West Seattle, Washington
02 Saturday
Just in from Jack Wagstaff, ops manager at West Seattle Food Bank:
Do you have an hour or two once a week to help alleviate hunger in West Seattle? West Seattle Food Bank is currently seeking drivers for our Home Delivery program. We are looking for volunteers to deliver groceries to seniors and adults with disabilities at their homes or apartments. Prospective volunteers should meet the following requirements:
• Proof of WA driver’s license and the ability to pass a WA State Patrol background check.
• Use of their own vehicle and proof of current insurance.
• The ability to deliver groceries on Wednesday or Friday (mid morning to early afternoon)
• The ability to continuous lift 20-30 lbs for an hour or more.
• We are looking for a minimum commitment of six months.
• Ability to interact with a diverse population with kindness, consideration, and confidentiality.We are especially looking for volunteers with mini-vans and covered pick-up trucks.
You can reach the food bank via e-mail or phone – all the info’s here.
(Photo provided by WSLL: With manager Derek Page and coach John Coats are players Anthony Coats, Jack Page, Timmy Roach, Ethan Chen, Jackson Chilcott, Jackson Oehling, Anthony Goss, Thomas Sobotta, Jacob Terao, Blue James, Matt Dietz, and Grayson Oneil)
That’s the district-champion West Seattle Little League 10-11 All-Stars team we told you about last Thursday, after the big win that put them into the state tournament (WSB coverage here). Now they need a little help: The tournament is in Yakima, July 17-26, and WSLL is hoping to reduce the out-of-pocket costs to players’ families by raising money at a pancake breakfast and car wash this Saturday at Bar-S (map), 10 am-1 pm. Here’s the official flyer (with prices, including the discount for breakfast if you’re getting your car washed too!)
From Nancy @ WestSide Baby:
WestSide Baby Sorting Frenzy Volunteer Opportunity Today!
We will open today, Monday July 5th (12-3pm) for a special volunteer opportunity for adults or children over age 8 (with adult along). Have the day off and want to do something worthwhile? WestSide Baby has been fortunate to receive many of your donations of clothing items. Now we need a little help sorting through the donations to prepare them for distribution. If you can read the size tags, look for dirt and holes and inspect clothes for holes, we’d love your help to attack the pile of clothes in this picture taken this morning. We have empty shelves of many sizes but we know those gems are actually hidden in this pile.
If you can call or e-mail to let us know you are coming that would be great! If not, just show up at we’ll welcome you and give you instructions on how to make a difference TODAY.
WestSide Baby
10032 15th Ave. SW
Before the holiday weekend really revs up – we wanted to share this look ahead to something that’s happening next Saturday. Same day as West Seattle Summer Fest and the Seafair Pirates’ Landing at Alki, but this is big in its own way too, and everybody who’s rooting for little Hannah Grage is hoping you will stop by. She’s a West Seattle 4-year-old fighting cancer – acute lymphoblastic leukemia, diagnosed in April – and her family needs help with expenses, so friends, neighbors and relatives are having a garage sale/bake sale/lemonade-stand fundraiser one week from today – Saturday, July 10th. It’ll be 8 am-2 pm (so there’s plenty of time to go BEFORE, or after, Summer Fest and/or Pirates), 7228 39th SW (that’s in Gatewood; here’s a map; here’s the flyer for the fundraiser). You can read more about Hannah’s fight by going here, to see what her mom’s been writing about what they’re going through.
Holiday weekends, unfortunately, are always times of great need for blood. So Kim at Puget Sound Blood Center says they’re hoping more prospective donors will make appointments for one of two drives in West Seattle in the next few days – tomorrow, there’s a last-minute mobile drive at Westwood Village (by Pier 1), 9 am-3 pm (closed 11 am-noon); Monday, they’ll be at PCC West Seattle (WSB sponsor), same hours. Walk-up donations will be welcome but if you think you can participate in either one, please call for an appointment ASAP – 800-398-7888.
