West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
A weekend full of generosity in West Seattle – a wave of major fundraisers for schools and nonprofits, capped by the Nature Consortium’s annual brunch, which filled The Hall at Fauntleroy at noontime Sunday. The West Seattle-based organization’s work is threefold, as shown on this display board:
There’s the Youth Art Program, the Arts In Nature Festival every summer at Camp Long, and in the West Duwamish Greenbelt – the huge forest along West Seattle’s eastern edge – the work to restore it, to plant new evergreens and other natives where native conifers towered long ago. Nature Consortium executive director Nancy Whitlock talks about that work in the speech excerpt that starts our video-highlights clip (in which you’ll also see volunteers honored with “Golden Shovel Awards” and youth performers presenting music and dance):
And of course, there was the food: Brunch cuisine was provided by The Hall at Fauntleroy’s own resident catering company, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering (WSB sponsor),
(WSB is proud to have been among the sponsors again this year.) If you weren’t at the brunch, you can still donate to help the Nature Consortium’s work – here’s how. (You can also join in their frequent work parties – like the volunteers honored with those golden shovels – check the calendar here – and note that the dates are set for this year’s Arts In Nature Festival, August 20-21.)
(WSCO’s Toni Reineke and Rob Duisberg – photos by Patrick Sand for WSB)
What a season for the West Seattle Community Orchestras. The name alone is a big development – the organization was founded as, and known for a long time as, Westside Symphonette, but to recognize what it’s become, multiple intergenerational groups, it’s now known as West Seattle Community Orchestras. The youth programs are a particular point of pride – so to ensure funding to make sure all kids can play, WSCO organized its first-ever fundraising gala. And that historic event last night at Kenyon Hall was a wall-to-wall success, with more than 100 people filling the hall for buffet dinner, drinks, music and dancing:
Dozens of performers of all ages and talents were part of the program. We recorded video of some of them – here are five minutes of highlights, starting with Kenyon Hall maestro Lou Magor playing the hall’s centerpiece, “The Mighty Wurlitzer” and featuring excerpts from five other performances (we wish we had recorded them all!):
The evening, emceed by Adam DeBruler, also included a wide array of silent-auction items, including many donated by other West Seattle (and environs) arts organizations in support of WSCO. We checked with WSCO founder Toni Reineke to see if they have any totals; she says their preliminary tallying indicates the event definitely came out “in the black,” and she adds, “We thank everyone who attended and those who contributed in so many ways — food, labor, energy, smiles, music—and their lusty singing! A special thanks, of course, to Lou Magor!” As she announced last night, the next WSCO performances are May 3 and 10 – more on those soon; meantime, they practice at Chief Sealth International High School every Tuesday night, and are always open to new musicians – check www.wscorchestras.org for contact and schedule info.
(WSB photo from March 2010 Fairmount Ravine cleanup)
With an announcement we received tonight, there are now three notable cleanup events scheduled for next Saturday. The newest one happens just once a year, in the Fairmount Ravine, where neighbors already have noted lots of trash as well as spray cans from graffiti vandals:
Fairmount Ravine Preservation Group will sponsor the 19th Annual Spring Cleanup and Reforestation of Fairmount Ravine, Saturday March 19th. Gather at 8:30 for delicious Tully’s coffee and hot cocoa along with donuts. Cleanup is usually completed within two hours. Meet your friends and neighbors at the top of the ravine (Forest St. and Fairmount Ave., just east of Hiawatha Park). Beware that currently there is utility construction at this intersection. You can walk through the intersection but need to park nearby. Wear boots and gloves. Bring a pruning saw if interested in removing ivy from trees.
We extend a special invitation to those who use the ravine to access the waterfront; please donate an hour of your time to keep this greenbelt healthy and pristine. More info – call John at 932-5151.
(The aforementioned intersection is the one where a sinkhole revealed a big pipe problem. Underground work has wrapped up, tipster Craig tells us, but there’s still road repair ahead.)
