West Seattle, Washington
20 Saturday
It’s full speed ahead for the latest phase of the longrunning playground-improvement project at West Seattle’s most populous elementary school. Organizers of the Play It Forward campaign raising money for Lafayette Elementary‘s playground say they achieved the goal of matching funds/labor/materials to get the $100,000 city grant they had won, so they “are on schedule to head out to bid for the project as soon as some of the construction drawings are finalized,” according to Deborah Hazlegrove, who adds: “Our intention is to break ground after school is out and have a brand-spanking new playground for the kids when they return in the fall.” In the meantime, you’re invited to the next community meeting updating the project – February 17th, 7 pm, school library – and they’re still fundraising, so if you have ideas to help with that and/or with promotion, they’d love to see you there, or to hear from you any time (e-mail Holly at rhgrambihler@msn.com).
(WSB photo from orchard work party last month)
Another step ahead for the new Community Orchard of West Seattle – it’s sprouted a website! You’ll find COWS online at fruitinwestseattle.org. And there you also will find details of two upcoming events to which community volunteers are heartily invited – classes followed by lunch and a work party, 10 am Saturdays, February 12 with the topic “Perennial Plantings” and March 12 with the topic “Annual Plantings.” It all happens at the north end of South Seattle Community College on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge (6000 16th SW) – RSVP info is on the brand-new website.
Tabling in The Junction at noontime today were Jilyan Perry and Tamara Judy on behalf of Relay for Life of West Seattle, the all-night cancer-fighting fundraiser that draws hundreds to West Seattle Stadium every June. The relay isn’t until June 10-11, but the kickoff celebration is just a week and a half away, 6-8 pm Thursday, February 17th, at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar. Relay for Life of West Seattle, and events like it around the country, benefit the cancer-fighting work of the American Cancer Society; you’re invited to come to the Feb. 17th event to see how you can help – by planning, organizing, sponsoring, organizing, any or all of the above. (This year the WS Relay for Life also is on Facebook and on Twitter.)
8:08 AM: It’s an annual event to help Hiawatha Community Center raise money to cover program fees for those who wouldn’t be able to participate otherwise – and it’s happening right now. The annual “all you care to eat” pancake breakfast is under way till noon – $6/adults, $5 for kids 4-12, free for 3 and under, breakfast meats and beverages included, 2700 California SW.
10:30 AM UPDATE: Went by for photos, which we’ve just added. Still time to go have pancakes, sausages, and more!
(Photo courtesy Donna Ryan Photography)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tonight, supporters of WestSide Baby – which helps West Seattle, White Center, and South King County families with needs from diapers to car seats – are gathering for the second half of a fundraising doubleheader.
This afternoon saw about 400 people fill the brightly decorated Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College for the first half – WS Baby’s 10th annual Benefit Tea. And tonight, for the first time ever, they’re following it up with a benefit Cocktail Party – at The Hall at Fauntleroy – because the tea sold out quickly.
You could gauge the tea event’s popularity not only from the preliminary fundraising total of “$88,000 and counting,” according to executive director Nancy Woodland‘s 6 pm update (Sunday update: $100,000+!) – but also by noting the crowd of people who poured into the lobby as the tea began, to get name tags and number paddles enabling them to pledge or donate for certain items:
(Above image and next two are WSB iPhone photos)
The paddles were a first-time feature – attendees who wanted to publicly pledge a certain level of donation were invited to raise theirs; on-the-spot donation amounts ranged all the way up to $2,500. Dozens were raised, in waves:
Another first at the tea – a “men’s table”!
Toward the right, wearing a tie, that’s executive director Rick Jump from the White Center Food Bank, a partner and supporter of WestSide Baby. He explained, “I told Nancy for years, get more men to come to this – so she did and now we have a ‘men’s table’ – sub sandwiches and pretzels, no tea!” They didn’t go beverageless – beer was available; the cash bar at the event also offered a custom drink created by event co-sponsor Avalon, “The Avalon,” a pink apple martini with nutmeg sugar on each glass’s rim – held in the next photo by Breanna Whited and Katie Guenther:
(Photo courtesy Donna Ryan Photography)
Though there was plenty of good cheer, some of the numbers were sobering. WS Baby served more than 18,400 children last year, 20 percent more than the year before – and there are still more who need help. In their first decade of operation, WS Baby has distributed almost $7.5 million in clothing, toys, baby gear, and other items — and there are still more who need help. Despite filling hundreds of requests for car seats and cribs last year, hundreds more went unfilled. But the support for WS Baby can be so touching, its executive director got emotional during her mid-tea speech (from a stage in the center of the room), before discussing one of the year’s big triumphs:
(WSB video)
That new space enables WestSide Baby to store and process more donated items (we reported on it last fall) and was fixed up with lots of volunteer power and donations. Woodland also discussed a somewhat-low-key capital campaign that’s been under way since last summer, with a $500,000 goal, and $220,000 raised already.
