increasing number of people unable to find a place to live in West Seattle and Burien.
As word of this place grew, so did the number of men and women hoping for a hot meal, a shower and clean clothes, and a place to shelter from a freezing night. The number of people seeking shelter here has risen dramatically–from up to 20 per night in 2019 to up to 40 per night in 2023. “I don’t see that stopping or even leveling off,” says Keith.
Keith estimates that last winter the shelter handed out 1,300 pairs of socks, 800 stocking caps, 800 pairs of gloves, 500 sets of clothing, and 400 winter coats. “We take care of a lot of people here. I am sure it’s 500 or 600 individuals over the winter,” he says.
“We’re providing temporary emergency sheltering. Most of the people who come here are on a journey to find permanent housing solutions, and this is a stopover on the journey.”
“We don’t get a lot of feedback from people who are here for one or two nights and move on. But out of the core of longer-term clients, we have had our successes with those who have been able to find interim housing solutions, and those who have come to their own realization that they need professional help for mental-health issues, alcohol and drug overuse issues, and we have sometimes been able to help them find resources to meet their needs. Those resources are outside of this facility, because we can’t provide those resources directly here at this time,” says Keith.
Your support can keep dozens of people safe and warm every night this time of year.
DONATE HERE
VOLUNTEER HERE
WHAT’S NEEDED MOST
LEARN MORE ABOUT WESTSIDE NEIGHBORS SHELTER
Scroll through our archive of West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights here, and watch for the next one on Monday!
The past and the future are in view today as our West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights on local nonprofits continue. Three times a week through year’s end, WSB is bringing you this special holiday-season opportunity to learn more about, and support, about some of our area’s hardworking nonprofits, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation. Today – you’ll see why the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and Log House Museum aren’t just looking back:
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society promotes inclusive, local history through education, preservation, and advocacy. The organization owns and operates the Log House Museum, a City of Seattle Historic Landmark, located one block from Alki Beach, known to Coast Salish people as sbaqʷabqs, or Prairie Point.
SWSHS has big plans for 2025 and beyond, including a major overhaul of the Log House Museum’s exhibitions. Keep an eye out for exciting developments on this project in 2025 and donate today to help advance SWSHS’s vision to transform how visitors experience the Log House Museum.
Today, SWSHS welcomes museum visitors to the Log House Museum (its current exhibition, Seattle’s Forest: The West Duwamish Greenbelt, highlights the geologic, indigenous, and political history of the city’s largest contiguous forest), provides tours to hundreds of local students a year, and hosts public programming, like Alki History Walking Tours
The SWSHS also presents Words, Writers, Southwest Stories, a popular monthly speaker series. (A recent program featured artist and author Bradi Jones and music historian Peder Nelson to discuss Jones’s grunge-era coloring book and the intersection of art and music in Seattle’s grunge scene.
Next month’s program features David Peterson, a historic resource consultant, who will discuss the landmarking of West Seattle’s Cettolin House, which was recently in the path of the West Seattle light rail extension plan. Information and registration at our website.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society also cares for a Native Plant Garden as well as a unique collection of more than 10,000 artifacts, many of which are now viewable online or at the Log House Museum, including the original Alki Beach Lady Liberty and a fragment of the original West Seattle Bridge, permanently closed after the freighter Antonio Chavez, piloted by the infamous Rolf Neslund, collided with the bridge in 1978.
This year, SWSHS began a multi-year interpretive planning project supported by an inaugural and competitive grant from the newly established Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. The planning will result in a permanent, interactive exhibit at the Log House Museum that will highlight the historical and cultural significance of Alki Beach, prioritize interactive museum experiences and the display of historical society artifacts, share diverse stories from across the Duwamish Peninsula, and extend to the exterior of the Log House Museum.
Planning for this exhibit is well underway and has included participation from dozens of community partners, heritage and museum professionals, and the Duwamish Tribe. The project is rooted in SWSHS’s 2024-2026 Strategic Plan and inspired from a Peninsula-wide community survey conducted by SWSHS in 2023.