The other two cleanups next Saturday both have been announced here already – Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Adopt-A-Street quarterly cleanup, meeting at 9 am Saturday (3/19) at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor), and the first effort of what was dubbed “Clean Up Your Act Seattle” when we reported it here six weeks ago, but has since changed to “Keep Seattle Beautiful” – they’re focusing first on South Seattle, meeting at 8111 First Avenue South (map), between West Seattle and South Park, 10 am next Saturday (here’s the Facebook event page).
(Y staff Nate Sander, Katie Taylor, and Anne Powell displaying youth art that you can bid for)
Tonight, an update from the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) as its Partners With Youth fundraising campaign continues. As we’ve continued to expand school and community coverage in the past year, we’ve honestly been surprised to bump into the Y at almost every turn – they sponsor and facilitate programs at schools, community centers, and other facilities, not just their own, and not just athletics. So here’s the latest:
Every year, West Seattleites have stepped up to help their neighbors by giving to the Y’s Partners With Youth Campaign. The Y couldn’t meet its mission of building a strong community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility without the generosity of this community.
This year, we still have a long way to go to reach our goal (we are at $118,000 on our goal of $200,000) and the need is greater than ever, but you can help – visit www.westseattleymca.org/donate and make an online donation to the Y. Your donation will stay right here in West Seattle to help kids and families have access to quality child care, educational programs, youth sports, swim lessons, and more.
You can also support the campaign by bidding on some fabulous youth art – these pieces were created by students in our Community Learning Center program at West Seattle Elementary. If you would like to place a bid for one (or both) of these pieces, send your bid amount to kmtaylor@seattleschools.org.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After a soul-searching board meeting last night, the board of Family Promise of Seattle – this area’s only shelter program aimed at keeping homeless families together – made a momentous decision: They set a tentative date for reopening their program.
Almost seven months have passed since their surprise hiatus – first reported here – and decision not to reopen until they had raised enough money to operate for half a year, $90,000.
They don’t have the full $90,000 yet, but as one board member put it last night, they are “within spitting distance” – with funding on hand plus pledges equaling an estimated $75,000.
The Family Promise model, which is employed nationwide, calls for a local branch to partner with area churches – the churches provide nighttime shelter and food for the homeless families, on a rotating basis, one church, one week, then on to the next, while the organization works with the families as they search for jobs and other assistance. (There is no proselytizing, however, and the families who get help are not obligated to participate in faith activities at the host churches.)
Typically, Family Promise local branches also rely on partner congregations for a significant share of their funding. This branch hopes to add to that, and guarantee their organization’s sustainability, by creating a business network, spearheaded by the newest board member, Libby Carr, known well in West Seattle for her successful leadership of the project to raise money to design and build the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza.
The motion passed unanimously by the Family Promise of Seattle board last night – meeting in the library of a partner church, St. John the Baptist Episcopal in the Admiral District – has a couple of caveats. Provided they finish raising the $90,000 and provided they have enough partner churches still interested in hosting homeless families, they will reopen the program on June 1st.
The money has come in sums big and small. They have organized many fundraisers, proud of recent successes including a Taco Night at Alki Tavern that brought in $400. They are looking ahead to hosting a major fundraising gala – possibly with “sock hop” as its theme. And they’re thinking about other enterprises such as creating and selling a cookbook, which has the potential to bring in thousands more.
Bottom line though, came from board member Lynne Downs, when they went around the table for everyone’s honest sentiments on whether it was time to call it quits, or keep going. “29 weeks we’ve been closed – we get about 5 calls a week from families looking for help – that’s 145 families. If each of those families has two children, that’s 290 children who are homeless.”
Others agreed that they just couldn’t give up, as wearying as the six months of working to raise reopening money has been. They are hopeful that reopening will also bring a new “rush of support” from the community, when it happens – many hands make light work.
“We know we have a lot of people in our community who are concerned,” one board member offered. “It hasn’t translated into dollars – but I think the dollars are waiting.”
They will need a steady, if modest, supply of those to keep going, once those doors reopen so that homeless families can stay together while trying to get back on their feet. And they need to verify – starting with a meeting next Monday – whether they have enough congregations still ready to get back to the business of helping host homeless families.