Quick update on last Friday’s three-location West Seattle Community Car Wash fundraiser for West Seattle Food Bank and Haiti relief (via World Vision) – Terry Gangon says they raised $2,577, with $2,000 of that going to the food bank. (Here’s our as-it-happened report on last Friday’s event.)
Though summer vacation has barely begun, the nonprofits that heIp make sure kids get what they need for the new school year are already working hard to gather donations and support. One of them, West Seattle Helpline, wants to get out the word that it’s starting to collect kids’ and teens’ clothes for its Clothesline clothing bank, looking ahead to the August backpack/school supplies drive; Tatum from Helpline explains, “We try to allow folks coming in to do back to school shopping on the days we give out backpacks.” She also suggests that if you are having a yard/garage sale, you consider donating any “gently used” clothing that’s left over – and if you’re shopping this summer for kids’ socks/underwear, “grab an extra pack for the Clothesline” – items they always need more of, year-round. Here’s more info on what they do and how to help.
(Photo courtesy Frances Smersh)
Those are some of the handbags donated during last night’s event at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), for the Ruby Room, which provides teenage girls access to formal wear they couldn’t otherwise afford. If you missed the event with Nyla Bittermann – who leads the Seattle Ruby Room effort (and runs Cherry Consignment in The Junction) – no worries, you can bring a “gently used” handbag to Click! all weekend, and qualify for a 20 percent discount on a new one. The Click! website has the latest on some of what’s in stock.
Under way right now – the three-location West Seattle Community Car Wash to benefit the WS Food Bank and World Vision’s Haiti relief work. Any time before 4 pm, you can get your car washed at the State Farm office at 4727 44th SW (that’s where West Seattle High School cheerleaders are helping out right now, as shown in the top photo; Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller will be among the volunteers on hand at 1 pm), at John L. Scott (5242 California SW), and at Keller Williams (4452 California SW), where we also stopped for an early photo:
Rain does NOT appear to be in the forecast today, so if you can make it to any of those spots by 4 pm, get your car washed for a good cause. They’re also collecting nonperishable food donations as well as packaged diapers.
(July 2009 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Exactly one month till one of the biggest events of the summer — the West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade, coming up on July 24th. (A kickoff reminder once again this year, that’s the parade’s official name, not the “Hi-Yu Parade,” though the West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival float and royalty will be one of its highlights!) The U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flyover will precede the parade again this year, according to Jim Edwards, if some urgent duty doesn’t preclude its appearance. The parade starts at 11 am from California/Lander and travels down California to Edmunds at the end of the main Junction business district – and while planning is well into the final stages, there’s one big need: Do you perhaps have a convertible for the American Legion Post 160 Commander to ride in? This year they’ve got all the convertibles covered, so to speak, except his. If you can provide a convertible for the parade, contact parade co-coordinator Dave Vague at vagued@comcast.net – just think, your car will be seen by thousands!
(WSB video of last year’s Seafair Pirates Landing at Alki)
Our timbers were shivered when Shell forwarded us the latest e-mail newsletter from Duke’s Chowder House, saying the Seafair Pirates Landing at Alki (scheduled for July 10) was in jeopardy – at risk of cancellation, or of costing the pirates a pretty penny from their own coffers – because of a shortage of sponsors. Duke’s even set up an online donation link. We have just checked with the Pirates themselves – and while they say no, the landing event is NOT in danger of cancellation, they do need $ help – stand by for the rest of the briny tale as fast as we can type it.
ADDED 1:35 PM: Just got off the phone with Mark Jensen, to whom we’ll refer with his Seafair Pirates nickname, “Keelhaul.” He says the event had “two nice sponsors arranged and contracted” – and within the span of three days, they both canceled. The price tag for the Pirates Landing is about $20,000 – including thousands just for the permits – which may sound like a lot, but isn’t really, for an event drawing that many people. If they don’t get sponsorship money, “Keelhaul” says, the Pirates’ constitution requires the cost be split among them – that means up to $500 apiece for this, and anyone who can’t pay it can’t be a Pirate any more – that’s just the way their rules work. (The Pirates are an independent organization, not bankrolled by Seafair itself, and they make 240 appearances a year, often to assist charity fundraisers.) “We don’t want to lose any pirates over this,” he says – and canceling this Alki Landing is NOT an option: A central part of the event will be granting the wish of a 13-year-old Ellensburg boy, through Make-A-Wish Foundation. As the culmination of what Keelhaul explains is a three-part wish, young Joseph Johnson will become Captain Kidd, the morning of the landing – which means he’s in charge. So how did Duke get involved with all this? They were talking to him about a sponsorship, and while that didn’t work for this year, he came up with the idea of putting out a call to his massive mailing list, asking for people to chip in. So if you want to keep one (or more) Seafair Pirates from walking the plank, here’s how to help.
