West Seattle, Washington
03 Thursday
Need college money? The Rotary Club of West Seattle might be able to help. Here’s the reminder we just received:
WEST SEATTLE ROTARY SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE –
APPLY NOW (deadline April 1st 2023)As in past years, West Seattle Rotary is pleased to announce that two higher education scholarship programs are available to applicants who meet the criteria:
Gambriell. The Gambriell Scholarship awards $6,000 in total to one or more residents of West Seattle who meet the following criteria:
ü Seeking admission to or enrolled in an accredited post-secondary educational program.
ü Strong financial need (documentation must be provided) — would not otherwise be able to attend college without this scholarship.Past Presidents. The Past Presidents Scholarship awards $6,000 to a student who meets any one of the following four conditions:
I. Graduating senior from a high school in the West Seattle area and wishes to earn a 4-year degree.
II. Lives in the West Seattle area, graduating from a high school outside of the West Seattle area, and wishes to earn a 4-year degree.
III. Lives in the West Seattle area and transferring from a 2-year program to a 4-year college/university bachelor’s degree program.
IV. Lives in the West Seattle area, recently earned a bachelor’s degree, and wishes to work toward a higher degree.Go to westseattlerotary.org/scholarships and click on the “Download Gambriell application” and/or “Download Past Presidents’ application” link.
These two programs are in addition to West Seattle Rotary’s Student of the Year and Cruzen scholarship programs and are open to Student of the Year candidates.
More scholarship news from the Rotary Club of West Seattle – its members have chosen four recipietns for the 2022/23 Earl Cruzen Endowed Scholarship for Automotive Technology. Here’s the announcement:
Awards were presented Tuesday to four South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Automotive Technology students.
The annual award is funded by a generous endowment created by Adah Cruzen in memory of Earl and Virginia Cruzen. Mr. Cruzen was the longtime owner of Cruzen Distributing Inc., an auto parts distribution store. West Seattle is the beneficiary of Mr Cruzen’s words: “It’s not what you are getting out of life, but what you are giving to the life in your community”. He remains alive in our 11 Murals of West Seattle and “Walking on Logs” sculpture.
The awards are comprised of a complete entry-level tool set, including a 298-piece SAE/Metric Mechanics Tool Set, Screwdriver Set, Torx and Hex Bit Socket Sets, Adjustable Wrench Set, Vise Grip Set, Channellock Set, and Mobile Tool Cabinet. Thanks also to White Center OReilly’s Auto Parts for their contribution of tools.
During their academic program, recipients have exclusive access to their tool set. After graduation with their Associate of Applied Science in Automotive Arts Degree, the tools are theirs.
In the photo above, Rotarians John Enger and Tom Nychay flank the recipients, from left to right: Dylan Moinette, JoAnna Edwards, Lizbeth Meda Jimenez, and Cassandra Gillilan. Instructors Todd Jones and Doug Clapper stand behind.
All four of the award winners share a common goal of making their community a better place. Earl Cruzen can be proud.
If you or someone you know is in the SSC Automotive Technology program, look for next year’s program this fall.
(Photos courtesy Rotary Club of West Seattle)
The Rotary Club of West Seattle has announced its most recent round of honors for local students. Above is Angel Ramirez, who is studying at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and is the Rotary’s SSC Career Link Student of the Year, receiving a $2,000 scholarship that the club says “will enable him to complete his second year in South Seattle College’s Welding Program and receive his Associate’s Certificate, launching him on a very rewarding career.” Meantime, the club also announced its Students of the Month for three local high schools – below, Daryll Aguila at Chief Sealth International HS:
Ethan Nguyen at West Seattle High School:
And Drew Atkinson at Summit Atlas:
The Rotary Club’s Students of the Month receive $100 cash prizes. The club explains its award/scholarship program for local schools as follows:
At four of West Seattle Rotary’s weekly meetings during 2022-23 (in November, December, February and March), Student of the Month (SoM) Awards will be presented for Chief Sealth Int’l High, Summit Atlas High, and West Seattle High. For each school, a counselor introduces the Awardee, the Awardee presents a personalized bio-sketch, and Rotarians have a brief Q&A opportunity.