You can help in myriad ways – either with the aforementioned dollars, or with your time (they are hoping to add to the board, after a small, dedicated group has kept chugging through these months of “hiatus” to raise money and strategize). Contact information is on their website.
(Photos courtesy Kellen’s family)
Meet Kellen Gearon. He’s a West Seattle High School senior who’s asking for your help in the clothing drive he is launching tomorrow, to help local foster kids through Treehouse – which points out that foster children “get used to parting with familiar clothing and favorite toys, saying goodbye to family and friends, changing schools time and again.” While researching, he found out that the clothing allowance foster parents get maxes out at $300/year, and that state funding only covers 60 percent of the cost of basic care for foster kids. Donations collected by Kellen’s drive will go to the Treehouse Wearhouse, where foster kids “shop” – free – for must-have items including clothes, shoes, school supplies, books, and toys. (In 2009, he says, the Wearhouse distributed more than $1 million worth of such items to almost 3,000 foster children.) From Kellen’s open letter asking you to donate to his drive:
Here’s how you can help.
Donate new or gently worn clothing, shoes, and coats.
Pick up one or more gifts for a foster child.
Make a donation.
Purchase gifts for Treehouse kids from March 11, 2011 until March 25, 2011.
Please bring your donations to the drop-off sites listed below and I will make sure they get to Treehouse.
Menashe and Sons Jewelers: 4532 California Ave SW
West Seattle High School: 3000 California Ave SW
Can’t get to the store? You can still help by shopping the Treehouse donation catalog at http://www.treehouseforkids.org/make-gift. Don’t forget to put Kellen Gearon on the “Drive Host” line at check-out. You can also mail your [monetary] donation to Treehouse, or drop it off at one of the drop-off sites, Menashe and Sons Jewelers or West Seattle High School in the office.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and thank you for supporting kids in foster care.
Thank you,
Kellen Gearon
At the dropoff spots, just look for bins like this:
You can make it a “good time for a good cause” doubleheader this Saturday night and Sunday midday with two events that WSB is honored to be co-sponsoring:
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY ORCHESTRAS’ SPRING GALA: Saturday night, the intergenerational three-group West Seattle Community Orchestras are raising money for their youth programs with a night of music, silent auction, and light dinner at West Seattle’s Kenyon Hall. The gala is at 7 pm Saturday, doors open at 6:30, tickets $25. To check on availability, e-mail Abe Santini at abe@wscorchestras.org.
NATURE CONSORTIUM BRUNCH: Then Sunday, mimosas are on the menu for the Nature Consortium‘s annual brunch. So are roasted-vegetable stratas, the acclaimed cuisine of Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes Catering (WSB sponsor). And you’ll be inspired by a performance from the NC’s Youth Art Program. It’s noon-1:30 pm Sunday at the The Hall at Fauntleroy. It’s free to register (NC contributions will be requested during the event). Just go here to get your name on the list.
(Photo from 2010 Taste of West Seattle)
It’s a major fundraiser for West Seattle Helpline, and a major chance for West Seattleites (and visitors) to try out local food and beverages all in one place, one night. The Taste of West Seattle was bigger than ever last year – more than 300 people showed up – and the planning for this year’s event has just begun, so we’ve been asked to share the word that organizers are looking for restaurants to participate – and for sponsors, too. The date’s set – 6-9 pm May 19th, The Hall at Fauntleroy. If you’re interested in being part of it, you’ll find the contact info at tasteofwestseattle.org – that’s also where tickets for Taste-goers will be available soon (and you can watch the Facebook page, too).
10:50 AM: Update on the contact info – to reach WS Helpline to express interest in participation or sponsorship, call 206.932.4357 or e-mail wshelpline@gmail.com.
This year’s version of “Catsino” – a growing-every-year benefit for local animal advocates – has just been announced for 2-6 pm April 3rd at Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction. As you’ll note on the official poster above, BPP is one of four places where you can buy advance tickets – and there’s a discount if you buy yours by March 31st. Here’s more info in the official news release:
What do Hotwire Hot Mess Roulette, Pig Craps, BlackCat 21 and K9 Blackjack all have in common? “These are just a few of the twelve crazy Las Vegas style games we’ll be playing at Catsino,” says Lora Swift of Furry Faces Foundation, “Local businesses and animal rescue groups are adopting” the gaming tables, dealing out the cards and rolling the dice. Rumor has it that some of the tables will be shelling out extra prizes!