SWSHS is supported by a 12-member board of trustees, advisory committees, including a DEAI Committee, volunteers, members, and many community partners. SWSHS employs a full-time programs and outreach director. Here’s how your West Seattle Giving Spirit can support the SWSHS:
Donate here
Volunteer. Get Involved here
Plan a Visit or Tour
Questions? museum@loghousemuseum.org
Scroll through our archive of West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights here, and watch for the next one on Friday!
Today, as our West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights on local nonprofits continue, you can ensure a nonprofit preschool can teach big lessons to more little kids. Three times a week through year’s end, WSB is bringing you this special holiday-season opportunity to learn more about some of this area’s amazing local nonprofits, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation. Today – open the doors more widely to Hazelwood Preschool – here’s their story:
At Hazelwood Preschool, children discover the joy of learning through a blend of play-based education and connection to nature.
We are a non-profit preschool serving around 40 children ages 2-5 in West Seattle. Nestled against Fauntleroy Park, Hazelwood Preschool provides a unique learning environment that focuses on social-emotional growth. Children are encouraged to build empathy, resilience, and confidence while forming lasting friendships. A central focus of our curriculum is our outdoor program where children explore the natural world, fostering curiosity, and a deep respect for the environment. Our approach to education is holistic, incorporating art, music, and hands-on science activities alongside structured and free play. We celebrate diversity in all its forms, ensuring that every child sees their identity reflected in our curriculum.
At Hazelwood, we are committed to making high-quality early education more accessible. Our scholarship program is deeply meaningful to us, as it allows us to remove financial barriers for families. With your generosity, we can give more children the opportunity to develop a lifelong love of learning and a connection to their community. Contributions to our school enable us to expand our scholarship program, retain passionate educators, and keep tuition affordable.
Hazelwood parent Katy says, “It has been amazing watching my daughter transform during her years at Hazelwood. She went from hesitant and shy to outspoken and immensely proud of herself. She comes home every day excited to tell us about something, whether it was a funny moment with her friends, or the art she created. It is such a relief as a parent to know my child is in a safe and supportive place she loves.”
We are grateful to be part of the incredible West Seattle community. The support and involvement of our families, staff, and neighbors make it possible for Hazelwood Preschool to thrive, and for that, we thank you.
To support Hazelwood Preschool with your West Seattle Giving Spirit, go here! To see who we’ve featured already – browse this WSB archive.
Today, we continue our series of spotlights to cheer on your West Seattle Giving Spirit. Last week, we invited local nonprofits to participate in this first-ever coordinated giving campaign – first-come first-served – and our partner in the campaign, Learning Communities Foundation, received enough applications to fill the spots. Three times a week before year’s end, here on WSB, you’ll be able to spend a few minutes learning about a different West Seattle/White Center nonprofit and how you can support it. Today – find out what you didn’t know about the West Seattle Food Bank, and how to support WSFB!
West Seattle Food Bank was founded by a group of concerned neighbors who responded to the urgent need for a community food bank. For more than three decades, we have provided access to food, clothing, emergency rent and utility assistance, connections to community resources, and other essential services for community members. Each year we offer comprehensive, holistic, wraparound services to thousands of neighbors in the greater West Seattle area.
With our community-centered approach, we are working toward the vision of a strong and connected community where all people have access to safe and nutritious food and living necessities. We nourish lives, so that we may all flourish together.
Other key accomplishments of our programs and services in FY2024 include:
-Served 25,000 neighbors.
-Distributed 2,608,510 pounds of food through our Food Bank Services, a 9% increase from FY23.
-Supplied food to households 103,314 times, an 50% increase from FY21.
-Expanded our Mobile Food Bank to 8 sites and served 200-275 households weekly—a 55% increase in reach.
-Partnered with 13 local schools to distribute 9,007-weekend food packages for students battling food insecurity.
-Prevented homelessness, eviction, and utility shutoffs for 2,038 neighbors, including 830 children.
-Nearly doubled our financial assistance, which surged by 244% to over $1 million.
-Connected clients to next-step services that increase financial stability, including employment search assistance, child-care resources, and mental health counseling.
-Increased the capacity of The Clothesline, which saw a 77% increase from FY23.