Each Awardee receives $100, an Award Certificate, and the opportunity to be their school’s Student of the Year (SoY) Awardee, chosen in early April by their school from among the four SoMs. In late April, from among these three school SoYs, the Youth Services Committee of West Seattle Rotary will choose one overall West Seattle Rotary SoY.That overall SoY winner will receive a $6,000 scholarship. Each of the two runners-up will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Students in West Seattle’s two alternative high school programs, South Seattle College – Career Link and Southwest Youth & Family Services – GED Prep, do not progress in a traditional four-year pathway of Freshman -> Sophomore -> Junior -> Senior -> High School Graduation -> College Admission. Working with administrators in each of these two alternative high schools, West Seattle Rotary designed customized programs that work for them.
For South Seattle College – Career Link, there are no SoM and one SoY is chosen in the Fall from students who obtained their high school diploma and matriculated to South Seattle College during the prior Summer.
For Southwest Youth & Family Services – GED Prep, there are two Students of the Semester (SoS), one each in the Winter and Spring. From those two, the Youth Services Committee will select the overall SoY, who will receive a $2,000 scholarship.
You can find out more about the Rotary Club and its programs here.
As part of a project with the Rotary Club of West Seattle, three Peace Poles have been installed so far this fall – and this is the newest, dedicated last weekend just southeast of the Fauntleroy ferry dock parking lot.
The other two are at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) and at Fauntleroy Church/Hazelwood Preschool, with more to come. Read about the worldwide Peace Pole project here.
We’ve shown you the dedications of two Peace Poles placed by the Rotary Club of West Seattle, onw at Fauntleroy Church/Hazelwood Prechool and another at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), and now you’re invited to the next one – this Saturday near Fauntleroy Creek. Here’s the announcement:
Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony “Fauntleroy Creek Crossing Peace Pole”
Saturday, Nov 5, 2:00 pm-2:30 pm
Fauntleroy Creek Ravine Overlook, 9102 Fauntleroy Way SWThe Peacebuilding Service Committee of the Rotary Club of West Seattle has chosen to present to Fauntleroy Creek Crossing a “Peace Pole” because this sacred land is a cross-road for youth going to and from school and for those who use the ferry system to travel to Vashon and points of interest near and far across the Olympic Peninsula. It is a place to simply cross paths and visit with a neighbor; a crossing for all the native habitats, including our coho salmon who swim through these waters to spawn at the Fauntleroy Creek; and a place where children can see the end of the salmon’s fragile lifecycle at this hatchery.
We now dedicate the “Fauntleroy Creek Crossing Peace Pole” as a symbol of peaceful crossing and to honor this sacred spiritual connection with the land and water. We hope you will pause here from time to time to reflect on the role that you can play to foster peace in our community, our country and our world.
Event Program:
• Welcome and Introductions
• International Peace Pole Project
• Rotary Club of West Seattle
• Fauntleroy Creek Ravine Overlook:”Story of Salmon as a Peaceful Focal Point”
• Procession to the Fauntleroy Creek Crossing
• Peace Pole Declaration: “May Peace Prevail on Earth”
• Instrumental Music
• ClosingOur community, friends, families, organizations, businesses, and clubs are all welcome to join together and celebrate.
Rotary Viewpoint Park is cleaner this afternoon thanks to local Rotarians. Martha Sidlo sent the photos and report:
This morning, the Rotary Club of West Seattle spruced up Rotary Viewpoint Park at 35th and Alaska.
The project was coordinated by Gina Topp, the club’s Community Service Chairwoman. Rotarians planted new plants provided by the City of Seattle, weeded, and picked up debris and trash.
The park now looks spiffier than it has in a long time.
You can learn about the park’s history on the West Seattle Rotary’s website.
Local students got an assist again this year from the volunteers and donors of the Pencil Me In For Kids program. Here’s the recap from the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
The beginning of school year 2022-23 may have been delayed, but the West Seattle Rotary Pencil Me in for Kids (PMIFK) program was able to deliver almost all of the requested supplies before September 7th. This is the 27th year for the PMIFK program.