It was literally a traffic-stopping moment in White Center this morning as WestSide Baby‘s Nancy Woodland and friends guided in a truck bringing a giant donation – more than 200,000 diapers from Huggies. So many, that volunteer help of all ages was needed to move the boxes off the truck and into on-site storage:
Huge as this donation is, it still doesn’t cover all the needs of the local families served by WestSide Baby. We asked Nancy to explain why your help is still vital, for diaper donations any time, particularly this summer’s upcoming Stuff the Bus events:
WSB is proud to be a co-sponsor of the West Seattle “Stuff the Bus” event, which is coming up on Sunday, July 25.
Along with Friday’s 3-location food drive as part of the West Seattle Community Car Wash events (latest update here), here are two other business-led food drives of note: C & P Coffee just announced a 1-day drive this Saturday, 7 am-4 pm, bring a donation for the West Seattle Food Bank, “receive a free coffee drink of choice.” And Many Moons Trading Company (in the breezeway at 4517 California SW) has an ongoing food drive for the White Center Food Bank – bring nonperishable food to donate, 11 am-6 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays – the WC Food Bank’s service area includes part of West Seattle, but it doesn’t get city funding, and as Many Moons’ Emily says, “School is out and they need food for kids!”
REMINDER, COMMUNITY CAR WASH THIS FRIDAY: Top-down weather today (we took that photo on Beach Drive) … here’s hoping for car-wash weather on Friday! As noted here a few weeks back, that’s the day for the West Seattle Community Car Wash at three locations – Keller Williams Realty (4452 California SW), State Farm Insurance (4727 44th SW), and John L. Scott Realty (5242 California SW). Proceeds go to West Seattle Food Bank or World Vision for Haiti; you can buy tickets in advance right now at any of those locations – and when you come to get your car washed on Friday (10 am-4 pm), be sure to bring nonperishable food donations for the WS Food Bank, too. Organizers are also still looking for volunteers – call Terry Gangon at State Farm, 935-9955, or Jerry Howard at John L. Scott, 935-7700. (Among those who’ve signed up to help so far, the West Seattle High School cheer team.)
SWINERY PARTY: Just got word of this one, in e-mail from Liza: Now that The Swinery‘s patio is open, they’re having a “Grand Re-Opening” party, 4-7 pm Friday. All welcome, we’re told. They’re giving tours every half-hour and featuring specials and a raffle.
When we dropped by the alley behind Delridge Library this past Saturday morning, to check on the ongoing neighborhood alley cleanup, we found Karrie and Amanda toiling to make more progress (with the help of tools from the new West Seattle Tool Library!). We asked Karrie a followup question later – and received a full progress report:
It was our 3rd weekend working on the alley and we have all come to the realization that it’s a summer-long project. We originally thought we could knock it out in 2 days, but we didn’t realize just how much work it was until we dug in. Blackberries are adamant about holding their ground and the layers of garbage make me feel like an archaeologist. I do have an anthropology background so it’s kind of fun to see what we unearth, as long as it’s not too nasty.
Interesting finds so far: a decaying purse filled with syringes, couch cushions, a toilet, an active underground bee hive, a polaroid of a birthday party, enough green yarn to sew a sweater, dirty diapers and several other unmentionables. …
It is the beginning of something. Our plan now is to focus on small sections and start planting them so that people can see some reward for their hard work in the beautification sooner rather than later.
