West Seattle, Washington
26 Saturday
The start of next school year is closer than you think, so it’s time for families to start thinking about school supplies. Again this year, the Rotary Club of West Seattle (WSB sponsor) is collecting donated supplies in its longrunning Pencil Me In For Kids drive. Here’s the announcement sent to us to share with you, explaining how to help:
Pencil Me In For Kids (PMIFK) is a West Seattle Rotary sponsored project that has provided basic school supplies to West Seattle K-5 students in need since 1995. Their 30th annual School Supply Drive launched this week and runs through August 1.
You can help by donating supplies that elementary school students frequently use, such as folders with pockets (e.g., Pee-Chees), glue sticks, pens, pencils, pink erasers, washable fine tip color markers, washable fine and slant-tip black markers, and wide-ruled paper.
Drop-off sites include Brookdale Admiral Heights Senior Living, Fauntleroy Church, Fauntleroy YMCA, Potter Construction (call 206-237-3603 first), and West Seattle Thriftway.
Supplies can also be dropped off at the Rotary luncheon meeting on July 29 at the West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse (11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. only).
Online donations allow Pencil Me In For Kids to buy school supplies at a discount. Online donations can be made via the West Seattle Rotary Foundation (bit.ly/3Uio6rh) and are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. (Note: Select Local Projects on the drop-down list and type “PMIFY” on the notes.)
Sue Lindblom, former owner of Illusions Hair Design, founded Pencil Me In For Kids 30 years ago and continues to coordinate the annual drive.
“In the beginning, we raised modest amounts of money for the back-to-school supplies for student wish lists,” said Sue. “Our only thought was to get supplies to kids who needed them so they wouldn’t feel left out and hopefully their self-esteem could be helped. Thirty years later, Pencil Me In For Kids has supported thousands of K-5 students throughout West Seattle.”
Hosted by the Rotary Club of West Seattle, PMIFK is one of several local Rotary projects that support children, youth, and schools, including Music4Life (collecting orchestra and band instruments for K-12 music programs) and a variety of scholarships and awards. Learn more at westseattlerotary.org/projects/local.
The West Seattle Food Bank also has a clothing bank, the Clothesline, and WSFB development director Robbin Peterson tells WSB what they need most right now:
We are in urgent need of back-to-school clothes. When you shop at a clothing bank for your kids, it takes multiple visits to get everyone ready for back-to-school & our shoppers have already started. The Clothesline is in need of kids’ clothes 5T through teen sizes. Hoodies, jackets, jeans, athletic pants & tops, sneakers, new underwear/bras/socks, dresses, skirts. Clothing can be dropped off at The Clothesline (4425 41st Ave SW) Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 am – 1 pm.
If you – or a student in your household – can spare some time, this volunteer project is looking to sign up a hundred volunteers! Here’s the announcement we were asked to share:
We’re looking for 100 volunteers to work together (kids more than welcome!) to help with safety and aesthetic improvements to the exterior and playground at Louisa Boren STEM K-8.
Need volunteer hours for middle or high school? We’re happy to sign any forms to confirm your volunteer hours.
Sign up below to join us on Friday, July 18 and/or Saturday, July 19, 9 am – 5 pm.
Volunteer sign-up: signupgenius.com/go/10C0549A9A823A0FEC43-57389089-louisa
Looks like we’ll have sunny days before, during and after – making it perfect painting weather. We have lots of approved projects to knock out, so bring friends – let’s get it DONE!!
Questions? Email cheandrie@stemk8pta.org
The school is at 5950 Delridge Way SW.
Quick reminder that the city has declared Saturday (July 12) this year’s “One Seattle Day of Service,” with volunteer opportunities offered citywide.
If you’re interested in checking out remaining openings, the first step is to register, and you’ll find the link in the original announcement. (Local events with openings include one with Schmitz Park Creek Restore, still with dozens of spots when we checked this morning.)
P.S. Two events at Webster Pond have 40+ openings, too!
(Bee Garden photo: Volunteers, earlier this year)
If you have some spare time on Sunday, the West Seattle Bee Garden could benefit! Here’s the announcement that Lisa asked us to share:
This Sunday the 6th is our July work party, 10-12 pm. Our big focus is weeding! Some areas of the garden have gotten pretty wild so I’m hoping we can make a big dent and give our intentional plants much needed space and sunlight.