Tickets are just $25 at the door or save $5.00 by purchasing your ticket early at one of our four ticket outlets by March 31st. Each Catsino guest will receive $1,000 in Catsino bucks, three raffle tickets, one free drink ticket, gaming instructions, hors d’oeuvres and a chance to win over 30+ raffle prizes. ‘Use your ‘Vaccination Record Passport’ as a guide to visit and play at each table,’ says F-Cuber Teri Ensley, ‘every time you play for at least five minutes at a table you have not visited before, you will receive a stamp. Play at six different tables, you’ll win an extra Grand Raffle ticket; play at nine different tables—another Grand Raffle Ticket; play at all twelve and earn your third grand raffle ticket!
‘This is a chance for our community to meet our local business owners in a fun, personal setting and learn more about animal rescue groups’, says Tammy Lyle, Furry Faces VP, ‘and, if you like what you hear and see, perhaps deal a few dollars into their donation bucket or sign up to volunteer with them! We know that A.A.R.F., Purrfect Pals, Regional Animal Services of King County and Furry Faces Foundation folks are looking forward to meeting all of you!’
For more information, please visit www.furryfaces.org
Pre-Sale Ticket Outlets-Save $5 By Purchasing Your Ticket Early!
• Beveridge Place Pubm: 6413 California Ave SW, 932-9906 (Morgan Junction)
• Hotwire Coffeehouse: 4410 California Ave SW, 935-1510 (Alaska Junction)
• Muttley Crew Cuts: 4200 Southwest Admiral Way, 932-6888 (Admiral District)
• Pet Elements: 6701 California Ave SW, 206-932-0457 (Morgan Junction)
(January 2011 photo shared by Lisa)
Just about everyone loves walking our beautiful beaches at low tide. Are you ready to help beach visitors learn more about what they’re seeing – as well as how to make sure they don’t cause unintended harm? The Seattle Aquarium‘s volunteer Beach Naturalist program – which stations volunteers on area beaches (including two in West Seattle) during summertime low tides – is looking for help. Here’s the official announcement just out of the WSB inbox:
Care about beaches? Good with people? Sign up to be a volunteer beach naturalist at a Seattle-area beach this summer. Naturalists will attend a program orientation on Tuesday April 12, and receive training from marine and interpretative experts on four weekday evenings (April 19, May 3, 10 and 17) and three weekend days (April 23, May 7 and 21). Once trained, volunteers spend three summer days educating visitors about beach ecology and beach etiquette at Carkeek Park, Constellation Park (South Alki), Des Moines Beach Park, Golden Gardens, Lincoln Park, Olympic Sculpture Park Beach, Redondo Beach, Richmond Beach or Seahurst Park. To sign up or get more information, please email beachnaturalist@seattleaquarium.org or call (206) 386.4365.
About this time of year, we start getting notes asking if anyone is having a fundraising car wash on a particular day – so they can do a good deed while getting their vehicle good and clean. When one such question came in yesterday, we were able to reply, “In fact, the Chief Sealth Honor Choir will be washing cars Sunday at Alki Auto Repair to raise money for their upcoming trip to Carnegie Hall.” And there we found the fundraising car-scrubbers this morning – with choir members Tiffany and Hayley pausing for a photo. Just look for the sign at 57th and Alki (that’s the Shoremont in the background).
They’re planning to be there till 4 pm, suggested donation $10. And a WSB’er checked – yes, the water goes into a separate treatment system and doesn’t drain into Puget Sound.
(P.S. If you have a car wash or other fundraiser planned, we’d be happy to put it on the WSB Events calendar as soon as you schedule it – just send the info to editor@westseattleblog.com.)
(P.P.S. A comment reminds us, we need to add that if you missed this today, they’ll do it again same place, same time, in three weeks, March 27th, as mentioned in our preview.)
