Some people just walk into a place and take right over. That’s Seattle funnyman Pat Cashman making himself comfortable in Southwest Youth and Family Services executive director Steve Daschle‘s office this morning. Daschle wasn’t around but truth is, SWYFS really didn’t mind Cashman getting comfortable – he’s the guy who’s going to keep things lively during their biggest fundraiser of the year, the XAFLAD! (Somali for “party”) auction/entertainment gala coming up September 24th (a week from Friday) at the Columbia Tower Club downtown. He was at SWYFS HQ in North Delridge this morning for a briefing – even as volunteers like Nancy continued to toil on the auction items – some of which have been grouped into theme baskets (this one’s easy to figure out):
SWYFS has more than 150 donated items going up for live and silent auction, according to Nanette Westerman, who along with Shayla Simoes stopped to chat while Cashman and SWYFS’s Cara Kroenke strategized for the big night. Most are in storage, awaiting the auction…
…but some items just aren’t shelf material, like a stay in Barcelona, Spain, or two tickets to a fancy dinner and show, and even a sneak peek inside the fabled women’s restroom atop the Columbia Tower (yes, females can go inside for free – but the successful bidder will get a tour even with XY chromosomes, Westerman says). Whatever the auction brings in, SWYFS is going to need it, she notes – she says she’s already getting phone calls inquiring what kind of help the agency will be offering at Christmastime: “Things are fairly dire out there.” (SWYFS wears many hats – public-school classes on site, violence-prevention programs, family-assistance programs, and more – and has a service area that also stretches outside West Seattle.) A few $60 tickets to XAFLAD! are left, and you can buy them online here.
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