In the spirit of the holiday weekend, I also encourage you to bring your social side and join us for a break with lemon raspberry cake (homemade! homegrown raspberries!) and sparkling water. If you’d like to bring something to share, you are welcome to, but no pressure.
As usual:
-dress for the weather: it’ll be warm and sunny – hats and sunblock encouraged
-wear close-toed shoes
-we have tools but bring a favorite if you have one
-no experience necessary, all levels of garden-curious folks are welcome
-this is a family-friendly event, kids are welcomeAdditional volunteer opportunities
In July and August, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 2-4 pm, a youth group from the High Point neighborhood will be gardening and stewarding in and around the Bee Garden. The group has leaders, extra hands are appreciated. If you have interest and availability in supporting this community work, please reach out to Abbie at: abbiec@nhwa.org.
The Bee Garden is at the north end of High Point Commons Park (Graham/Lanham).
(WSB photos)
The West Seattle Junction was decked with the Stars and Stripes today, thanks to volunteers recruited by the Junction Association. We were passing through The Junction on the way to cover the West Seattle Fourth of July Kids’ Parade in North Admiral when we saw the group gathered for their briefing:
Many of The Junction’s community events rely on volunteers – Summer Fest (one week away!) still has some openings, for example.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Before Mallory Carlson, a young mom of three, talked with us about the reason for our phone interview, she wanted to tell us about her love for West Seattle.
She moved here the first time at age 14, to live with an aunt and uncle. She attended Chief Sealth International High School.
The second time she moved here was the first time with her husband and their first child, a son who’s now 4 years old. They had to leave because her husband’s job search led them to California. “We’ll be back,” they promised each other. And this spring, they managed to return to what Mallory calls an “incredible community,” home to many members of her family.
It seemed like the first step into a warm, bright future. They had expanded their family with identical twin girls half a year ago.
And then, just weeks after their return to West Seattle … “this happened.”
That word, “this,” encompasses so much heartache … but also hope. Sisters Josie and Lucy were diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia that Mallory says affects only 100 babies a year – ALL. The girls are now two weeks into an experimental chemotherapy treatment that they will have to endure for nine months. And that’s if they’re lucky. That’s inpatient chemotherapy at the start of a two-year treatment plan, their mom explains.
“The girls are stable – but not doing well,” Mallory told us when we talked Tuesday afteroon. “At least, they’re not in danger of dying today. … For every day, we’re grateful, but this is truly terrifying.”
Mallory is a self-employed wedding photographer. She can’t work now for multiple reasons – not just the need to stay at Seattle Children’s Hospital with Josie and Lucy, but also because she has to limit her exposure to other people, for fear she’ll catch something and spread it to them. “If they catch a cold, it could kill them, so I’m trying to be incredibly careful.” Her husband has just started his new job and hasn’t accumulated paid time off, so he has to keep working so that they can cover mounting medical bills and keep the “fixer-upper” West Seattle house they’d bought before “this.”
So they are crowdfunding, painful in its own way for someone who says she’s never had to ask for help before, “but I have to put my pride away.” In addition to raising money, Mallory is also trying to raise awareness and end the stigma that invariably arises with the word “cancer.” If people don’t want to help her family, she says, maybe Lucy and Josie will inspire them to donate to a foundation researching childhood cancer.
Research has suddenly become a large part of the family’s life. The girls are part of a clinical trial right now – a trial that hadn’t begun when they were diagnosed, but, Mallory explains, was opened seven months early to admit them. It is a trial that expands the chemotherapy currently used to treat ALL.
How did they both get it? Because they shared a placenta, one spread it to the other, Mallory explains. Josie was the first diagnosed, and the double diagnosis drew researchers’ attention quickly, enabling them to get into the aforementioned trial. “It could save them, at least keep them in and no matter what happens to them, it could change medical history … (but) even if it doesn’t save them, I want to bring awareness to this awful, awful rare disease.”