On March 13th, Sunday brunch goes green – not because St. Patrick’s Day is ahead – it’s all about the greenspaces around us, the heart of the Nature Consortium‘s work. One week from tomorrow, it’s the West Seattle-based nonprofit’s annual fundraising/awareness-raising brunch, noon-1:30 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy. It’s free to register (donations will be requested during the event). Just go here to get your name on the list.
10:59 AM: Thanks to Jake Jaramillo for the photo of the in-progress cleanup of the Thistle Street Stairs near Lincoln Park (stretching from 46th/Thistle up to Northrop/Thistle). Jake says there’s still time to go pitch in – “It’s very well-organized. They can put to work anyone who cares to join!”
3:23 PM: Added that clip produced by Wes Sauer of Cider Press Media, narrated by P.J. Glassey. We checked out the cleanup toward the end and indeed, it seemed all involved had a great time (and cleared away multiple bags of overgrowth, including some that was clogging a small drainage ditch alongside the stairs).
What could be the trip of a lifetime is just weeks away for the Chief Sealth International High School Honor Choir – but they’re still raising money, and here’s your next chance to help – as promoted in the photo above, drawn on a car that may well be first in line:
The Chief Sealth Honor Choir was invited to travel to New York City to perform on Easter Sunday at Carnegie Hall. The students and their families have been busy since October rolling up their sleeves and working hard, now we are hoping to really clean up … your car, that is! Drive on down to Alki Auto Repair, no matter how filthy this winter has left your vehicle, we will be happy to see you!!!! Here are the details:
Car Wash for Carnegie Hall
Sunday, March 6th and March 27th
9:00 AM-4:00 PM Rain or Shine
Alki Auto Repair
2504 Alki Ave SW
$10.00
Donations encouraged and heartily appreciated!
Here’s the letter explaining more about the trip (and how to donate even if you don’t need your vehicle washed, or don’t have one to get washed).
Motivating teenagers to stay in school is harder than you might think. The dropout crisis is real, and multiple attempts are under way to try to convince kids, one by one, to keep going. The video you see above is part of a campaign called “Get Schooled.” West Seattle High School is participating, and there’s a rap/rhyme contest too. One participating WSHS student e-mailed WSB with his video link – it’s a 1-minute video, full of local scenery! – and this explanation:
My name is Ryan Gluckman, I am a Junior at West Seattle High School, and I am participating in “Get Schooled,” a campaign focused on motivating kids to graduate high school, and be on time to class. This program is relatively exclusive, including only 25 schools in the nation, one of them being WSHS. Participating students submit a rhyme & video that explain how they stay motivated in school. I wrote, directed, performed, and co-produced an entire video along with the help of my fellow student, a Senior at West Seattle High School, Lucas Saunders. We filmed the entire video in West Seattle. WSHS showed support for my video [earlier this week] by playing my song over the intercom in the hallways inbetween classes.
Ryan also shared this link explaining the video contest and why your support matters. He has a Facebook page for his participation in the contest, too – you can show support by “liking” it here. Note that you have to sign up with the Get Schooled site to vote – though the checklist makes it look like you can’t participate if you’re over 19, the rules clearly say anyone over 13 can vote; deadline for voting is March 18th. (P.S. If you wondered who’s behind Get Schooled – we did – its “partners” are listed here, including the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).
It’s West Seattle’s longest stairway, and we’d venture to say its best-known, as a result. Seattle Stairway Walks has featured it; runners and walkers express begrudging appreciation for its 359 steps (or so – this site cites different numbers!). The Thistle Street Stairway, running between Lincoln Park and the Upper Fauntleroy/Gatewood line, is getting some TLC this Saturday, and you are invited to be part of it. Stairway fans are gathering at the bottom, 46th and Thistle (map), at 10 am Saturday for two hours of intensive cleanup. Here’s the Facebook event page, which you can use to RSVP if you choose, and organizers would love to know “if you are able to bring any of the following: scraping tools, brooms, flat shovels, or other implements of moss destruction” – yes, they mean MOSS destruction. They’re promising to “bring the yard waste bags, drinks, and a plan.” This is the second-longest stairway in the city, one of 480 stairways that are part of the public right-of-way. (Photo by Wesley Sauer)
March means the start of the annual two-month Feinstein Challenge – and that means your donation, in money or material, to West Seattle Food Bank or White Center Food Bank (which also serves southernmost WS) counts for more than its face value, if you designate it as part of the challenge. Here’s the official announcement from your two local food banks:
The White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank are seeing a record number of families come to their doors for assistance. During March and April your donations to help neighbors in need can go farther.
