West Seattle, Washington
21 Sunday
(West Seattle Helpline photo from a 2009 WSB story)
A local nonprofit that helps people in crisis is now in urgent need of some help – so it can keep providing one of its signature services. West Seattle Helpline executive director Tara Byrne says the Clothesline needs a new place to hang its hat (and coats, and so on), ASAP:
The West Seattle Helpline is looking for a new home for our clothing bank. The building we are currently in is being sold therefore, we must find a new location by the end of February in order to continue serving West Seattle families with clothing during financial hardships. People visiting the Clothesline get 3 outfits, a coat, and a pair of shoes at no cost to them. This free service has been provided by the Helpline for many years and we need help with finding a new location. Ideally, it would be donated or low-cost rental space that is around 800 square feet, on or near a bus line, and located within the West Seattle community. Please contact Tara Byrne at wshelpline@gmail.com with any opportunities.
Read more about Clothesline (and other WS Helpline services) here.
To be able to read well is a gift so many of us take for granted. You can celebrate that gift by sharing it with local students — become a literacy volunteer. Jennie Morrison e-mailed us with news that she is facilitating volunteer training tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon/evening, 3:45-6:15 pm at Concord International School in South Park – part of Seattle Public Schools‘ greater West Seattle service area – along with district literacy coach Dan Coles and Washington Reading Corps member Laura Rodriguez. They’d love to see you too. Jennie explains, “The goal of the training is to support community volunteers at local schools with resources and best practices to use as they work with struggling readers. We are doing outreach to our existing volunteer pool, but would also like to connect with the West Seattle community about this opportunity.” If you have the time and inclination, here’s the flyer with more information, including how to RSVP.
(October 2011 photo courtesy Mike Dady)
What started as a seed of an idea in North Delridge last fall – turning 26th SW into a “neighborhood greenway,” an idea that drew City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw to the bicycle tour in the photo above – is now sprouting into something bigger, involving more of West Seattle, and you’re invited to a gathering this Sunday to help the idea keep growing. The announcement comes from local bicycling activist Stu Hennessey:
The neighborhood greenway movement in Seattle has been gaining a lot of momentum lately. Neighborhood greenways are routes which provide safe connections for bicyclists and pedestrians between neighborhoods, and to schools, parks, shopping and other destinations. Often they are located on quiet streets parallel to busy arterials, and include traffic calming measures, protected crossings, pocket parks, and other elements that make the route safer and more pleasant for everybody.
The city of Seattle has committed to funding eleven miles of greenways in 2012, and twelve new miles per year thereafter. Because of the work of several local advocates, two West Seattle routes are under consideration for 2012: 21st ave SW between the West Seattle Bridge and White Center, and 26th Ave SW along the Longfellow Creek Trail through North Delridge. This is just a beginning: we hope to form a vision of bicycle and pedestrian connectivity through West Seattle as a whole, and prioritize greenway routes for future development.
Please join us at Pearl’s Coffee this Sunday, Feb 19 at 3 pm (Pearl’s is located at 4800 Delridge Way SW). We’ll meet with neighbors from around West Seattle to begin discussing our vision for bicycle and pedestrian routes throughout our part of the city. Hope to see you there!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
WestSide Baby‘s experiment in moving the annual Benefit Tea outside West Seattle/White Center, to enable more to attend (and theoretically, to donate), paid off in a big way:
WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland made that announcement onstage at the Hilton Seattle Airport Conference Center with emcee Ian Lindsay at the end of this afternoon’s event. The preliminary tally of almost $175,000 was 40 percent higher than their goal.
It was facilitated in no small part by a round of raise-the-paddle donations:
They ranged from one teagoer’s pledge of $10,000, to many promising $311 – a number suggested by an anonymous donor who promised to match up to $10,000 worth of individual $311 donations – to smaller sums.
Each one of those is important, declared guest speaker Kathy LeMay, a “philanthropic expert” who said she had come from an upbringing more in a position to need donations than to give them.
Glass-art “babycakes” like that one, created and donated by Avalon Glassworks, will be part of the fundraising fun on Sunday, when WestSide Baby takes its annual Benefit Tea to the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center for the first time. WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland confirms there’s still some room left if you haven’t already procured your ticket – but she also says the expected turnout so far already has made history – more than 500! Want to join them, 2-4:30 pm Sunday, for tea, treats, auction fun, and guest speaker Kathy LeMay? The WestSide Baby website has ticket info. (Never been before? Here’s our coverage, with photos and video, from last year.)