Their care is estimated to cost $1 million per twin – per year. “We are doing everything we can, but this fight is bigger than us alone,” Mallory says. And bigger than two very little girls living in a hospital right now.
Here’s the crowdfunding/updates site set up by friends and family.
(Photo courtesy Lou Cutler, as he and friends stopped on the shore last Wednesday)
Last week we were on Pigeon Point as retired Pathfinder K-8 PE teacher Lou Cutler and friends headed out on a peninsula-wide walk to raise money for Make-A-Wish, the nonprofit for which he’s volunteered for many years, helping ailing kids’ wishes come true. Last week’s walk was also a birthday celebration for Lou – turning 74 this year; in many past Junes, he celebrated with a Pathfinder event running/walking the same number of laps as years on the school field that he’d been alive. This time, he planned to walk 13 miles around West Seattle – and succeeded:
(It) was a beautiful day for a walk and always a pleasure to have great company along the way and the MAW kids and their families to inspire me all along the way.
Due to previous commitments of my compadres, I finished the final 4 miles by myself and to be quite honest, that was a bit of a challenge as I may have become dehydrated along the way and the exercise music I always use to motivate me during walks wasn’t available as my phone died at mile 10. The last 3.7 miles were much slower than the previous 10 miles and I wouldn’t have finished without the inspiration I receive from the MAW kids and their families!!
We checked today and supporters/donors have brought Lou’s campaign within a few hundred dollars of the goal he set. If you’re interested in donating, here’s the link.
The West Seattle Food Bank‘s Taste of West Seattle is three months away but there are three ways to become part of it now – including one, if you’re a food/beverage purveyor, with a deadline today! Here’s the announcement:
Now Signing Up Restaurants for the 2025 Taste of West Seattle!
Early Bird Perk Deadline: June 27 (today!)
West Seattle’s most beloved neighborhood food festival, The Taste of West Seattle, returns on Thursday, September 25, 2025 at The Hall at Fauntleroy — and restaurant sign-ups are now open!
This annual community event brings together hundreds of food lovers to celebrate the local flavors that make West Seattle shine — all while raising critical funds for the West Seattle Food Bank.
This year, restaurants that sign up by June 27 (today!) will receive a special early-bird perk:
– Placement on the official event poster
– Extra promotion in advance press, email campaigns, and social media“When local restaurants join The Taste of West Seattle, they’re not just showing off what makes their food special — they’re stepping up for their neighbors,” said Robbin Peterson, Development Director. “This event raises critical funds to help West Seattle families stay nourished, clothed, and housed. It’s a delicious way to do real good, right here at home.”
Why Participate?
-No booth fee to participate & you’ll get to meet hundreds of potential customers
-You like winning! “Best Taste” trophies will be awarded in 5 categories
-Your support directly fights hunger and homelessness in our communitySupport the Cause as a Community Sponsor
The Taste of West Seattle is also seeking community sponsors to help bring this beloved event to life. Sponsorships are a great way to show your company’s local pride, gain visibility, and make a direct impact on West Seattle families. Opportunities start at just $300, making it accessible to small businesses, teams, and organizations that want to give back. Email robbin@westseattlefoodbank.org or visit the WSFB website to learn more.
Tickets On Sale Now!
Tickets for the event are now available to the public here.
The West Seattle Grand Parade is just a little more than three weeks away, and starting now, you have a new way to support it: A fundraising T-shirt! Here’s the announcement we received tonight:
The West Seattle Grand Parade Committee and Emerald City Threads are proud to announce the launch of the official West Seattle Grand Parade Fundraiser Tee, available now! Every purchase helps support the 91st Annual West Seattle Grand Parade, returning Saturday, July 19, 2025.
Since 1935, this iconic, volunteer-run event has brought neighbors together with pirates, marching bands, and vibrant community pride. Now, you can support this beloved tradition with a tee that looks great—and gives back.
About the Tee:
● Designed by Hanson Graphic Design
● Printed locally by Emerald City Threads
● Ultra-soft cotton blend
● Sizes: Unisex S–3XL, Kids 2T–Youth L
● Special sizes available upon requestWear it to the parade. Wear it all year.
A portion of the proceeds from each shirt sold will help cover parade production and permitting — ensuring the event remains free and family-friendly for years to come.