For the 14th consecutive year, Allan Shawn Feinstein will divide $1,000,000 among hunger relief agencies nationwide through his Feinstein Challenge. All donations made between March 1 and April 30th, 2011, and that are specifically designated “Feinstein Challenge,” will count towards the challenge total and help these agencies receive a larger percentage of the million dollars.
For the White Center Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To make a donation online or for information about the White Center Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.whitecenterfoodbank.org or contact Rick Jump at (206) 762-2848, or e-mail rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org.
For the West Seattle Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 3419 SW Morgan, Seattle, WA 98126. To make a donation online or for information about the West Seattle Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.westseattlefoodbank.org or contact Fran Yeatts at (206) 932-9023, or e-mail fran@westseattlefoodbank.org.
For information about the Feinstein Foundation and the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.feinsteinfoundation.org
As the need for our services continues to increase significantly, your donations are now more important than ever.
The Feinstein Foundation says its annual Challenge is “the most successful ongoing effort ever to fight hunger” – so your donation makes you part of that.
The WestSide Baby fundraising double-bill (WSB coverage here) gave birth to an Oscar party that’s being enjoyed right now – as WS Baby leader Nancy Woodland explained while sharing photos, “At this year’s Tea, one loyal WestSide Baby Tea Table Captain, Toddy Dyer, won a Oscars Party at Burien’s Tin Theater. She turned it into a diaper drive and a group of 40 women gathered to celebrate the awards and Toddy’s birthday!!” Some of the diaper donations, more priceless to WS Baby than any golden statuette:
WS Baby helps families in West Seattle, White Center, Burien, and elsewhere in south King County – here’s how you can help them, any time!
That one-minute video is the work of Bonnie Levin and 20 of her preschoolers at West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor). They have entered it in Verity Credit Union‘s “Cartwheel for a Cause” contest – and it just needs your vote, to have a chance to win – Bonnie explains:
It was a chance to teach my 3 year old students about service, community and those less fortunate. We made this video in honor of First Place School in the Central District. If you’re not familiar with First Place, it is a program for families living with, or at risk of, homelessness. They provide education and, in most cases, housing for the *entire *family. It’s a fantastic program that is in need of extra funding. If we win this contest, we plan on donating the entire sum to this organization. …
Here’s how to vote
1) go to http://www.veritymom.com/cartwheel-for-a-cause/
2) look at the right side of the page for the “ballot”
3) vote for video #20 (Bonnie Levin)Only one vote per valid e-mail address is necessary.
PLEASE help! These little guys worked really hard on this project and it’d be so wonderful for them to see it through to the donation phase.
(WSB photo of the Hiawatha wading pool)
Might be a stretch to think about wading pools on a wintry night, but the city announced today that it is looking for help long before summer gets here. Seattle Parks doesn’t have the money to add back any of the hours slashed last year, when only five pools around the city were open daily, 10 three days a week, and 7 never opened at all (3 more were closed last year but will reopen as spray parks this year, including the Highland Park wading-pool site). But if they can find sponsors/partners, they might be able to change that, and open more pools for more days. In West Seattle, only Lincoln Park was open 7 days a week last summer, so if the schedule remains the same, sponsorships could help Delridge, E.C. Hughes, and/or Hiawatha. Find details on Parks’ pool-sponsor proposals by going here.
Just in from Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby, which helps thousands of local families but can’t do it without you:
The PERFECT Snow Day project awaits you and your kids!
As you are searching for gloves and boots, many of the families we serve are in cramped living spaces with inadequate heat. Warm clothes are needed today! After filling orders this week for local children in need, WestSide Baby’s clothing shelves are extremely depleted. I hope you will consider a closet-clean out day with your kids to be a worthwhile, non-TV, do “something for other’s” way to fill a few hours if the snow or school holiday keeps you cooped up this week.