Rotarian Sue Lindblom of the now retired Illusions Hair Design and her team there began the program in her business. After a few years, it was taken-in by West Seattle Rotary as an annual project. The goal has always been to provide local area public elementary schools with the specific school supplies they know their students will need in the Fall. Each school is different and so no two “Wish Lists” are the same. Twelve schools were contacted and nine chose to participate.
There was considerable support these past few years from the Fauntleroy United Church of Christ members, and also this year from businesses in their area. With the on-going support of Staples at Westwood Village, thanks to Assistant Manager Robert, Rotary received 1,000 school kits along with very deep discounts on all the other items purchased. West Seattle Rotarians were all smiles when delivery days finally arrived and they knew those supplies were going to help local kids through this upcoming school year.
Over two days, the PMIFK Team picked-up most of the supplies at the Westwood Village Staples, delivered them to American Legion Post 160 in West Seattle for sorting into nine school groups, and then delivered eight grouped supplies to Louisa Boren STEM K-8 as a pick-up point for that school and seven other schools (the exception being one delivery directly to Roxhill). Pictured at Boren are (l-r) Andrew Coghill and Rotarians Keith Hughes, John Enger, Martha Sidlo, and Tom Nychay.
For more information on Pencil Me In For Kids or the Rotary Club of West Seattle, go to westseattlerotary.org or send email to pencilkids53@gmail.com.
(WSB photos)
The newest Peace Pole planted by the Rotary Club of West Seattle now stands in front of C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) after a dedication ceremony this morning.
(The sunflowers symbolize hope for peace in Ukraine)
Keith Hughes (above left) from the Rotary explained that this dedication is special because it was arranged to happen on the United Nations International Day of Peace. He read a message from the Rotary International’s peace project chair, observing that “…a single act (can) start a chain of peace. It begins with us.” In this case, it began with C & P proprietors Pete and Cameron Moores (second/third from left) – requesting a Peace Pole for their establishment’s front terrace. Martha Sidlo (second from right) from the Rotary expressed hope that the Peace Pole will spark conversation among both coffee-shop customers and passersby, inspiring them to talk about peace. Promoting peace is one of the Rotary’s seven areas of focus. A special guest for this dedication was Nao Valente (above right), who works with the international Peace Pole Project (and has one outside her home near Lowman Beach). These are among more than 300,000 Peace Poles around the world.
Each pole is decorated and inscribed differently; this one carries its message of peace in Hawaiian, Japanese, Lushootseed, and English – and a solar-powered light on top. The Rotary has at least five more to install around West Seattle; the next scheduled dedication will be in November along Fauntleroy Creek. Earlier this month, we covered the ceremony marking the installation of one in a new Children’s Peace Garden outside Fauntleroy Church/YMCA.
On this somber anniversary of deadly attacks followed by years of war, a garden gathering in West Seattle today sowed seeds of hope for peace.
The new Children’s Peace Garden outside Fauntleroy UCC Church is centered on a Peace Pole installed by the Rotary Club of West Seattle, one of a quarter-million placed by Rotarians around the world. This morning’s gathering was a celebration of the garden’s completion. Many people worked to bring it to reality:
Third from right in the photo above is Jenny Mandt, who designed the garden. At right is Keith Hughes from the West Seattle Rotary, who explained that the Peace Pole and Children’s Peace Garden embody two of the organization’s seven pillars of service – promoting peace and supportihg education. Also from the Rotary, third from left, was Christine Peak, who leads its Peacebuilding Services Committee, and noted that the Peace Pole project dates back to 1976. They are meant to be a welcoming gesture, she explained. Second from left above is Greg Dirks, Fauntleroy Church’s vice moderator, who observed that “we all have a role to play in fostering peace.” This, it’s hoped, will be a place to reflect. Also – as the church is co-housed with Hazelwood Preschool and the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) – it’ll be a place for children to ponder peace as they see the garden and pole each day.
The dedication event also celebrated peace through music, with a song led by Bronwyn Edwards:
A plaque is yet to come for the garden. It will read, in English and Lushootseed:
This garden is dedicated to the children of the Fauntleroy community. As they gather in this space, part of the traditional homeland of the Duwamish People, may they understand the power of peaceful coexistence amongst all peoples that we symbolize here. As these plants grow, may the children grow to know that whoever they are, they are welcome in this place of beauty and hopeful peace. May peace prevail on Earth.