“We have come a long way!” observed WS Baby board chair Megan Simmons when she spoke to the crowd, which also heard from King County Councilmember Joe McDermott (photographed below with Nancy Woodland):
(Photo courtesy Donna Ryan Photography)
McDermott asked teagoers to let his former colleagues in the State Legislature know they are concerned about health and human service funding cuts – which affect services like the maternity programs the county offers.
And the services WS Baby provides were given a face and a voice – that of Serena Spalding, a young single mom who is not only a WS Baby volunteer, but also a client. She explained that the needs the organization helps fill are “not negotiable – they’re needed whether or not Mommy has money.”
As Woodland put it, the kids they serve “have a right to feel safe, to be safe, to be dry, to be warm.” And a room full of supporters/donors reached in and reached out to help make that reality.
You can donate to WestSide Baby in a variety of ways – explained here – as well as giving money online.
SIDE NOTES: Thanks to the “table captain” who made room for us at her table, Katy Walum (who you may also know as president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association). Last year, she was the Tea Committee chair, and worked intensely up to and through the event to make sure it went off without a hitch; this year, with WS Baby getting help from professional event organizers Spot On Events, she got to relax a bit, educating and enjoying her tablemates, while it unfolded. … Local businesses sponsoring the tea included three WSB sponsors: Wyatt’s Jewelers (which donated a diamond necklace for a unique raffle that also involved Avalon Glassworks‘ glass-art cupcakes), Ventana Construction, Fauntleroy Chiropractic, and Bryan Brenner DDS.
That’s Karen Olson, founder and national president of homelessness-fighting Family Promise, while visiting West Seattle to support and encourage the local affiliate’s efforts to reopen its shelter program. Almost six months after they announced they had to put the shelter on hiatus until they could raise enough money to reopen (here’s our August 2010 story), they’re more than halfway there, and Olson told the local board during her visit that she has confidence “they can do this!”
WSB talked with Olson last night, just before she was the guest of honor at an Alki reception for Family Promise of Seattle supporters (we last updated their campaign with this Christmas Day story). She founded the organization in New Jersey almost 25 years ago, and says other chapters have gone through rocky times, but the West Seattle-based group has a lot going for it – including the congregations that are “eager to begin again.” Instead of having one fixed-location shelter, Family Promise offers homeless families a place to sleep hosted by a rotating group of congregations, each of which commits to shelter and feed a family an average of once per quarter. Olson describes it as an “interfaith hospitality network.”
The national office is relatively small and helps coach and mobilize local affiliates, but does not raise money for their operations, and that’s why it can’t “bail out” groups like this one. Instead, it helps empower them to “identify people passionate about homelessness,” and the Family Promise mission – “helping homeless families achieve sustainable independence.” Right now there are 162 affiliated organizations nationwide, in 41 states; in our state, the only other one is in Spokane, and Olson was visiting them too while out west.
Eighty percent of the homeless families helped by Family Promise manage to find housing within 8 weeks, Olson says, calling that a “remarkable” success rate, with the “interfaith network” usually resulting in hundreds of volunteers being involved in each community – a “cost-effective (way to) mobilize existing resources” that “helps to heal the hurt of homelessness.”
To keep them going till they are helping families directly again, Olson says she counseled the local board to keep building its ranks with “people who can offer specific talents,” and to “keep remembering the families they served in the past, and the families with no place to turn” – there are no other organizations in the area that allow homeless families to stay together while they work to get back on their feet.
“They need the community to respond, and to help,” Olson added. You can do that by donating – here’s how.
Tomorrow is WestSide Baby‘s annual fundraising tea – and while the tea itself is sold out, two adjacent events are not, according to late word from WS Baby’s Nancy Woodland. First: The Little Gym of West Seattle is holding a Rainy Day Playdate Camp from 2-4:30 pm tomorrow for children age 3-10 (potty-trained). The cost is $25 with a $15 sibling discount. Nancy explains, “The camp was created as a possible child care option for WestSide Baby supporters attending the 10th Annual Benefit Tea but it’s open to anyone who wants a great place to leave their children for a few hours of fun tomorrow!” You can save a space by calling 206-937-0311 right now and leaving a message. Then tomorrow night, tickets are still available for the first-ever WestSide Baby benefit Cocktail Party – 7-9 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy. $30 per ticket, available right now online at WestSideBaby.org, or at the door. Nancy says, “The evening promises great appetizers, fun drinks, cool drawings, a program to share WestSide Baby, and a lively opportunity to give.”
