From Abby Suplizio with West Seattle CoolMom.org, via e-mail: The first-ever CoolMom Toy Swap/Sale at Camp Long on Saturday had an “amazing turnout,” according to Abby (WSB photo at left from our Saturday “happening now” report), and she adds: “The end of the day numbers were that we raised $475 (enough for 600 meals) specifically for the West Seattle Food Bank. We sold $2,000 worth of toys (initial estimate) AND dropped off nearly 25 boxes of toys to WestSide Baby. Nancy (Woodland, of WestSide Baby) was overjoyed that so many families were going to get Christmas this year! We all felt really good at the end of the day!” (More about CoolMom at coolmom.org)

From KSJ and the Beer Church via a comment on last night’s Turkey Bowl report (which included the food-donation photo at right): “We made just over $3,000 and while we didn’t have a scale big enough to weigh the food we filled a van. Thanks to everyone who came and bowled, particularly our local pubs and breweries: Georgetown Brewing, Big Al’s Brewing, Elliott Bay Brewing, Rogue Issaquah Brewhouse, Dog and Pony, West5, and Beveridge Place.” (More about Beer Church at beerchurch.com)

And a few days ago, we got a results report on last weekend’s cat adopt-a-thon at Southwest Community Center. Via e-mail from Megan with the Seattle Animal Shelter “Fabulous Felines” team e-mailed: “13 kitties, including two adults and one special needs cat, found their forever homes.” According to another message we received, that included the two whose photos were at the top of our “happening now” report that day.

SIDE NOTE: Whenever there’s an event (like the 3 above) lasting more than a couple hours, we try our best to get there to take pix and post “happening now” coverage, after sharing advance word via regular WSB features such as the Events calendar, the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, and (seasonally) the Holiday Happenings list. But we also welcome you to send photos during your event (and pix/success stories afterward) – cameraphone photos are often usable too – editor@westseattleblog.com (you can also share via Flickr – where we’ve set up a West Seattle Blog group – Twitter and/or Facebook — all our current contact info is on this page). Thanks!