(WSB photo from 2011 ‘Have a Heart Day’)
The annual “Have a Heart Day” benefit at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) has a few new twists this time around. It’s not just haircuts this year – you can book any hair service that day, and half the proceeds will go to Pencil Me In For Kids, providing school supplies to kids in need. They also are taking “Have a Heart Day’ appointments for a full day, noon-8 pm; we talked with Heather from Illusions at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch on Wednesday, and she said there are still some appointments available – call 206-938-3675 to snag yours.
From Sunrise Heights, Laura shared the photo and note:
My daughter, Becca (age 8), is selling homemade mini-donuts to raise money for her favorite charity, WestSide Baby, this morning. We are at 34th and Holden across the street from the 37 fire station. We’ll be here until (at least 1 pm) or until the donuts sell out. 3 donuts for one dollar.
12:44 PM UPDATE: Laura mentioned on the WSB Facebook page that they were almost sold out – so if you haven’t gone, probably too late.
1:10 PM UPDATE: Becca raised almost $59, according to her mom.
(May 2011 photo by Debra Salazar Herbst)
Again this year, the West Seattle 5K and “car-free day” Seattle Summer Streets events will be on the same day at Alki – and this year, that day is May 20th. May sound far away, but registration for the fundraising run/walk is open now! Denise Lathrop shares the news:
West Seattle High School PTSA is proud to sponsor the fourth annual West Seattle 5K Run/Walk on May 20, 2012 at Alki Beach. Funds raised from the West Seattle 5K will support music, arts, communications and other emerging needs at West Seattle High School. This is a great community event and provides an opportunity for everyone to participate.
Online registration is now OPEN! For more information or to register for the West Seattle 5K or donate go to: http://westseattle5k.com/
If you are interested in helping to plan or sponsor our event contact Denise Lathrop at: delathrop@comcast.net or 206-941-3924
(WSB is a 5K co-sponsor again this year.)
(June 2011 photo by Jim Clark)
What could be better than walking West Seattle beaches during low-low tides and enjoying sights like that? How about – being there during low-low tides as a volunteer beach naturalist, to help others learn about the beach and how to be careful while on it! Here’s your chance:
Care about beaches? Good with people? Sign up to be a volunteer beach naturalist with the Seattle Aquarium at a Seattle-area beach this summer. Naturalists will attend a program orientation on Tuesday, March 13, and receive training from marine and interpretative experts on five weekday evenings (3/20, 4/4, 4/17, 4/24, 5/1) and three weekend days (3/25, 4/7, 5/6). Once trained, volunteers spend three summer days educating visitors about beach ecology and beach etiquette at Carkeek Park, Constellation Park (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 e-mail beachnaturalist@seattleaquarium.org or call (206) 386.4365.
Just announced … the date and details for this year’s Chief Sealth International High School benefit dinner/auction:
“Passport to Excellence”
Doors open at 5:00 pm
Festive Attire
Presented by: Chief Sealth PTSA, Chief Sealth Athletics, and Chief Sealth Performing ArtsSeahawk Spirit Auction 2012
Saturday, March 03, 2012Please join us for another fun-filled evening in West Seattle at the Hall of Fauntleroy, on Saturday night, March 3, 2012. Featuring local celebrity auctioneer Brad Goode, this year’s all-school event is our largest and most important fundraiser for academics, athletics, and the performing arts. This exciting evening features multiple silent auctions, a dynamic live auction, dessert dash, raffles, and a fabulous plated dinner from Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events!
Menu, ticket info, and other details ahead:Read More
At Beveridge Place Pub and Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) right now, the rescheduled two-site silent auction/raffle/benefit “mini pub-crawl” 
for Teri Ensley and her animal-advocacy/rescue organization Furry Faces Foundation is under way right now. It’s been almost two weeks since a fire damaged Teri’s West Seattle home and killed her beloved cat Pouncer, along with seriously injuring Jared, one of the rescue cats for whom she was caring (he’s the one getting oxygen treatment from a firefighter in a photo we published the day of the fire). A short time ago, we talked with Teri (right) briefly at BPP, where the event continues till 6 (and at FL till 7); she says Jared will eventually be ready to find a forever home. Her home, meantime, has a few months of work ahead before she can move in; she is staying with friends, but recovering from something like this still requires a lot of help, and that’s what tonight’s events are about. Dozens and dozens of auction items are available – we suspect the one on the left below is a hot ticket:
Both locations are on the west side of California SW in the block just north of Fauntleroy.