(Courtesy Aguero Photo)
This is the third year of Avalon Glassworks‘ “Feed the Core” fundraiser for White Center Food Bank, and it’s getting close to a milestone, according to a news release we received today – 34 more apples to sell till the amount of money donated hits $10,000. The apples sell for $80, with half of that covering the production costs and the other half – $40 per apple – going to WC Food Bank, which can buy up to 200 pounds of food for that sum. So far, they have sold 216 apples! Once they hit 250, and therefore the $10,000 mark, AGW owners Shannon and Jon Felix are planning a celebration – and hoping that’ll be possible by early summer. P.S. If you can’t get to Avalon Glassworks in person (2914 SW Avalon Way), the apples are available online.
West Seattle High School PTSA is sending reminders this afternoon that the second annual WSHS Spirit Dinner and Auction is just two weeks away – Thursday, Feb. 17, at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 5:30 pm. Tickets are $35 WSHS staff, $45 individual, $75 patron, $360 table of 8. You can buy tickets by e-mailing rjlee@seattleschools.org or calling 206-252-0476.
Budget-mandated staff cuts at Alki Community Center have put the annual Alki Art Fair in jeopardy, as reported here previously. But volunteer power, and the Alki Community Council, might be able to save it. As announced at alkinews.com, there’s a meeting this Thursday, 5 pm, at the center, for anyone who wants to find out how to help.
(Photo tweeted by @hopeseattle showing part of what was donated)
“We didn’t realize it could be so fun helping others.” That’s what Mike Jensen quotes his daughters as saying after they spent Saturday volunteering during the Hope Lutheran School donation drive to fill a school bus for West Seattle Food Bank. (Mike tells the story, from volunteers’ perspective, here.) The unofficial tally as of tonight is 40 boxes full of food donated from morning till night on Saturday outside the Jefferson Square Safeway; the official weigh-in is scheduled for tomorrow, so we’ll know then how many pounds of food were donated. More pix are on the Hope Lutheran Facebook page. (Missed the food drive? You can donate to WS Food Bank any time – here’s how.)
MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Mike sends word that the final tally was more than a ton and a quarter – more than 2,500 pounds of donated food!
Most of what we showed you in our earlier reports from today’s Special Olympics/Washington-benefiting Polar Plunge (co-sponsored by WSB) was from the sands of Alki Beach – or the festivities atop the pavement and grass by Alki Bathhouse. Above, shot and edited by photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux for WSB, are highlights including the water-level spirit of the Polar Plunge, in two and a half minutes – also including City Councilmember Bruce Harrell‘s early running dive into Puget Sound, an interview with Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen and his boss, a West Seattleite whose friend came all the way from Snohomish County for this, and watch for the Special Olympics board members in pink-tutu “swimsuits” (as previewed here). P.S. Even if you weren’t at the plunge, you can donate to Special Olympics/Washington by going here.
Still time to get to Alki Bathhouse and sign up for the Polar Plunge at noon, to help raise money for Special Olympics/Washington. Above, SOWA board member Norm Smith, dad of Special Olympics athlete Zach Smith, getting ready to jump in – he and the other board members decided to “take the plunge” wearing tutus. Also spotted in costume – the Polar Plunge mascot:
And even if you don’t want to jump in, you can join the Chicken Coop – contribute without getting in the water:
Back to “who’s plunging” – a couple more we just caught up with:
Lots of law enforcement here too, since the Law Enforcement Torch Run is an important part of Special Olympics/Washington – we’ve seen Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen already. More coverage to come.
(WSB photo from Alki Polar Plunge 2010)
Can you “bear” to jump into the 40-something-degree water off West Seattle’s most popular beach? Looks a wee bit gray tomorrow for the Special Olympics/Washington-benefiting Polar Plunge at Alki (which WSB is proud to co-sponsor again this year). But the spirits will doubtlessly be bright – just look at some of the scenes from last year, when more than 350 people showed up to brave the chilly waters of Puget Sound, including law-enforcement leaders from all over the region. They’ll be back, as will last year’s Spirit Award winners, the Chief Sealth International High School delegation. How about you? It’s quite the scene – with the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drum line performing ahead of time, among other pre-Plunge excitement. The Polar Plunge itself is at noon, with festivities in the hour or so ahead of time. Here’s where to go to sign up online; you can also show up after 9 am to sign up by the Alki Bathhouse. See you there!
