West Seattle Blog…

Fashion & fun(draising): Northwest Hope & Healing event tomorrow

West Seattleite-founded/led Northwest Hope and Healing has a unique mission for breast-cancer patients – It helps them handle everyday life even as they cope with the daunting challenge of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The video above produced by West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media introduces you to some of the people NWHH has helped – in other words, people like those you’ll be helping if you go to its Style ’13 benefit fashion show at 7 pm tomorrow. West Seattle businesses are involved as sponsors and supporters, including Carmilia’s, West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and Coastal. Online ticket sales are over but you can get yours at the door at Showbox SODO – details here.

Speaking of history … More chances to help honor it

Big day at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum this Saturday – the LHM is participating in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (sale #70 on the map) 9 am-3 pm, and from 11 am-1 pm will be hosting its monthly informational event for prospective volunteers. And from SWSHS executive director Clay Eals – some specific ways you can help:

Just in time for the warmth of late spring and summer, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is ramping up its tour schedule and native-plant garden — and volunteers are welcome to help out.

Volunteer committees have formed to focus on tours and gardening. The leaders are Mark Lewis for tours and Carol Vincent for gardening. Here are details on both:

Click to read the rest of Speaking of history … More chances to help honor it…

North Delridge Neighborhood Council Beautification Committee does it again!

Lisa Taylor-Whitley heads up the North Delridge Neighborhood Council Beautification Committee, and every month, whether 3 people show up or 30, she and helpers are out cleaning up another corner of the neighborhood. This morning, it was the walking/biking path that leads from the Skylark Café and Club parking lot down to the bus stop at SW Spokane St. (where buses and other vehicles are detoured today and tomorrow because of repaving, remember). Before we caught up with Lisa on the path, we found other members of today’s cleanup crew wrapping up outside Skylark – Tom, Oliver, Nancy, and Jackson the dog:

They all explained that the path was in pretty good shape this time, so they only needed to work for a little more than an hour, half of the time allotted. Keep an eye on the NDNC’s website for info on upcoming cleanups – and/or send Lisa a note if you have a site to suggest (lisataylorwhitley@gmail.com).

Happening now: West Seattle Thriftway’s 1st benefit barbecue of the season

Benefit-barbecue season is off and sizzling at West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy; WSB sponsor) – we caught Michele at the grill between burger batches this afternoon; the barbecues are a Thriftway tradition, benefiting local nonprofits, and today the proceeds are going to West Seattle Helpline. You have until 4 or so to stop by for yours, if you haven’t been there already!

Sneak peek at ‘Year of the Seal’ sculpture; May 13th meeting

The image is courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who has an update on the sculpture in the works for their “Year of the Seal” project (first announced in January) – and your chance to come to a meeting about it on May 13th:

Seal Sitters’ educational outreach project Year of the Seal, made possible by a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods grant, is making great strides. Following a public Call to Artists and Selection Panel review, prominent Northwest bronze artist Georgia Gerber was chosen to create a full-scale sculpture of a harbor seal mom and pup. Georgia is shown here at work on the centerpiece of the project, which is designed to raise awareness about our fragile marine ecosystem.

Click to read the rest of Sneak peek at ‘Year of the Seal’ sculpture; May 13th meeting…

2 ways to help Stamp Out Hunger food drive on May 11th

As always, letter carriers’ nationwide Stamp Out Hunger food drive coincides with West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (second Saturday in May) – and whether you’re shopping or selling on Saturday, May 11th, we encourage you to set out a bag of donated nonperishable food by your mailbox/mail slot first thing that morning. There’s one more way to help – we’ve just heard from Food Lifeline, and they’re looking for volunteers to help with donations at the Westwood and Junction post offices that day: If you can spare some time, and are at least 16 years old and able to handle heavy lifting, please go here to sign up ASAP!

