Pongo Teen Writing Project founder Richard Gold of West Seattle is scheduled to get a big-screen showcase during this afternoon’s Mariners-Angels game at Safeco Field. As reported here last Tuesday, Gold is a finalist in the national All-Stars Among Us competition (with voting under way now). After getting word of that from the Mariners, we contacted him to find out more about Pongo and its West Seattle connections beyond the fact he lives here:

The Alki Bakery is Pongo’s office. That’s where I meet with volunteers, collaborators, and supporters. I love to walk along Alki afterward. But in terms of Pongo’s work, what I’ve found is that the process of healing through poetry is profoundly powerful, so I seek the youth who are institutionalized in county-wide and state-wide agencies. Our principal sites are King County juvenile detention and the state psychiatric hospital for children. Of course, I’ve worked with West Seattle youth along the way. And in the community, Pongo appears at Folklife and Bumbershoot where we speak to 500 people over a weekend and give readings, and talk to our West Seattle friends. FYI, one of Pongo’s recent volunteers is Mike Hickey, a West Seattle resident, professor at South Seattle CC, and current Seattle Poet Populist.

So why enter the nationwide contest?:

…I hope to do more good through our Pongo website, which contains free writing activities that serve abused and neglected youth. We have writing activities that address addiction, letter to a missing parent, feelings of invisibility, etc. It’s my hope that through the “All-Stars Among Us” balloting more teens, counselors, and teachers will discover and use the Pongo website.

He adds, “My primary message at the baseball game is this… For abused and neglected teens, like struggling baseball teams, you can’t undo the past. But the best first step is honesty, figuring out your truth, followed by effort and the support of caring teammates.” So if you’re going to today’s game, watch the big screen for the Richard Gold shoutout; in the meantime, you can vote for him by going here (click on the Mariners logo). June 20 is the voting deadline. Each Major League Baseball team has three finalists in the competition, and each will send one to Anaheim for recognition during the All-Star Game on July 13. (Photo courtesy Richard Gold)