Neighbors north of our block have heard about this project and have said they want to clean up their alley now, so it’s catching on. That’s my hope. I would love to know that I could walk through any alley in Delridge/West Seattle and feel safe and see something beautiful. We are starting here, where we are.
Our block sees this alley as part of our community and we know that if we leave it to be swallowed up by weeds, brambles and litter, it’s a more attractive and hidden place for behavior that is not supportive of our community. So, we are determined to transform this particular alley into one that is safe, clean and a beautiful place to walk. It’s going to take time, clearly we have amazing neighbors who are invested in this project and who keep showing up. Bit by bit, we’ll make this happen.
And “bit by bit” of course also means person by person – here’s a photo Karrie shared, taken weekend before last, when a couple boys out for a bike ride stopped to help:
And the alley itself – though she notes, “Keep in mind, these pics are from our 2nd week into it so you cannot see the massive piles of brambles and trash we picked up the weekend prior.”
There’s also a much-tagged metal building along the alley that she says they have reported many times over, and if it isn’t handled soon, they’ll paint over the vandalism themselves. If you want to help with the ongoing alley cleanup, they’ll be in this alley (map) Saturday middays TFN, 11 am-1 pm.
Tomorrow night’s the deadline for nominating someone in the next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards. WSB co-sponsors these awards with the Southwest and Delridge District Councils; reps from those two groups then review the nominees and choose the winners. This is the third round since spring of last year, and the winners will be honored one month from tonight at the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park. Click ahead for the form you can use to nominate someone – thanks!Read More
(Added Sunday morning update – fundraising total at the end!)
WestSide Baby is all about families – so celebrating dads (and other XY-chromosome types) was a natural for tonight’s first-of-its-kind Guys’ Night Out. Above, that’s WestSide Baby’s Nancy Woodland with Kemp Garcia, who came up with the Guys’ Night Out WS Baby benefit idea, and Gerard Denommee.
Poker and pool were part of the plan for tonight’s event at the White Center Eagles‘ HQ. P.S. Mark your calendar for WestSide Baby’s biggest event of the summer – next month already – the legendary Stuff the Bus Diaper Drive (with WSB among the co-sponsors), coming up Sunday, July 25. SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Nancy sends word that Guys’ Night Out raised $7,000!
You’ve probably heard of Adopt-A-Street; in North Delridge, a project under way could be dubbed Adopt-An-Alley. Neighbors have been working to clean up the alley behind Delridge Library, thinking that, among other potential benefits, if it doesn’t look like a dumping ground, it’ll stop being used as one. So they’re gathering again today, 11 am-1 pm, to remove more garbage and dig out blackberry stumps to keep them from growing back. They’ve procured bags and gloves from the Adopt-A-Street program and are planning to check out some tools from the new West Seattle Tool Library (which is open Saturdays 9 am-2 pm, more info here). Karrie Kohlhaas‘s announcement notes:
Last weekend some neighborhood kids came through on their bikes and helped out, learned about what we were doing…several people thanked us, one man said now it will be safe for his son to walk through the alley to the library, another person said they wanted to do this for so long but couldn’t do it alone…We can get it
done together. Join us!
The alley is between 25th SW and Delridge, between Brandon and Findlay (map). If you have your own gloves, shovel and/or dirt-loosening tool, bring it along.
The “survivors’ lap” about an hour ago marked the traditional start of Relay for Life of West Seattle – the 10th annual all-night cancer-fighting fundraiser at West Seattle Stadium. This year, 22 teams with a total of 177 members are circling the track – one by one, or maybe more – till noon tomorrow, with $35,000 pledged so far, and high hopes that it’ll be more by the time Saturday afternoon arrives. You are welcome to drop in and cheer them on – one of the most memorable moments is just a few hours away, the luminaria ceremony to honor memories of those who didn’t win the fight; that’s scheduled for about 10 pm, and again, all are welcome.
This evening, the participants got a pep talk from King County Executive Dow Constantine, who has been on hand for past relays – including the first one in 2001.