1 more way to offload unwanted items this weekend: Hope Lutheran donation drive

Spring cleaning? In addition to the events we’ve already mentioned for this weekend – shredding, recycling, drug take-back events all detailed here – we have word of yet another way you can do something useful this weekend with items you no longer use. Hope Lutheran Church is having a donation drive 10 am-2 pm Saturday (April 27) for newly arrived refugees – including furniture as well as other items that help make a house a home:

We are collecting donations of:
*kitchen tables and chairs
*couches
*twin- and full-sized beds
*nice blankets/sheets/towels
*kitchenware/pots and pans/utensils
*microwaves
*TVs/dvd players
*computers with all parts/laptops

***All must be in good, usable condition (no major tears or stains, please)
***Will NOT accept clothes or other furniture pieces not on list

See you there! Put on by Hope Lutheran Church and Lutheran Community Services NW Refugee Resettlement Program.

The church is at 4456 42nd SW, northeast corner of 42nd and Oregon.

Benefit skate at Southgate Roller Rink this Sunday

This Sunday, you can go rollerskating at Southgate Rink and not just have a good time, but also do a good deed. West Seattle resident Kathy Himes has organized the event to help her friend Pauline Hunt, a former professional mountain biker who now is living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They’re raising money for a Habitat for Humanity renovation for the home where Pauline and her family, including her two young daughters, live, so that it will be wheelchair-accessible. It’s a global effort – Pauline is in Canada and her friends around the world, including Kathy, are helping. So come skate 5-7 pm on Sunday, April 28, for $12, covering skate rental and a suggested donation. Kathy says there’ll be raffles too, thanks to donations from generous businesses including Zippy’s Giant Burgers, Full Tilt Ice Cream, and Meander’s Kitchen. (See the event flyer here.)

Six West Seattle, White Center restaurants in Dining Out for Life

Six West Seattle and White Center restaurants are signed on for this year’s Dining Out for Life fundraiser for Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Participants in West Seattle are Buddha Ruksa, Eats Market Café, Skylark Café and Club, and Talarico’s; participating restaurants in White Center are Company and Proletariat Pizza. The event is this Thursday (April 25th), and all six of are participating at dinnertime, donating 30 percent of their proceeds (at Skylark, it’s 50 percent).

Earth Day and beyond: What to do if you spot a honey-bee swarm

(Honey-bee swarm photographed in Genesee last year by Ute Herzel-Harding)
On this Earth Day, here’s a simple way to take action – save this information about what to do if you encounter a honey-bee swarm. Don’t panic – don’t be afraid – do report them to beekeepers who can give them a new home, which is what some bees are looking for at this time of year. Here’s expert advice from Puget Sound Beekeepers Association president Krista Conner, who happens to be a West Seattleite:

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association wants you to be prepared to help the bees!

With recent losses of bee populations worldwide, seeing a few bees around the garden is something to celebrate. But what do you do when a few thousand bees show up?

Most swarms are the size of a football, more or less.

Longer days bring a surge of blooming trees and flowers which create a short window of time for healthy honey bee colonies to split and create new colonies. This split happens when honey bees swarm: roughly 10-15 thousand bees and their queen will leave an existing colony and land upon a tree branch or side of building. Once there, this mass of bees can resemble a very large pine cone or football shaped mass. Swarming is the natural process that honey bee hives go through to create new colonies and spread their genetics to new locations.

Honey bee swarms are vulnerable outside the hive to weather, animals and more importantly people. They need to find a new home quickly. In a rural setting this is usually a hollow tree but in the city with loss of habitat this can take the form of a wall or attic of a house where they become a problem for homeowners.

If you encounter a swarm it is important to remain calm and to call a beekeeper quickly before the bees leave to a new home or take up residence in an undesirable location. It is important to not kill or disturb the honey bees by spraying pesticides or even water on them.

Puget Sound Beekeepers Association offers the community a “swarm list” – a list of beekeepers who are willing to collect swarms. The swarm list should be your first resource to manage a honey bee swarm. Swarm collection usually is provided for free if the bees are within easy reach and are not inside a wall or house. Follow the directions on the list for confirming help is on the way. While you wait for the beekeeper, the best thing you can do is get your camera ready and make sure people stay 10-15 feet away from the swarm.