The next Peace Pole to be planted in West Seattle by the Rotary is planned for C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), with a ceremony planned on the United Nations’ International Day of Peace. September 21st.
Thanks to Keith Hughes for the photo! Members of the Rotary Club of West Seattle are installing eight Peace Poles over the next year and the first one will be the center of a Children’s Peace Garden at Fauntleroy UCC. Work was under way earlier this week to get the garden ready. It’s to be dedicated at 11 am tomorrow (Sunday, September 11th) outside the church at 9140 California SW.
Four weeks ago, we noted the Pencil Me In For Kids school-supply drive was collecting donations. The item collection is over, but there’s still a way you can help. Here’s an update from Pencil Me In For Kids volunteers:
Fourth-grade teacher Angela de Ita knows that her students at Sanislo Elementary will be happy to have their share of the supplies collected during West Seattle Rotary‘s annual Pencil Me In For Kids drive. The project endeavors to equip every student in area elementary schools with the supplies needed for success – an especially challenging goal this year as families cope with record inflation.
(Photo by Phil Sweetland: Fauntleroy Church member Judy Pickens led the effort to collect this truckload of school supplies in her neighborhood, all destined for West Seattle American Legion Post 160’s Pershing Hall for sorting out to schools)
Fauntleroy Church spearheaded the drive in its neighborhood, with the West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA, Canine Casa, Treo Organic Salon, Wildwood Market, and Keller Williams Seattle also hosting donation boxes. The drive continues to welcome cash donations (here) to purchase high-demand items in bulk.
Another comeback this summer – the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Rotarian of the Year award – given to two people this year to make up for the skipped year. Here’s the announcement from club president Alan Mitchell:
During normal years, West Seattle Rotary ends its year in late June with an evening Installation Banquet during which we recognize both outgoing and incoming officers of the Club and the Service Foundation, members who passed away, and our most outstanding member – our Rotarian of the Year. However, due to COVID, these past two years have not been normal. As we ended 2020-21, we had no Installation event. As we recently ended 2021-22 on June 28th, we had a Zoom-only noontime Installation Celebration.
Because we had no Rotarian of the Year awarded in 2020-21 and we had two worthy of the award in 2021-22, we awarded two Rotarians of the Year on June 28th: Kjersti Stroup and Christine Peak. However, being a Zoom-only event, presentations of their award plaques were virtual. Shortly afterward, 2021-22 President Alan presented them with their actual award plaques: outdoors on July 1st to Christine over wine at Pine Lake Cellars and outdoors on July 7th to Kjersti over lunch at Endolyne Joe’s.
Among Christine’s award-worthy accomplishments in 2021-22 were organizing outstanding speakers for every Tuesday Club meeting (despite COVID and hybrid functionality) and co-founding our newest Service Committee, the Peacebuilders Service Committee.
Among Kjersti’s award-worthy accomplishments in 2021-22 were leading the creation and execution of our new Spring for Kids project for underserved local area elementary school children and overall leadership of our Service Foundation (despite COVID and a new baby).
Of course, there were many more noteworthy members and service projects in 2021-22, including those which granted over $19,000 in scholarships to local area graduating high school students. Please go to our website to learn more about West Seattle Rotary, www.westseattlerotary.org.
The new school year is two months away but it’s time for donations to the long-running Pencil Me In For Kids school-supply drive. Several businesses are dropoff spots, according to this update from Judy Pickens:
Canine Casa Pet Salon owner Cherie Rahm and client Moose received materials this week from volunteer Doug Gunwaldsen as the Fauntleroy community kicks off its support of West Seattle Rotary‘s annual Pencil Me In For Kids school-supply drive. Salon customers are invited to drop off supplies through July 31 to equip students in need when they return to area schools.
Other donation bins are at Fauntleroy Church, West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA, Treo Organic Salon, and Wildwood Market in Fauntleroy, plus Keller Williams Seattle (5446 California Ave. SW). Cash donations are also welcome here so that drive coordinators may buy supplies in bulk.