WestSide Baby provides essentials to local children (newborn to size 12) in need by collecting items from local families and distributing them through more than 90 local social service agency partners like food banks, public health and many more. Just in these 3 weeks of February, we have been unable to fill 17 Clothing Bags, 14 requests for shoes and many winter coats. We strive to meet the very real need and we need your help! In the next few days, we have existing orders to fill for many clothing articles including pants and shirts at 15 requests each. Even after a wonderfully discounted shopping spree today of larger size children’s clothes at Again and A Gain Consignment, one of our wonderful on-going sponsors, we were through those bags by day’s end.
A complete and detailed list of the clothing items we currently need can be found on our How to Give section of our website. Our facility is open for donations again on Saturday from 10-1 but we also have many drop-off locations throughout West Seattle and Burien if you can reach them easier. We also have many unfilled requests for items such as car seats, strollers, portable cribs and toddler beds (not twin) but we are slightly overstocked on toys. Feel free to leave the toy purge for another day!
Want cleaner streets and sidewalks? Here are two more opportunities in addition to the March 5th “Clean Up Your Act” volunteer effort noted here. First, Admiral Neighborhood Association president Katy Walum posted a reminder about their Saturday Adopt-A-Street event (free breakfast AND lunch!) as a WSB comment:
… The Admiral Neighborhood Association will be having our quarterly Adopt-a-Street cleanup this Saturday, February 26th, from 9-11 am. Any interested volunteers are welcome to meet with us at 9 am at the Admiral Metropolitan Market, and spend an hour or so picking up litter in and around the Admiral business district. We will provide safety vests, gloves, bags, and trash grabbers. Metropolitan Market will provide volunteers with fresh coffee, fruit, and pastries, and a sack lunch after the cleanup to reward you for your efforts. Please e-mail me at katy.walum@gmail.com with any questions. Hope to see you litter-busters there!
And we also got word of a cleanup along West Seattle’s longest staircase, the SW Thistle Street stairs between Upper Fauntleroy and Lincoln Park. Neighbors and other stairway users will gather at its lower end at 10 am March 5th; more details in this Facebook event invitation.
Remember Michael Merta, whose anti-litter letter was published here three weeks ago? He’s mustered some support and is now – with one local leader’s encouragement – inviting you to join in a cleanup, among other things. Here’s his update:
About three weeks ago I wrote an open letter about the worsening problem of litter in the Seattle area. I’ve received many responses to that letter from other concerned citizens since then. I have still not heard back from any of the city, county, or WSDOT officials that I complained to, about their plans if any, to deal with the problem.
I have been contacted by King County Councilman Joe McDermott’s office, and they have asked me to organize a cleanup through the Facebook page that I created around this issue.
The Councilman’s office has contacted Waste Management to provide support, tools, and supplies for the effort, and we are tentatively planning it for Saturday March 5th between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Please see the Facebook page for further details, or contact me at michaelmerta@hotmail.com
It is unclear to me, and it is also unclear to officials in Councilman McDermott’s office, just who is responsible for routine litter patrol, and in which areas of town. There may be areas where indeed, no agency is currently responsible. Since I first complained about this to the various agencies, there has been no litter removed from the sites I’ve identified. It seems as if our local government does not have the resources, or has not allocated the resources to solve this problem, so we as citizens need to figure something out here.
Obviously, one cleanup event cannot solve this problem. In my opinion, it’s going to take a comprehensive effort involving frequent citizen cleanups, state and local government organized cleanups, increased fines, and increased code enforcement. A kind of full-on campaign, we could call it “Keep Seattle Beautiful.” I’d like some help with getting such a campaign started. We could all start by writing about our concerns to our local politicians. mayormcginn.seattle.gov, Dow.Constantine@kingcounty.gov
In a city that prides itself on being “green” and environmentally friendly, it seems we have allowed plain old litter to make a comeback. Today, as I was driving across the First Avenue bridge (one of the areas I first complained about) I noticed someone decided to drop off an old couch on the side of the road (see photo above). Funny thing about litter, you leave it there and it seems to multiply.
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