When a beekeeper arrives they will remove the swarm by transferring them into a hive box. Bees in a swarm are less likely to sting because they have nothing to defend and are gorged with honey so they have energy to build a new colony. The beekeeper may work bare-handed or in a full suit to transfer the football sized swarm of bees into a hive with a shake of a branch or by the handful if they are on a wall. Once the majority of the bees are in the hive the beekeeper will wait for any stray bees to find their way into the hive box before closing the hive up to take to their new home.

Here and anywhere in the greater Seattle area, please refer to the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association swarm list to find a swarm-catching beekeeper: pugetsoundbees.org/psba-swarm-list

Thanks for helping the bees!
Puget Sound Beekeepers Association

Happening now: Heels for Hounds – shoes, tunes, sips, tastes

Lots of time left to get to Ola Salon in Luna Park for Furry Faces Foundation‘s first-ever “Heels for Hounds” – not just a silent auction of some cute shoes (casual as well as fancy, as shown in the photo above), but also wine tasting, appetizers, and live music, all to benefit animal advocacy:

Ola’s at 2942 SW Avalon Way.

Taste of West Seattle update: 45 food and drink participants!

45 local food-and-beverage businesses are signed up to be part of this year’s Taste of West Seattle, the West Seattle Helpline fundraiser that’s now just under a month away (May 16th, The Hall at Fauntleroy) – the poster at right (click it for a full-size PDF) just went up around the area, and the full list of participants can be seen on page 2 of this PDF. Helpline executive director Tara Luckie told us at this past week’s West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting that tickets are still available – $45 general (cheaper than the door price IF they don’t sell out, which they did last year), $90 for VIP (early admission, special seating, special raffle). “Not only are the food and drinks amazing,” Tara says, “but it’s a community effort of local establishments and West Seattle residents coming together to raise funds for families in need in West Seattle.” Tickets are available online here (note it’s a 21+ event).

‘The Mama-logues’: Comedy, charity in West Seattle next weekend

(Clip from last year’s edition of ‘The Mama-logues’)
It’s a good time and a good deed – your ticket to “The Mama-logues: A Comedy about Motherhood,” next Friday and Saturday (April 26-27), 7 pm each night, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge. Here’s what it’s all about:

Now in its second raucous year, The Mama-logues: A comedy about motherhood, is two hours of spit-your-beer-out-funny in celebration of motherhood! Local actors will be doing staged readings from mom-tastic blogs, books and articles including Ellen Degeneres, Moms Who Drink and Swear, The Bloggess, Samantha Bee, Rants from Mommyland, Haiku Mama and many others! And oh yes, the dance pieces! Stand aside, Lady GaGa! Here comes ‘Bad Mom Pants.’ Oldies Queen fans may also be treated to a reprise of ‘Mommy Rhapsody.’

Beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and a wide array of desserts and swag will be offered for sale at the event. Bring your girlfriends, be they mamas or not! Heck, you can bring your man-friends! There is a little something for everyone to laugh at in this show.

New for 2013: The SHOUT-OUT!

Want to give a ‘Shout-Out’ to a mom you know and love? For $50, we will include a photo of your mom pal and a message to her in the video portion of the show. For $100, we’ll include her photo and message in the video and strategically insert her name as a character in the performance! Send an electronic photo of the mom (or moms – you can include yourself!), the message exactly as you would like it to appear in the show, and the evening your ‘Shout Out’ Mom will be attending, to Laurie Levy at laurie@laurielevy.net.

All proceeds benefit WestSide Baby and Open Arms Perinatal Services; get your $15 tickets online right now by going here.

P.S. While it’s about motherhood, it’s not for the littlest members of your family – it’s recommended for ages 13 and up.

Another school-volunteering opportunity: Tutors needed this fall

If you like to plan ahead – Our Lady of Guadalupe School is looking right now for adult volunteer tutors who can help out starting this fall. Here’s the request:

Adult volunteer tutors are needed in the fall for OLG School’s after-school tutoring program. The program meets on most Wednesdays of the school year from 2:15-3pm and pairs tutors with 1-2 students in grades 1-5. Tutors help students with reading, math, and/or writing skills.