With one week to go till the Special Olympics/Washington-presented Polar Plunge at Alki (co-sponsored by WSB), one enthusiastic local participant has just gotten in a practice run. Norm Smith joined about 400 others at the Kennewick Polar Plunge today and just shared photos – above, that’s him splashing into the water at left – along with this report:
West Seattle alum Norm Smith made the trek to Kennewick this weekend to kick off his string of Polar Plunges to raise money for Special Olympics Washington. Norm joined hundreds of Police Officers, students, and family members of athletes, along with other supporters of Special Olympics by jumping in the 38-degree water of the Columbia River.
Norm (blue shirt, above) is the father of well-known Special Olympics athlete/spokesman Zachary Smith and will be coming home to Alki next Saturday, January 29th, with son Zach to participate in the 2nd annual Alki Beach Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Washington.
To join Norm’s team of West Seattle High School Alumni teammates for the plunge, or to donate money to Norm and Zach’s plunge on Alki, follow this link.
Norm shouldn’t be hard to find at Alki. Word is out that Norm and the rest of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics will be wearing pink tutu costumes picked out by the Special Olympics athletes for the plunge. Come down to Alki on the 29th and support Norm and Zach!
Other teams to be on the lookout for at Alki next Saturday include Chief Sealth International High School, which vowed to up its presence after winning the “Spirit Award” last year. And as reported here earlier this week, the local law-enforcement participants will include Seattle Police Chief John Diaz and Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen. If you don’t pre-register, signups start at 9 by the Alki Bathhouse; the plunge is at noon, but there’s lots of fun in advance, including the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drummers.
Ruth Kerr photographed those little girls while visiting Haiti with Soles4Souls, a nonprofit that gets shoes to people who need them. She says she is “forever changed by the experience” of traveling there last August. Hearing about Ruth’s experiences, Joni Buckner, owner of Head to Toe Day Spa in the Admiral District, decided to have a collection drive at her business, and it’s under way right now. Ruth says you can donate by rubber-banding your “gently worn” shoes and bringing them to Head to Toe, along with a donation of $1 (or more) to offset shipping costs (donation-drive locations have to pay to get the shoes to the organization). Your donations will help help Soles4Souls with work that Joni says has already enabled them to distribute more than 10,000,000 pairs of shoes in more than 125 countries (including ours). 1.3 million have gone to Haiti, according to this recent update from Soles4Souls, one year after the devastating earthquake there. Wondering what kind of shoes they’ll accept? Almost anything, according to the official Soles4Souls FAQ. Just put that rubber band around each pair and take them to Head to Toe, which is at 2328 California SW (map; their hours are listed here).
Award-winning West Seattleite Bettie Williams-Watson is putting out the call tonight for more participation in an online survey with a very specific target group:
Greater Seattle area Black/African American girls and women, ages 14-25, about their impact experiences with domestic and sexual violence in predominantly African American faith communities (churches, mosques, temples or synagogues) in South, Central, or West Seattle.
It’s a project of her Multi-Communities (MIC) organization, with funding from a city grant. They’ve been seeking respondents since spring of last year and have extended the survey to February 10th in hopes of finding more. The official announcement cites federal statistics saying, “Black females experienced intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher than that of white females, and about 22 times the rate of women of other races,” adding, “The aim of this survey is to not only shed more light on these issues, but to break shame and silence, and increase individual and community awareness. What happens here impacts all of us. No one is immune from abuse.” Be forewarned, that the some of the questions in the survey are explicit; if you, or someone you know, qualifies to take it, Williams-Watson hopes you/they will. Here’s the link.
If you think Alki should have an active Community Council, this is the time to step up. Shared by Larry Carpenter on behalf of the ACC:
What: Alki Community Council Meeting
When: Thursday, January 20, 7:00-8:30 PM
Where: Alki UCC Church Parlor, corner of 62nd Ave & Hinds
Who: ACC Members and Residents of AlkiAgenda: Open Forum on Future Course of the Council
Declines in ACC membership and increasing costs associated with producing a quarterly newsletter and holding monthly meetings have created a dire fiscal situation for the Council. The main agenda item will be a presentation of the current financial situation followed by discussion of possible options:
a. Raise dues to cover expenses or continue as is until treasury is exhausted
b. Discontinue mailing the Beacon but continue to maintain website at reduced cost and distribute minutes electronically
c.. Discontinue monthly ACC meetings, with ACC board continuing to meet monthly/bimonthly and the Council meeting 1/2 times a year for family social event and election of board
d.. Seek merger of ACC with a nearby neighborhood group with similar goalsPlease try to make this meeting if you think it’s important that the Council continue to play a role in Alki. A quorum of 15 members is needed to make decisions on the Council’s future.