Five local students are getting help with college from the Rotary Club of West Seattle. Here’s the announcement:
The West Seattle Rotary Club has awarded over $19,000 in scholarships to four local area high school students and one student at Washington State University.
These annually awarded scholarships are funded by two endowed programs (Gambriell and Past Presidents) and one program funded by donations to our annual fundraising campaigns (Student of the Year).
On June 14th, four of the five awardees spoke via Zoom at the Club’s weekly meeting, presenting a bio-sketch of their many school and extracurricular activities, their career goals, what they regard as their most important attributes.
The recipients are:
Yasmeen Aden, Chief Sealth International High School, planning to study psychology at UW, Gambriell and Student of the Year scholarships
Jayden Elenez, West Seattle High School, planning to study aviation at CWU, Gambriell and Student of the Year scholarships
Mevina Ott, West Seattle High School, planning to study the sciences at Stanford, Student of the Year scholarship
Lola Taylor, studying at Washington State University, Gambriell scholarship
Diego Estome-Hedger, studying at South Seattle College and headed for San Diego State, Past Presidents scholarship
Watch for application information for next year’s scholarships here.
An announcement and invitation, from the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
The Rotary Club of West Seattle is excited to “Plant and Dedicate“ three Peace Poles to the following locations in 2022.
West Seattle Eagles Club, 4426 California SW
Fauntleroy Church, UCC, 9140 California SW
The Log House Museum, 3003 61st Ave SWAs background, one of Rotary’s primary areas of focus is the promotion of peace throughout the community and world. Peace Poles symbolize the oneness of humanity and our prominent wish for world peace. There are more than 250,000 Peace Poles globally, including several in West Seattle.
The power of the message “May Peace Prevail On Earth” lies in its capacity to bring people of various cultures, faith, traditions, and political ideals together as one united global heart and mind.
The Rotary Club of West Seattle is interested in learning if there are other Churches, Community Centers, Libraries, City Parks, Restaurants, or Historical Sites in West Seattle that might want to discuss a gift of a Peace Pole.
Please contact: Christine Peak, Rotarian, Christine.peak1@gmail.com
The Rotary Club of West Seattle just welcomed four new members – and is now having “hybrid” weekly meetings, so you can attend in person or online. Here’s an update from the club:
Come Join Us! West Seattle Rotary is now offering a hybrid option for our weekly meetings. We are meeting in person on Tuesdays at the Alki Masonic Hall (4736 40th SW) from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and have a Zoom Link option here to join virtually. Upcoming May programs:
Tuesday, May 3, 12:00 noon
Susan Carroll, Managing Director, Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center
Celebrating 20 Years of the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace CenterPresentation: As we reach our 20th anniversary as one of the Rotary Peace Fellowship Program’s Centers, now is a good moment to react on how the program and the ‑eld of peacebuilding have changed over these past two decades.
Tuesday, May 10, 12:00 noon
Greg Dirks, Jim and Michelle Edwards, The West Seattle Big Band
Introducing The West Seattle Big BandPresentation: A community-based 18 piece music ensemble that plays Big Band swing and jazz standards at events throughout the greater Seattle and Puget Sound.
Tuesday, May 17, 12:00 noon
Safo Mawuko Kutorwu, Founder of Denyigba LorLor , Ghana, Africa
“Tree Planting Project” Denyigba LorLor “Forest Regeneration” Donations herePresentation: A grassroots NGO in West Africa battles hunger and climate change by planting trees along roads, schools and beaches.
Tuesday, May 24, 12:00 noon
Elizabeth Cruft-Anderson, CFRE, Senior Major Gifts Officer
Promoting Peace through Rotary InternationalPresentation: Rotary’s strength is our ability to join together the right people, united in common goals to create projects in our local communities and around the globe.
We formally inducted our four newest members at our meeting last week. In photo above: Acting Membership Chairman Martha Sidlo, new members Kristy Haro with John L. Scott, Tom Nychay is the owner of Gany Nychay Architecture, Greg Dirks is a long-time West Seattle resident and is retired, and Travis Hartman with State Farm Insurance, and President Alan Mitchell.