ADDED: At the Feedback, during hour 2:
From organizers via Facebook, after it was all over: “Thank you so much for everyone that came out tonight!!! The support was amazing!! I will have an official total tomorrow, and let me just tell you it is unbelievably amazing!! Thank you so much!”
Meet the Flying Eagles, who are hoping you can and will help with this tomorrow:
Title: Baby Drive at PCC Sunday 11:00-12:30
Sunday 1/22/12 11:00 am-12:30 pm
West Seattle PCC
Baby DriveThe Flying Eagles Camp Fire Group is doing a Baby Drive collecting items for South Park’s Providence Regina House food bank.
We are collecting:
Infant Food
Formula
Diapers size 1-5We will also accept new or gently used baby clothes, toys & board books. The kids will participate in handing out baby food at the food bank’s monthly Baby Cupboard Day which serves about 130 babies! [Note: We are not collecting any actual babies at this time.]
ORIGINAL 8:31 AM REPORT: Just got a call from White Center Food Bank volunteer coordinator Audrey Zemke. They suddenly need up to seven people to help hand out food today, 10 am-1 pm, because the volunteers who were coming canceled at the last minute. Please call 206-762-2848 ASAP if you can help.
9:37 AM UPDATE: Audrey says they’ve got all the help they need now – THANK YOU.
Before we get back to weather news – two benefits are scheduled this Thursday night for fire victim Teri Ensley and the animal-advocacy group she leads, Furry Faces Foundation, at Feedback Lounge and Beveridge Place Pub. Organizers are putting out one last call for silent auction donations. From Sara Riehl at AARF:
Hey Everyone, I am still trying to collect donations for our Silent Auction this Thursday. Due to the weather, I would love to have a finalized list with items in hand by Wednesday. Anything that you would bid on an auction would make a great item. Please e-mail me if you intend on donating, sarariehl@gmail.com. You can also comment to the post on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/terisfirefund. Here is a list of current local supporters: Clementine’s, Menashe & Sons Jewelry, Pet Elements, Beveridge Place Pub, Feedback Lounge, Muttley Crew Cuts, Elliott Bay Brewery, and The Wash Dog.
Despite the weather concerns, some did still put in a Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday – including these volunteers at WestSide Baby. Christy shared the photos, saying the volunteers helped sort donated items including “carseats, clothing, toys, books, layettes, blankets, baby bottles, and of course new disposable diapers, for distribution to King County families in need through over 90 local agencies and charities.” Here’s their group shot for posterity:
WestSide Baby is one of the hard-working local nonprofits that can use volunteer help and donations year-round. (And – are you attending next month’s benefit WestSide Baby Tea?)
(EDITOR’S NOTE: MLK Day has become a day to focus on the value of service – particularly volunteering. It’s something you can do any day, and this periodic compilation of local school-volunteering opportunities can help – pitch in!)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog
Even when the 5th-grade teacher I support plans to be away, leaving her class to a sub, she asks if I can come anyway: “Please come for your regular time. The students love having you.” It’s not that I bring superior qualities as a classroom volunteer; it’s that I bring variety – someone there from the “outside” for a couple of hours. When I’m there, students know their questions will be answered quicker, they will receive more attention, and they will have another adult to tell about something special that just happened to them. Consider brightening an otherwise gray, rainy winter day for students at one of the following area schools in need of volunteers (note one time-specific opportunity is THIS FRIDAY):Read More
Friends helping organize efforts on behalf of fire victim and animal advocate Teri Ensley had promised a fundraising event as well as other ongoing efforts – and they’ve just announced the date via Facebook, as well as a request for auction donations:
There will be a mini-pub crawl next Thursday 1/19 at 7pm at the Feedback Lounge & Beveridge Place Pub. The Feedback Lounge is hosting “Teri’s House Party” and all money raised will go directly to Teri and the Beveridge Place Pub will be hosting “F4 – Furry Faces Fire Fund”, with all proceeds going to Furry Faces. There will be silent auctions at both places and we need your help! Do you have any connections for gift certificates or great prizes? Please let us know ASAP and your gift will help either Teri or Furry Faces regain what they lost in the fire.
This is via the just-set-up FB page Teri’s Fire Fund. We expect to have additional updated information later today, and will add it. If you missed earlier coverage – the fire happened this past Monday morning (WSB coverage here); no human injuries but one cat, Pouncer, died, while another, Jared, was rescued and given oxygen before going to a clinic.