The school has a strong need for math tutors for grades 4 and 5, but needs other grades and subjects as well.

Previous experience helpful but not required. Training is provided. Called to Protect and background check are both required.

For more information please contact Katie Bucy, Early Intervention Specialist, kbucy@guadalupe-school.org , 206-935-0651 extension 127 or visit this website.

The program has been in existence since the fall of 2000, and serves approximately 50 students each year.

Delridge Grocery: Meeting on Monday – and part of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 11th!

A two-part announcement from Delridge Grocery – first, it’s their regular monthly meeting on Monday (April 22nd), 6:30 pm at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW), with a call for volunteers – people to help at a community event, talk with their neighbors, and otherwise help as the DG team works toward its future storefront. They’re also putting out a call for donated items to sell at their benefit sale on West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, which is three weeks from tomorrow. You can arrange for pickup or dropoff by contacting them at delridgegrocery@gmail.com (and/or, go to Monday’s meeting and connect with DG leadership there).

Help those who help our waterways and their residents: Shanti’s benefit bake sale for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance

Sea lions on a buoy in the bay are among the sights Puget Soundkeeper Alliance volunteers (like Tom Foley, who shared the top photo) see when they go out on patrol. Often, the sights are less pleasant – pollution pouring from an outfall, litter floating on the water (though Tom reported a little less of that during the recent patrol). Even if you can’t get out on the water and take action, you can support the Soundkeepers’ work today through Sunday by stopping by Shanti Salon and Spa (WSB sponsor) for their benefit bake sale – with treats like these, made by members of the Shanti team:

Shanti is on the north end of The Admiral District, at 2138 California SW, open until 7 pm today, 9 am-7 pm on Saturday, 10 am-6 pm on Sunday.

Spring-cleaning time: A chance to recycle clothes you don’t want

We’ve already featured upcoming opportunities for shredding and non-routine recycling – If you’re planning (or doing) spring cleaning, here’s a chance to recycle clothes! West Seattle Brownie Troop 43779 invites you to drop off donations for its clothing drive; they’re getting the word out now so you can save up items you might otherwise dispose of:

Clothing Drive – Week of April 29th through May 4th

Please bring your gently used clothes to the collection box out in front of the Gatewood Elementary office.

Spring cleaning? Brownie Troop #43779 community service project is collecting used clothes for the Northwest Center!

Saturday, May 4th: General public clothing drop off in Gatewood’s back parking lot (California Ave SW and SW Frontenac) from 11 am – 1 pm

Last call for shoe donations! ‘Heels for Hounds’ coming up Sunday

Way back in December, we told you about Furry Faces Foundation collecting ‘gently used’ women’s shoes for a first-of-its-kind auction event, Heels for Hounds. Now, the event is just days away – this Sunday (April 21) – and F3 is still accepting donations:

The Heels For Hounds weekend has arrived! We have somewhere between 150 – 200 pairs of shoes for the auction, with more being donated every day. In fact, folks can bring gently worn shoes to the event!

Donation locations before then:

• Ola Salon: 2942 Avalon Way SW; 206-933-6702; www.olasalon.com
• Clementine Shoes: 4447 California Ave SW; 206-935-9400; www.clementines.com
• Hotwire Online Coffeehouse: 4410 California Ave SW; 206-935-1510; hotwirecoffee.com
• The Wash Dog: 6400 California Avenue Southwest; 206-935-4546; www.thewashdog.com

Are you ready for shoe bidding wars? We hope so. Here is the event info:

Heels For Hounds Silent Auction & Animale Wine Tasting (Benefiting Furry Faces Foundation)

Date: April 21
Time: 3 pm – 6 pm
Location: Ola Salon, 2942 Avalon Way SW
Admission Donation: $15.00 (provides appetizers and wine sampler)
Wine by the glass: $8

For event updates before Sunday, keep an eye on F3′s Facebook page, here.

Chief Sealth International HS Football’s MS Walk team says thanks!