Among the pandemic casualties – the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Children’s Holiday Shopping Spree (here’s our coverage from 2019), which brought together hundreds of volunteers and dozens of local students for one joyful morning every December. But local Rotarians were undeterred in their mission of helping kids. Today they gathered to get ready for a new way of achieving part of the mission – getting essentials to students in need via “Spring for Kids.”
Rotarian Kjersti Stroup explains, “We purchased new clothing items for 60 elementary school students in West Seattle and are providing those students with new coats, shirts, shorts, shoes, socks, and underwear, as well as a ‘goodie bag’ with fun toys and items.” This morning, club members gathered at Fauntleroy Church for a sorting party.
Next week, volunteers will deliver the bags to four local elementary schools – Highland Park, Lafayette, Roxhill, and West Seattle. And then this holiday season, the Children’s Shopping Spree might make a comeback – too early to say for sure.
College-bound student in the household? The Rotary Club of West Seattle wants to be sure you know about two scholarships, with the application deadline just two weeks away:
The Gambriell Scholarship can be awarded to any student in Seattle, but preference is given to those who reside in West Seattle and those who would not be able to attend college or further their education without the scholarship. Financial need is a major element in awarding the Gambriell Scholarship. Variable amounts are awarded each year, depending on how many students apply.
The Past Presidents’ Scholarship is available to students who are not Rotarians or members of a Rotarian’s immediate family. Awardees must either reside in the West Seattle area or be graduating this year from a West Seattle-area school. This $6,000 scholarship may be used to obtain a 4-year degree or an advanced degree.
Go to our website at westseattlerotary.org/scholarships to apply.
(WSB photo)
A cause for celebration today at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – three Automotive Technology students received tools and toolboxes courtesy of the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Earl Cruzen Endowed Scholarship. From left above are recipient Adonai Habte, Rotary president Alan Mitchell, instructor Doug Clapper, recipient Yaphet Solomon, Rotary’s Mark Ward, and recipient Jimmy Saeteurn. The recipients of this new scholarship are in the final quarter of a two-year program and will carry the tools with them into their new careers – Habte is already working in the automotive field, Solomon just got an internship with Tesla, and Saeteurn is job-hunting. The scholarship’s namesake was a West Seattle community champion – known for among other things the Junction murals – and auto-parts entrepreneur, longtime owner of Cruzen Distributing. If you or someone you know is in the Automotive Technology program, watch for the announcement of applications for this scholarship next August.
The senior-living complex Brookdale Admiral Heights is planning a Festival of Trees this holiday season and looking for businesses to donate decorated trees. Here’s the announcement:
You can help us celebrate our first ever magical community event by donating a decorated holiday tree to the Brookdale Admiral Heights Festival of Trees. Your beautiful and creatively decorated tree will be displayed for over two weeks and viewed by many of the West Seattle community (and also showcased online).
Whether you’re advertising your business, promoting your organization, showcasing your children’s creations or decorating a tree for yourself or your family, you’ll be proud to be an important part of this exciting annual event. Deadline to donate a tree and be a part of the festival is November 6th. Please note we are capping our tree donations at 12 this year, so sign up ASAP! Also send your business logo.
If you have questions about donating a tree for 2021, please call 206-512-7730 or email a member of the 2021 Tree Team at tmeade@brookdale.com leaving your name, address, email, and telephone number. Your tree theme is up to you and a name for your tree is required.
Your decorated tree is a tax-deductible donation which will be auctioned off as part of the fundraising efforts of the West Seattle Rotary. The West Seattle Rotary is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit organization as defined by the US Internal Revenue Service code. The Festival will provide you with a donation verification letter should you desire it for tax purposes.
Despite pandemic constraints, many West Seattleites have continued to give time and money to build a stronger community. That includes local service clubs like the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which shared this update on recent projects:
It’s been a busy fall for the Rotary Club of West Seattle. Even though we’re continuing to meet virtually due to COVID-19, we’re building in-person relationships together through our Community Service Projects.
Pencil Me In For Kids (PMIFK), in its 26th year, was a huge success again. It is a unique program where West Seattle public grade schools send in requests in June of what they will need for fall. Over $11,000 worth of school supplies purchased by the Rotary Club of West Seattle and items donated by Staples and Fauntleroy Church UCC were distributed in August.