-Connected 2,038 Hotline callers to supportive services.The past year has marked a significant increase in our impact, highlighting West Seattle Food Bank’s essential role in addressing food insecurity and providing critical resources for our community. With growing needs in our community and dwindling reserves, we are facing tough decisions about how to continue providing food and housing assistance to families in crisis. By giving today, you can help us continue offering stability and compassion to every neighbor who needs it. Join us in nourishing hope!
Here’s how:
–TO DONATE
–TO VOLUNTEER
-TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WSFB
West Seattle Giving Spirit, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation, will bring you the next spotlight on Monday – you’ll be able to learn about, and lift up, another local nonprofit!
Today, we start our series of spotlights to tap into your West Seattle Giving Spirit. Last week, we invited local nonprofits to participate in this first-ever coordinated giving campaign – first-come first-served – and our partner in the campaign, Learning Communities Foundation, received enough applications to fill up the spots. Three times a week before year’s end, here on WSB, you’ll learn about a different West Seattle/White Center nonprofit and how you can support it. LCF is kicking off the campaign with a spotlight on its early-learning center Educare Seattle, as the first participant – here’s their story:
It’s Fire Drill Day @ Educare Seattle!
A fire drill with the 150 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers at Educare Seattle Early Learning in White Center is no small feat. All of the little people, with all their little FEET, practice their listening, walking, and self-control under the care of their teachers to trek outside.
Educare Seattle is an innovative early-learning center in White Center, with a Whole Family Whole Child approach, where hiring decisions, curriculum changes, and even 1:1 learning plans are done with staff and families working together. Your gift as part of the West Seattle Giving Spirit campaign will support Educare Seattle’s early learning impact right here.
Because 85% of brain development happens before the 3rd birthday, high-quality early learning that partners deeply with families is vital. During the roughly 2,000 days between birth and kindergarten, a child’s mind and body are focused solely on growing and developing – inside and out.
Investing in Educare Seattle (624 SW 100th) means you are investing in a neighbor’s child during this important time as well as the future promise of our West Seattle and White Center communities.
With data and evaluation in hand and relationships built on trust, families meeting “income and circumstance” criteria receive child care and attend preschool in a setting built on four pillars that combine to lead to a Racially Just and Humanizing Learning Community.
Those are big words for a program focused on little children.
Daily, 150 children enter Educare Seattle’s 10 classrooms. They are greeted by teachers and school leaders who look and sound like them, honor their stories, and celebrate their traditions. Parents and caregivers are recognized as their children’s first and most important teachers and have access to family support services and leadership opportunities in equal proportion.
A mom of a recent “Off to Kindergarten” graduate says, “Our family has really grown with Educare the past 3.5 years. I left a really hard relationship, moved and didn’t have a job. With the help of my Family Advocate, I became a Parent Advocate. (This means) I was able to look at resumes of people who wanted to work here and that helped ME get more experience (so that) I also got a job (and was recently promoted!). I cannot say enough good things about Educare and how much they help families in need and how much they helped me.”
Real-time, equity-centered data and evaluation practices impact every family (100% of families have faced systemic obstacles grounded in poverty or oppression) and also inform both state and federal legislation beyond the walls of our building.
Educare was launched in 2010 with capital and operational support from the Gates Foundation; that funding source has now ended. Educare Seattle is a part of a network of 27 Educare schools all under the nationwide Early Learning Network. Its local impact has national influence through this critical partnership. Primary funding for Educare Seattle comes from federal Head Start and Early Head Start funds, in kind and backbone support from the Puget Sound Educational Service District and fund development support from the Learning Communities Foundation, the PSESD’s philanthropic partner.
Join us for a Tour tomorrow – Thursday, November 21, 10:30-12 pm – or at a date of your choice December 9-13 – email nwoodland@learningcommunitiesfoundation.org
Interested in learning about volunteering in 2025? nwoodland@learningcommunitiesfoundation.org
Enrollment information is here – or email Family Advocate Christina Monteith (cmonteith@psesd.org)
We are hiring teachers! Email Site Manager Johna Rhooms (jrhooms@psesd.org) to learn more.
West Seattle Giving Spirit, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation, will bring you the next spotlight on Friday – you’ll be able to learn about, and lift up, another local nonprofit!
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