Founded in West Seattle by Stephanie Blair, Emerald City Threads is local Pacific Northwest gear that doesn’t suck.
Hanson Graphic Design is a women-owned, Seattle-based studio delivering bold, creative solutions for businesses of all sizes and industries.
The T-shirt has three color options – heather, light blue, and the dark blue shown in the example above.
P.S. The parade starts at 11 am Saturday, July 19, at California/Lander, and heads south on California to The Junction.
Here’s a recycling opportunity of sorts: The White Center Library Guild would love to receive your no-longer-needed books, and asked us to share this announcement on WSB as well as our WC site:
Time to make room for more books? The White Center Library Guild accepts donations of books for our sale shelf.
If you need more space for your books or have left over books from your yard sale, please donate them to the White Center Library Guild. We accept old books, new books, and everything in between.
Just take your donations to the library front desk. Contributions help fund children and adult programs at the White Center Library! Thank you!
The library’s location and hours are here – open until 8 pm tonight.
If you see that group walking in West Seattle in the next few hours, say hi! That’s longtime Make-A-Wish volunteer – and retired Pathfinder K-8 PE teacher – Lou Cutler in the blue Make-A-Wish T-shirt, just before he and supporters left the campus on his 74th-birthday fundraising walk around West Seattle. (We previewed it here on Monday, with backstory on the many years he did fundraising laps with students there.) While taking the photo, we asked Lou what he’s taking along on the big walk, and he replied, “Inspiration!” Part of that is on the sign you see on the right side of the photo – Avery is a 9-year-old who’s had a wish granted before, and is currently battling a relapse. But as Lou declared, “There’s no bravery without ‘Avery’!” So he’s raising money to help make wishes come true for kids like her – not only does he raise money, but he also is a volunteer involved in the logistics of bringing those wishes to life. You can help by donating here. And watch for him on his walking route – his group was starting at Pathfinder on Pigeon Point, then “walk(ing) up the Genesee hill to Avalon and follow(ing) that to Alki and at the south end of Lincoln Park we will return to Pathfinder via Fauntleroy.”
(WSB photo from 2018 Laps With Lou at Pathfinder)
You have another chance this week to help retired teacher Lou Cutler make kids’ wishes come true as a longtime Make-A-Wish volunteer. Lou led all-day walk/run-a-thons at Pathfinder K-8, first as its PE teacher, then as its retired PE teacher, every June for ~20 years, celebrating his June birthday by running or walking the same number of laps as years of life he’s celebrating. The Pathfinder events ended two years ago but Lou found other ways to raise money for Make-A-Wish, including a walk on the Boston Marathon route last October, and this week he’s walking again. Here’s the announcement he sent us:
I had thought that when I finished the Boston Marathon walk last October as a fundraiser for MAW, that would be the final fundraising walk for MAW, as doing the walk without the Pathfinder students didn’t offer the joy that I had felt for 20 years doing the run with the students.
However, over the past few weeks, I have seen several amazing Wishes come to completion and I saw how much joy it brought the family and that was the exact motivation I needed to inspire me to recreate the 13.1 mile walk I did on my 70th birthday in 2021 and I will follow the same route on my 74th birthday on June 25th, starting in the Pathfinder parking lot at 12:00 and walk up the Genesee hill to Avalon and follow that to Alki and at the south end of Lincoln Park we will return to Pathfinder via Fauntleroy.
Over the past 21 years, the MAW benefit walks/runs have raised over $100,000 and have funded many, many Spectacular Wishes and there are still many Wishes on the horizon that need funding and once again I will count on the generosity of people to help make these Wishes become a reality.
You can support Lou’s efforts at site.wish.org/goto/lapswithlou2025
Rain stopped, sun’s peeking through. The Super Deli Mart parking lot at 35th/Barton has games, kids’ activities – giant-bubble-making!
And benefit beverages (beer, lemonade) …
All to help the Fauntleroy Fall Festival stay free! This continues until 6 pm.
