What you see in our photo, next to the trophy Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) won for its entry (see it here) in Saturday’s West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade, is a very special beverage: The official Seal Sitters Coffee, a 12-ounce blueberry and mint dark-chocolate mocha. Hotwire is donating $3 from each and every one sold to Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The donation goes even further, since fundraising helps Seal Sitters qualify for the Neighborhood Matching Fund grant for its Year of the Seal: Sentinels of the Sound project. By the way, volunteer time helps toward the “match” too, and Seal Sitters has a volunteer-training session coming up this Wednesday night – details are in the announcement published here last month, including how to RSVP (to make sure they still have room).

One more charity effort this week at Hotwire – Gently used women’s shoes (or new, if you want to buy something to donate!) are being collected for a silent auction Saturday (July 27) benefiting local nonprofits including Furry Faces Foundation, in connection with the next West Seattle Outdoor Movies screening (“The Devil Wears Prada”) that same night. Drop off shoe donations by noon Saturday; later that afternoon, you’ll be able to preview the auction items – stand by for an update later this week.