ADDED 10:55 AM: The added update info, shared by Sara Riehl from Animal Aid and Rescue Foundation:
Teri has been having good days, Tammy (F3) says yesterday (Thursday) she was going well, she was focused, she knows the support she has in the community and I really think this is helping her recover from her tragedy. We have a group of her close friends checking in with her but giving her some space right now so she can process what has occurred 4 long days ago. Teri has started going through the house and figuring out what might be salvageable and what needs to be thrown out. This is a process she would like to do privately. She had said Wednesday night that she thinks she can finally admit what had happened was real, which is a positive step. But as many of you know Teri, her being focused and having a task in front of her that she is in control of will help her process what her next step in recovery will be. We will keep checking in and hopefully building on her list of what things she will need to replace.
On to other things, the stuff that everyone can help with.
All of Teri’s personal cats and foster cats have been at Lien Animal Clinic since the fire; due to the smoke they were all exposed to their throats are all sore. They also have to be kept in a warm environment, around 70 degrees, for the next 3 weeks to minimize their chance of getting pneumonia. This is very common for animals to get if they are involved in a fire. Jarred (the cat the was resuscitated by a very nice firefighter) is doing very well, he is stable, he has still not eaten but due to his very irritated throat this is not concerning to his vets. If he does not start eating by today, they will give him a feeding tube to help him until he is feeling better. Lien has really stepped up and has gone above and beyond to help Teri and her cats transition. They are constantly updating her and allow her to come and visit with the cats daily. Teri’s bill is slowly getting more and more expensive. If you would like to make a donation to help with this vet bill please call Lien Animal Hospital at: 206-932-1133 and tell them you are donating to Furry Faces Foundation.
New List of Donation Needs:
Organizational Supplies- clear bins
Label maker
Shelving
Anything organizational related
File folder
File cabinets
Air tight containers to store food in
Medical supplies for animals
Animal Vaccination suppliesTeri Personal List of Donation Needs:
Work shoes, low to no heal, comfortable casual work shoes size 7 ½ to 8, women’s
Coat hangers
Socks
More pants- she needs more dressier pants for work
Good books to read
The donation link via Facebook is here; we’re still confirming which one is the focus for non-FB’ers.
As usually happens this time of year, we’ve received e-mail asking about volunteer opportunities in West Seattle for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day – which is celebrated next Monday. So far, we have heard from the Nature Consortium, which is hosting “a Weekend of Service,” with events in the West Duwamish Greenbelt on Saturday and Monday. Mouse over those days on the calendar on this page of the NC’s site to get full details. Anyone else looking for volunteers for MLK Day – either Monday, or the preceding weekend? Please let us know and we’ll add the info here! (And if you doing something impromptu like these local kids did last year, let us know about that too!)
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
A continuing passion for helping homeless families drew more than 30 attendees to an “exploratory, fact-finding” meeting Monday night at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) by members of the board of Family Promise of Seattle, the shelter program that recently closed.
Representatives from a wide network of churches and non-profit groups, many of whom had worked with Family Promise, shared their questions, concerns, ideas and enthusiasm. People representing Alki UCC, Admiral UCC, Fauntleroy UCC, Hope Lutheran, Operation Nightwatch, Union Gospel Mission, Church of Mary Magdalene, Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Catholic Community Services, and two Queen Anne churches (among others) were among others at the meeting interested in listening and speaking with the FP board members about possible solutions and synergies to provide services to more homeless families in the future.
The rate of families becoming homeless continues to rise. Mary’s Place, a downtown day shelter that provides services for homeless women and children, has seen a staggering 300% increase in families coming through their door in 2011. A speaker from Hope Lutheran stated they “would like to continue helping in the format we have been helping in. 100 families were helped in West Seattle at Christmas; 1 in 5 of those families were homeless. We had families who were in a tent city, others were living in their cars. I hope we can continue to be helping keep families intact.”
(Monday photo by Christopher Boffoli)
So many people have offered to help in the wake of yesterday’s fire (WSB coverage here) at the West Seattle home of Furry Faces Foundation‘s Teri Ensley, there’s now a coordinated list of what she, the group, and the cats (one died because of the fire) need. Thanks to Sara Riehl from AARF, another local animal-advocacy group that works closely with F3, for compiling it. We’ll link this in our BIG STORIES list on the sidebar so you can find it again later, and will add any changes in the days ahead:
(ADDED TUESDAY NIGHT) PayPal donations for emergency-relief fund: furryfaces.org/donations
(BACK TO ORIGINAL TUESDAY MORNING LIST) This weekend Kitty Harbor is hosting an adoption event for 60 cats. This event will be benefiting Teri and Furry Faces Foundation. They have 20 kittens, 20 teenagers and 20 adult cats up for adoption. It runs from 12-6 pm Saturday, and Sunday the 14th and 15th.