One ticket will get you into a legendary venue to see more than 20 performers and bands this Sunday for “School’s Out!” – a concert to raise money for scholarships at West Seattle’s nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts, so more students can have music in their lives. The show is off-peninsula but well worth the trip – here’s the announcement:
School’s Out Benefit Show Brings Students, Teachers, & Seattle Artists Together at The Neptune Theatre
A Community Concert to Raise Funds for Music Lesson Scholarships
Sunday, June 22 • Doors at 2:30 PM • Show at 3:30 PM • All AgesMode Music and Performing Arts is thrilled to present the School’s Out Benefit Show on Sunday, June 22 at The Neptune Theatre — a powerful all-ages event bringing together students, teachers, and friends of Mode on one iconic Seattle stage.
This one-of-a-kind concert celebrates mentorship, community, and the transformative power of music education. The lineup features 22 acts, from young Mode students and teen-formed bands to current and former Mode teachers and celebrated local artists — all performing to raise money for private music lesson scholarships that make lessons more accessible for students across our region.
“There’s something really special about seeing a young person share the stage with the teacher who inspired them,” says Erin Rubin, founder of Mode Music Studios. “These kids are playing the same stage as some of their mentors — and in the same rooms where their favorite bands have performed. It’s the kind of experience that stays with you.”
Proceeds from this event directly support Mode Music and Performing Arts’ scholarship fund, which provides financial assistance for private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, drums, and more — ensuring access to music education is never limited by income.
EVENT DETAILS:
School’s Out Benefit Show
Sunday, June 22
The Neptune Theatre (1303 NE 45th St, Seattle)
Doors at 2:30 PM • Show at 3:30 PM
All ages welcomeTickets: stgpresents.org/events/schools-out-benefit
TICKET PRICING + DISCOUNTS:
General Admission: $52
Community Discount: $37 (use code 37SCHOOLSOUT)
Youth/Accessibility Discount: $22 (use code 22SCHOOLSOUT)How to use the discount code:
Click the ticket link and look for a small “UNLOCK” button near the ticket quantity.
Tap it, enter the code, and the discounted ticket price will appear.
(Note: It’s not a promo code at checkout — you must unlock it first.)
FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY:
Students, teachers, and friends of Mode — including Naked Giants, Shaina Shepherd, Beautiful Freaks, Caitlin Sherman, Midnight High, It’s All Happening, Daphne Sweetland, and many more.
This event is a joyful reminder of what’s possible when young people are given tools to create — and when a whole community shows up to lift them higher.
If you can give blood, there’s a special incentive for a one-day drive that’s exactly two weeks away – here’s the announcement, along with other dates if that one doesn’t work:
Blood donors in West Seattle will have multiple opportunities to make a life-saving impact this summer, with blood drives scheduled at Our Lady of Guadalupe on June 30, July 1, 2, 7, 8 and August 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12. The drives are organized by Bloodworks Northwest, a regional nonprofit dedicated to ensuring a safe and reliable blood supply to hospitals across the Pacific Northwest.
In a special promotion on Wednesday, July 2, all donors will receive a coupon for a free pint of Seattle Sorbet as a thank-you gift. The “Give a Pint, Get a Pint” campaign is proudly sponsored by Seattle Sorbets and Electric Butter Marketing.
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Gym
Address: 7000 35th Avenue SWAppointments are strongly encouraged and can be scheduled at donate.bloodworksnw.org. Donors should use the code OLG2 when checking in to receive their sorbet voucher. For help booking, email schedule@bloodworksnw.org.
Today’s the deadline to buy discount Mariners tickets benefiting Chief Sealth International High School sports teams – they asked us to mention it one more time before it’s too late:
Tickets can be purchased using the QR code on our flyer or by clicking this link: schoolpay.com/pay/for/Mariners-vs-Astros–July-18th-710PM/Sd5GIel
The game is Friday July 18th at 7:10 PM against the Houston Astros. It is also an ’80s-themed fireworks night!
View Level Seats – $20 each
Main Level Seats – $30 each
Last day to purchase tickets is Friday, June 13th (today).
Proceeds will directly support Chief Sealth Football and Chief Sealth Girls Bowling.