Back on April 7th, we published Chief Sealth International High School football head coach Luther Carr III‘s call for pledges as his players prepared to participate in the MS Walk to help fight multiple sclerosis. Now that the big event is past, he wanted to share public words of thanks (and the team’s photo from MS Walk day):

Chief Sealth International Football would like to thank all of our community, family, and friends who assisted in our efforts to raise money for MS (multiple sclerosis). Along with thousands of others in the State of Washington we raised funds and walked on April 14, 2013, to find a cure for a world free of MS. At least 12,000 people in our Northwest community are living in chronic pain because of MS. Ridding the world of MS is a great cause, and our student-athletes learned a great lesson, giving back! Thank you again and Go Seahawks!!

According to the team’s page on the MS Walk site – where you can still make a donation – they raised more than four times their goal!

West Seattle HS baseball: Benefit today/tonight; Monday win

Yet another win for the division-leading West Seattle High School Wildcats – now 9-1 in Metro League play – and tonight, you can help supporters raise money for the team. First, the summary from Greg Slader, who also shared the photos:

Sunshine and freshly cut grass welcomed the Varsity Baseball team to Bainbridge island. Sam Hellinger (top photo) enjoyed a nice day, hitting 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs while pitching a complete game (7 innings) and racking up 11 strikeouts. The team was hot from the beginning, scoring three runs in the first inning as Morgan and Spencer were all over the base paths scoring two runs each.

(Jimmy Mai goes for the tag at the plate)
Next game is Wednesday @ Hiawatha, 3:30 pm, vs. Franklin.

Now, the benefit: From 3 pm until close, today/tonight, part of the proceeds from food and beverage purchases at Christo’s on Alki will benefit the team through the WSHS Booster Club. Christo’s is at the beach, 2508 Alki SW.

Can you help West Seattle-area seniors get to health-care appointments?

A call for volunteers, if you can help:

West Seattle residents, let’s hit the roads! Volunteers are needed for Senior Services’ Volunteer Transportation program, which provides many West Seattle seniors with access to important medical care. Using their own vehicles, volunteer drivers offer a personalized touch in driving elderly clients “door to door”– from their home to appointments. This FLEXIBLE volunteer opportunity allows drivers to “open doors” (both figuratively and literally) for those who are unable to drive themselves.

In the month of March, the program was unable to cover an abysmal 33% of the client ride requests received from West Seattle, Highline, and Burien older adults— simply because there weren’t enough volunteers to meet the need of our community. Anyone who owns his/her own vehicle and has daytime availability is encouraged to apply.

For more information, please contact Hilary at (206) 748-7588 or hilaryc@seniorservices.org, visit www.seniorservices.org/transportation, or check out our blog at volunteertransportation.blogspot.com. If you have the “drive” to help others, this volunteer opportunity is for you!

Duwamish Alive! next Saturday: Signed up for a site yet?

(Brandon St. Greenspace volunteers during October 2012 Duwamish Alive!; photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
Next Saturday is the twice-a-year Duwamish Alive! cleanup/restoration work-party day – and as usual, you can choose from multiple work-party locations to get involved with helping take care of West Seattle’s river and its watershed. Organizers like to know how many people to expect – so if you are interested in helping out on Saturday, go here and mouse over “Sign Up” to see the drop-down list of eight possible sites where you can help, from West Seattle to South Park to Tukwila, 10 am-2 pm April 20th.

West Seattle Montessori/WS Academy students’ food drive – for pets!

(Photo courtesy West Seattle Montessori/West Seattle Academy)
In recent months, we’ve shared the news of multiple food drives by community-minded students at local schools – and we have another one today: This time, to help pets in area shelters. West Seattle Montessori/West Seattle Academy (WSB sponsor) assistant director Heather Aquino explains:

Our seventh-grade students have taken on a very cool cause. (Through) April 25 they are challenging all of our classes to collect as much pet food as they can, by the pound, to be donated to local Seattle shelters. Our winning class will have a small party hosted by these incredible seventh-graders.

Community members are welcome to donate pet food too – drop it off at the school, 11215 15th SW, today or April 22-25th (as with Seattle Public Schools, WSMS/WSA will be out on spring break next week).