Rotarians picked up several truckloads of supplies from Staples, an amazing partner in this program, and then gathered to sort the supplies by school. The next morning, they used their personal cars and trucks to deliver the supplies to each of the schools. The schools that benefitted this year are Louisa Boren STEM K-8, West Seattle Elementary, Sanislo Elementary, Alki Elementary, and Gatewood Elementary.
Another project for this fall was to gather new and gently used items for Transitional Resources. They are completing construction of 44 new studio apartments for residents here in West Seattle. The Rise at Yancy Street apartments will be home to adults living with serious mental illness as they exit homelessness, hospitalization, or residential-care facilities. The walls are up, and the furniture is in, but it takes much more to make a home feel warm and inviting. The folks moving in have little or nothing in the way of home goods and this may be their first experience living in an apartment of their own. Transitional Resources wants to make sure they have everything the need to succeed and feel secure when they move in.
The members of the Rotary Club of West Seattle chose this as a service project opportunity and purchased or donated items like new bath towels and mats, bed linens and comforters, shower curtains, kitchen items, artwork, and tchotchkes plus puzzles and games for the community room. It was a fun group of volunteers who collected all the items on a Saturday in September at the American Legion for pickup by Darcell Slovek-Walker, CEO of Transitional Resources (and a former West Seattle Rotarian) and her team.
Upcoming service projects include an Adopt-a-Street Cleanup through the City of Seattle program plus yard cleanup projects for local seniors. If you’re interested in helping or learning more about the Rotary Club of West Seattle, go to our website and plan to join us at one of our virtual lunch meetings.
Donations are always welcome in that we use the funding for our service projects locally and around the world. You can donate to the Rotary Club of West Seattle here.
We love sharing news of community giving – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thanks!
One of West Seattle’s most active service clubs has a new president. Here’s the announcement from the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
In 1947, the Rotary Club of West Seattle began serving the local community. From then to now, community leaders of West Seattle have assembled under the banner of Rotary in an effort to exchange ideas and take action to improve the lives of neighbors in need.
The Rotary Club of West Seattle is pleased to announce the President of the 2021-2022 Rotary year will be Alan Mitchell. When asked about the opportunity to lead the service organization, he had this to say: “After I became ‘rewired’ in 2016 (working in service to others instead of for money), two friends separately said, ‘you should look into your local Rotary club.’ I joined because I found good people working together cooperatively in service to others at the local and international levels while having fun. I saw that they are people from a wide span of ages, from those in their 30s starting up families and careers, to others who are also retired. That’s the kind of club I want to be a part of and contribute significantly to for programs that help neighbors locally and around the world.
“Preceding me was Dawn Schaper, Executive Director at Brookdale Admiral Heights, a senior living community. She left extremely big shoes to fill, but with the help of our club’s leadership, I’m confident that we will together be able to address the needs of the very important causes our club supports.”
The Rotary Club of West Seattle is accepting new members. Click here if interested in joining a Club meeting to learn more.
Our area has several active service organizations, and one of them is inviting you to visit next week, either in-person or online. Here’s the announcement from the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
Rotary Club of West Seattle — Visitors Day
June 22, 2021
11:30 – 1:00 p.m.The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise. One of the guiding principles is the Four-Way Test, which is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide, or set of values, Rotarians use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and often Rotarians recite it at club meetings.
Of the things, we think, say or do:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?The interesting thing about Rotary is that the local clubs govern how to run their club. Each club has a different focus. But one thing they all have in common is that they are a leadership organization, made up of local business, professional and civic leaders. They meet regularly, get to know each other, and through that, are able to get things done in their own community. Watch this myth buster video to help you understand the role of Rotary in your community.
The Rotary Club of West Seattle invites you to Visitors Day on Tuesday, June 22nd at the Alki Masonic Hall (4736 40th Ave SW) from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Come and learn what Rotary is all about and how becoming a member can benefit both your business and personal life. Coffee, tea, and refreshments will be served. If you are vaccinated, join us in person! Otherwise, use this Zoom link here to join us online.
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