That photo courtesy of the Alki Elementary PTA is from last year’s Alki-A-Thon – an end-of-school-year all-school fun(draiser) that’s coming up again this Friday (June 13)! They’re hoping you’ll pitch in and pledge in advance – here’s what the PTA wants us to know:
This jog-a-thon brings together students, staff, and families for a fun-filled day of running, music, and community spirit, all in support of vital programs at Alki Elementary. We’re actively seeking donations now through the event to fund arts and science enrichment, field trips, classroom resources, and equity efforts not covered by district budgets. It’s our most energizing school event of the year, and we’d love community donations to keep SPS students thriving.
Who: Alki Elementary students (kindergarten through 5th grade) running; family and immediate friends invited to attend
What: Alki-a-Thon, the school’s annual jog-a-thon fundraiser
When: Friday, June 13, 2025 (during the school day)
Why: To raise funds for PTA-supported programs that enrich student learning and support
To donate: app.99pledges.com/fund/alkiathon25
We mentioned again in today’s highlight list that PCC West Seattle (WSB sponsor) had a few more days to go in its food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank. That’s apparently changed – we just got this from WSFB’s Robbin Peterson:
Grocery supplier UNFI got hit by a cyber attack, and their IT system had to be taken down, which impacted their ordering system. It’s meant trouble for grocers who heavily rely on them (PCC, Whole Foods) with low shelf levels on products, and as such, PCC has cancelled all remaining days of their food drives across all stores in Puget Sound.
If people have items to donate to WSFB, they can bring them directly to us (35th/Morgan) between 9 am-3 pm weekdays, or drop them in any of the permanent food drive barrels around town.
· West Seattle Thriftway
· Tom’s Automotive
· Meeples Games
· YMCA Fauntleroy
· West Seattle Animal Hospital
· West Seattle Eagles
· Admiral Safeway
· RealFine Coffee
· Rainier Hair Studio
All this aside, ongoing federal cuts and state/local budget crunches mean organizations like WSFB need your help more than ever, so however and wherever you donate, if you can, please do.
With a little more than one week of classes left for most Seattle Public Schools students, it’s time to look ahead. That includes a Roxhill Elementary fundraiser this Friday for which your help can make a big difference – here’s how:
Roxhill Elementary School will host our annual Jog‐A‐Thon on June 13 to support the 5th grade overnight outdoor learning field trip to Nature Bridge in the fall. Our students are collecting pledges for running laps on the playground this Friday, and community members are invited to make a donation.
During their 4-night stay, students engage in various outdoor learning activities that build self-confidence, team building skills, and knowledge of physical sciences. It has been a tradition for many years that each 5th grade class attends an outdoor learning education overnight field trip. It is the experience of a lifetime! Donations will help cover a portion of transportation costs, meals, and other expenses.
This year’s fundraiser is especially important because the new Washington State budget removed the Outdoor Learning Grant program that previously helped offset the cost for Title I schools to go to camp. We hope our community will help us fill the gap and also support other impacted West Seattle elementary schools facing the same cuts.
Starting tomorrow, PCC (WSB sponsor) is hosting a weeklong donation drive for the West Seattle Food Bank.
WSFB’s Robbin Peterson adds, “We will also be there this weekend taking donations and selling Summer Raffle Tickets!” (Here’s the raffle announcement from two weeks ago.) If you can donate food, here’s the short wish list from WSFB:
Ready-to-eat meals like canned pasta
Meals in a box – mac and cheese, hamburger helper
Canned protein – fish, chicken
Peanut butter
Cereal
PCC is at 2749 California SW; store hours are 6 am to 11 pm, every day of the week.
Two Chief Sealth International High School sports teams are selling discount tickets to an upcoming Mariners game, and offering them to the community:
“Chief Sealth Football Night at the Mariners”
Tickets can be purchased using the QR code on our flyer or by clicking this link: schoolpay.com/pay/for/Mariners-vs-Astros–July-18th-710PM/Sd5GIel
The game is Friday July 18th at 7:10 PM against the Houston Astros. It is also an ’80s-themed fireworks night!
View Level Seats – $20 each
Main Level Seats – $30 each
Last day to purchase tickets is Friday, June 13th.
Proceeds will directly support Chief Sealth Football and our partnering organization, Chief Sealth Girls Bowling.
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