New 5K in West Seattle next month: ‘Run for Lights’

Love to run? Here’s another benefit 5K to add to this spring’s schedule. This announcement is just out of the WSB inbox:

Just wanted to let everyone know that the West Seattle-based nonprofit Orphans to Ambassadors is hosting the RUN FOR LIGHTS 5k in Lincoln Park on May 4th, 2013 at 10 am. Orphans to Ambassadors provides sustainable technologies and solutions to children’s homes around the globe through the use of solar power, rainwater harvesting systems, water filtration, rocket stoves, vegetable gardens, and animal husbandry. The RUN FOR LIGHTS 5k will benefit a solar project at an orphanage in Uganda this coming summer. Snacks and T-shirts are included in the registration fees: $30 for adults, $20 for those 18 and under before May 1st, or $35 after May 1. Register now to guarantee a t-shirt! Walkers welcome. Tickets can be purchased here.

They’re also looking for sponsors – if you’re interested, e-mail katherine@orphanstoambassadors.org.

Followup: What WestSide Baby still needs, as donations come in

That pile of stuff represents donations dropped off last weekend at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) in The Junction – one of many businesses, groups, and individuals who have reached out since WestSide Baby‘s urgent call for help last week. Hotwire proprietor Lora Swift shared the photo just before heading to WestSide Baby HQ on Tuesday to drop off the donations, so before we in turn shared the photo, we asked WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland what they still need the most:

We will continue to need all clothing and diapers and safety equipment – car seats, strollers, etc. – but our current critical list is:

Boys pants 4t-12,
PJs, boys and girls 4T-12,
newborn diapers,
diaper cream, and
baby shampoo

WestSide Baby is open certain hours for dropoffs, and has satellite dropoff locations – for the latest list, check their website; we know Firefly Café and Creperie (WSB sponsor) is also collecting car seats through month’s end and is matching each car-seat donation with a packet of diapers.

Happening now: Playing & bidding at animal advocates’ Catsino

Silent auctions are a bit like shopping at sales – though you’re never sure if you’re going to have the winning bid – with a bonus payoff: You know your money’s going to do good work. In the case of “Catsino,” under way at Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction until 6 pm, it’s going to help those who can’t speak or fight for themselves – animals. There are so many circumstances in which the organizations behind the event – presented by Furry Faces Foundation – step in. If furry friends like Nora could say thanks, we’re sure they would:

In addition to the beneficiaries, Catsino also involves local businesses and groups who are sponsoring – and staffing! – the just-for-fun game tables, like Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), whose Anne Higuera is at right in our next photo:

Ventana’s offering a “Carpenter for a Day” item in the silent auction, we noticed, so go bid! The fun’s not even half over. The pub’s at 6413 California SW.

Help Chief Sealth football players score donations for Walk MS

Though their playing season is still a ways off, Chief Sealth International High School‘s football team is keeping busy. They’re joining in Seattle’s Walk MS next weekend and asking you to support the cause on their behalf. Here’s the message Sealth head football coach Luther Carr asked us to share:

A few days left: Chief Sealth Football is participating in WALK MS this year April 14, 2013. Please donate to MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society on behalf of CSI FB Seahawks (Chief Sealth International Football).

This annual walk is a community service event organized throughout the country to increase awareness and fundraise for the research of Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). This condition affects millions worldwide. Some of the symptoms of those with this condition experience periods of numbness, loss of sensitivity, muscle spasms, loss of speech, fatigue, and blindness. Episodes can occur without warning and without any inciting factors lasting days, weeks or months. I personally decided to get involved because a friend lost his sight in one eye as a result of MS. Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for many people with Multiple Sclerosis. To learn more about MS go to nationalmssociety.org. To learn more about WALK MS Seattle 2013, go (here).

Walk MS 2013 is a great opportunity for Chief Sealth High School football players. They are fundraising for a worldwide condition that affects millions, and has no cure. They are also learning the act of service! As an added benefit, each player will also earn community service credit hours needed to graduate from Seattle Public Schools.

No donation is too small or too large, says Coach Carr – you can donate through the CSI team page by going here.