We will also keep you posted but are trying to put together a fundraiser for Teri and Furry Faces Foundation sometime this week at the Feedback Lounge.
Local businesses accepting donations:
Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW)
Muttley Crew Cuts (4200 SW Admiral Way)
Kitty Harbor (3422 Harbor Avenue SW)TERI’S PERSONAL LIST
Costco Gift Cards – She purchases most of her clothes there.
Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans Size 8
Calvin Klein Jeans/Pants Size 8
Her work is Business Casual, and she wears size 8 pants, medium top. She wears a size 7 ½ to 8 shoe, she loves flip flops and has most likely lost her favorite pair of red cowboy boots in the fire. She shops at PCC and Thriftway grocery store, she currently has Mac and Cheese and Stew from the Feedback Lounge but does not have any other food (she does have pots, pans and plates where she is staying)TERI’S PERSONAL CAT/FOSTER CAT WISHLIST
Dog houses, dog igloos, cat/dog beds
Canned cat food- I know people asked for specific kinds so see the list below:
· Anything that Pet Elements sells
· She has a diabetic cat who can only eat wet food that is high in protein
· Her cats like: Turkey, Chicken, and Beef flavors
· Wellness
· Natures Variety
· By Nature
· Nutra source
· Taste of the Wild
She does not currently need any more cat litter; she had amazing donations come in alreadyTERI’S WISH LIST FOR FURRY FACES FOUNDATION
· Cat trees
· Cat collars
· Cat leashes
· Dog collars
· Cat food
· Dog food
· Cat beds
· Cat toys
· Dog toys
As she has written in comments, Sara reiterates that Teri is thankful for the outpouring of support and has been heartened to read the words of encouragement both here and in direct e-mail: “She is blown away by the amount of support she has had, and is so grateful to live in such a wonderful place.”
It’s not every day you see a six-year-old get excited about diapers; by that age, they’re a distant memory. But they were atop the wishlist for Grayson‘s sixth birthday party today at Southgate Roller Rink – he wanted to collect diapers for WestSide Baby instead of gifts for himself. His mom Meredith says they collected about 30 packages!
(You can help WestSide Baby any time – here are all the regular ways, and then there’s also one big, fun way coming up next month, their annual tea, moved to a bigger location this year so there’s room for more to be part of it; here’s our preview from last week.)
(WSB photo from June 2011 Relay for Life coverage)
It’s not too soon to think about June. That’s when the annual Relay for Life of West Seattle raises money to fight cancer. It’s an all-night team event and generally not something you sign up for at the last minute, so the annual kickoff happens months ahead o time – and Jilyan Perry invites you to be part of it, one week from Wednesday, even if you’re not certain yet that you’ll join in:
We have our first event coming up on January 18th. This is our annual Kick-Off Party. The Kick-Off will be held from 6-8 pm at Sugar Rush Baking Company. In an open-house style, we will have complimentary food, wine and cupcakes. This is the community’s chance to learn everything they could want to know about Relay for Life – the American Cancer Society’s highest grossing fundraising event. The registration fee is waived until Kick-Off, and there will be plenty of computers on site and volunteers available to guide people through the process.
Sugar Rush is at 4531 California SW in The Junction.
After a hiatus, a reopening, and then what was described as a permanent shutdown, the homeless-family-sheltering program Family Promise of Seattle may give it another go. So says board member Lynne Downs, announcing a gathering next Monday night for “former and present Board members, church coordinators, supporters, interested agency personnel and a representative from National Family Promise, Claas Ehlers.”
Lynne explains that she and four other board members, along with many members of local churches that took turns housing/feeding Family Promise clients, “don’t want to see this mission die … we just don’t want to ‘give up the ship’ yet.” The board members, she explains, “have been on a fact-finding quest with interested agencies in perhaps supporting, partnering or even ultimately continuing our program.” And that’s what they’ll talk about at 7 pm Monday, at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor; 3940 41st SW); anyone interested in supporting the “quest” is welcome.
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