ADDED: From the late-night luminaria ceremony – we walked along the luminarias along the south side of the stadium. You can hear, like murmuring in the background, names being read, for those who were being remembered:
After the luminarias (using battery-powered lights this year rather than candles) were lit, those on hand were asked to walk quietly along the track, to remember, and pay tribute. ADDED: One of the final events of the relay – the Kids’ Lap!
(Video still to come from the big announcement at the end.)
Father’s Day is coming up this weekend – and the night before, a new event will raise money for local families! Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby explains:
Two great guys are holding a fantastic fundraiser for WestSide Baby this weekend and you should be there! Early this year two of our favorite supporters approached us with the idea to hold a Guys Night fundraiser. WestSide Baby provides essential items to local children in need and we think men care about this need too! Because our biggest event of the year is an afternoon Tea, we jumped on the idea to share WestSide Baby’s mission and impact with men in our community who care about kids. Providing adequate diapers and safe carseats and portable cribs should matter to everyone.
Guys’ Night Out will be at the White Center Eagles‘ HQ, 10452 15th SW (map), Saturday 5 pm-10 pm. Click ahead for full details:Read More
Two women running across America in a novel way – running in each of 50 states (often with local runners joining in), but not all the way across them – will be on the run in West Seattle tomorrow. John Wallace, the guy who made news here for a running milestone last December, is spreading the word about Running Hope Through America. He’s helping Lisa Smith Batchen (who’s been averaging 50 miles a state) and Sister Mary-Beth Lloyd (averaging about 20) on their quest to raise money to help orphans; Washington is their 46th state, and they’ll start the local leg from Salty’s on Alki at 6 am tomorrow. Here’s the Facebook event page. You’re welcome to join them at 6 tomorrow morning – to run part or all of the way, or “just” to cheer them on – and/or you can donate to the cause right now.
They put the “fun” in “fundraising,” as the saying goes. Which is the case for the photo above, shared by Sarah Airhart of the Community School of West Seattle, who reports that their Saturday night auction …
… was a huge success and we raised over $22,000 for our new floors.
I have attached a picture-because our auction, like our school, is always a little different! This is Jenna Lutton, one of our preschool teachers, doing her ‘other job’ at our event. In the background is the Village we built with last year’s Fund A Need money rasied at the auction. This year our Fund A Need was for an interactive wall mural outside that the children and families will work on throughout the year. A huge thank you to all the incredible volunteers who out on this event-and just a heads up that next year, June 2011, we will be having an Olympic Special….with lodging AND tickets to at least ONE event. London 2012…….
Next photo was shared by Lisa Myers from CAPERS, after Elise and Claire set up shop outside her Junction store:
According to Lisa, the girls were raising money for the upcoming Relay for Life of West Seattle – this Friday night/Saturday morning at West Seattle Stadium – because they have a teenage cousin who’s surviving bone cancer. We didn’t get word of their efforts soon enough to go see them to find out more, and Lisa didn’t have contact info, but if anybody does – or at least knows which R4LoWS team they’re affiliated with – please post a comment or e-mail us!
P.S. Quick update on a fundraiser we covered last week – Pathfinder K-8 teacher Lou Cutler‘s Make-A-Wish fundraising birthday run (here’s our report, with video as he and young helpers crossed the finish line) set a new record – $4,244 as of Friday – well above his $3,000 goal – and you can still chip in, to make sick kids’ wishes come true – here’s the link.
Take a close look – those aren’t mosaic stepping stones, but instead, decorated shovels – one example of “garden art,” which is what Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is hoping to harvest for its upcoming Garden Art Auction. Aviva from CHoSS sent the photo and the request:
Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is looking for interesting pieces for its Garden Art Auction, July 10th. Do you have ideas for turning a rusty old shovel into a work of art? Mosaic, welding, paint – only your imagination is the limit. We are looking for all sorts of garden art, not limited to shovels. Whether you are a professional or amateur, we would be happy to accept your donation for our auction. Last year Community Harvest provided more than 6,500 pounds of surplus local fruit to the food banks. This year we have started a Garden Helper program to mentor new vegetable growers. Contact Aviva at info@gleanit.org for information.
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