This will be the ACC’s first meeting in two months. Here’s our report on the previous one.
Once again this year, local law-enforcement leaders will be part of the Polar Plunge at Alki Beach, raising money for Special Olympics/Washington. WSB is proud to be co-sponsoring the Polar Plunge again in its second West Seattle year. Just got word from organizers today that Seattle Police Chief John Diaz will be taking the plunge again this time – and Southwest Precinct 
commander Capt. Steve Paulsen confirms to WSB that he will follow in his predecessor Capt. Joe Kessler‘s water-shoed-footsteps by doing the same. You can form a team or go it alone to be part of Polar Plunge on Saturday, January 29, plunging at noon, after awards at 11:15 am, and a pre-plunge performance from the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drum line. If you register and raise the $50 minimum, you get a T-shirt and a cup of Ivar’s chowder – sign up now by going here; we’ll see you there!
MLK DAY HOLIDAY: It’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day; here’s our list of holiday changes, first published last night, including Metro on “reduced weekday” service, and no Water Taxi. P.S. The official regional MLK Day Celebration is at Garfield High School (map) in the Central District this year, with workshops at 9:30 am, march at noon.
ALSO HAPPENING: Chief Sealth International High School boys-varsity-basketball team plays in the King Holiday Hoopfest at UW Hec Ed Pavilion, 11 am (details in this WSB story). We got a quick quote from Sealth head coach Colin Slingsby about their opponent today, Bellevue HS:
We’ll tweet live from the game at our @wsblive account.
Tonight Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) hosts the CD release party for Pearl Jam‘s newest, 9 pm (Easy Street Records will be selling it at the Feedback) … Mondays mean Fundraising Scrabble at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), 7 pm registration, 7:15 pm game (details here) – $5 to play, benefiting charity, prizes … More on the calendar!
One month ago today, we reported on community help for the family of Brian Teachout, who died at after surgery for an injury suffered while putting up Christmas lights. Brian was just 46. Since then, other successful grassroots benefits have been organized – the ornament sale, the light-show donations – and now there’s word of one more way to help. Linda Fittro sends word that tomorrow (Saturday) night at the West Seattle Eagles‘ HQ, Mary Lou Wilkerson is sponsoring a dinner to benefit the Teachout family: “Salisbury steak, real mashed potatoes & gravy, veggie, roll and dessert, all for $8. 5:30 pm till 7 pm or sold out. All proceeds go to the Teachout family.” The WS Eagles are at 4426 California SW (206-938-4426).
Longtime WSB sponsor Illusions Hair Design is trying to get someone to take these mannequin heads off their hands. We saw their tweet from a few days ago – “We don’t want these to end up in a landfill!” – and asked if they’d mind us mentioning it here; they said, mention away! Call 206-938-3675 if you want one or more. (Same number to book “Have a Heart Day” appointments – Feb. 13th haircuts benefiting charity – BTW.)
3:37 PM NOTE: In case you haven’t seen this in the comments, Illusions tweeted that the heads have all been spoken for. “Recycling” at its best!
One of our proudest moments in 2010 was on the April day that WSB was honored as West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year. Now it’s time to nominate your favorite business for the honor – as well as nominating potential recipients for 
individual honors (at left is last year’s Westsider of the Year, Chief Sealth International High School‘s Colin Slingsby). There’s also a fourth category this year, Emerging Business of the Year. Here’s the announcement, sent by Shannon Felix (whose Avalon Glassworks also is a past WSCC Business of the Year):
Who really sparkled in 2010? Honor those in our community who make West Seattle a great place to live and work by nominating a business or individual for the annual Westside Awards!
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce sponsors this annual program to celebrate West Seattle’s entrepreneurial spirit and personal commitment to the Westside.
Award information and nomination forms are now available online at
www.WSChamber.com web site or at this link. You may e-mail nominations with your name and phone number to: pmullen@wschamber.com or via fax: 206-938-7437.Four categories of awards will be presented:
Westside Business of the Year
Westside Emerging Business of the Year
Westside Not-For-Profit of the Year
Westsider of the Year
Nominations are open to any West Seattle business or individual and due by
January 31, 2011 at 5pm to The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.Award recipients will be honored at the Westside Awards Breakfast at Salty’s on Alki on April 6, 2011. For more information, contact the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 206-932-5685.
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