West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
Here’s your chance to be Santa, without needing the beard and suit (unless you have them already) – Toys for Tots time! The photo above shows what generous people brought last year to Northwest Insurance Group (5431 California SW; WSB sponsor), and John Moore tells us they’re now collecting donations for this year. We asked John what might be most appreciated this year: “Older kids (11 and early teens) tend to be the most challenging and left out as far as gifts. Items like soccer, football, basketball balls tend to be popular- just nothing wrapped, as they have to be sorted by the Marine Corps.” Whatever you can donate it, bring it to the Northwest Insurance Group office any weekday between 8 am and 4 pm (except Thursday and Friday next week) by December 11th. This drive and others are featured all season long in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!
This donation drive has only four days left – so if you have an extra coat, here’s a new home for it:
Transitional Resources is in major need of warm winter coats for our clients to use during this time of year. As the temperature drops, many of the people we serve do not have coats that will stand up to the PNW’s rainy and chilly weather. Your new or gently used items will go directly to people served in our programs.
Transitional Resources serves our neighbors living with the most serious forms of mental illness by pairing behavioral health services and supportive housing to help people get off the streets and live successfully in the community. All of our clients are low-income, and unfortunately warm, quality coats often times are not a priority on their shopping lists. The stability, safety, and connection they find at TR is thanks to our wonderful West Seattle community and your continued support.
We will be collecting donations through Monday, November 20. You can drop off donations any day 8:00 am – 4:00 pm at 2988 SW Avalon Way.
We are in need of:
Women’s Coats: S – XL
Men’s Coats: S – XL (L and XL are particularly needed)For questions about items needed, please email kristenj@transitionalresources.org
Another West Seattle business is launching a holiday donation drive, and sharing information about how you can help. Today is the first day of the Forgotten Children’s Fund drive at John L. Scott Westwood Real Estate (WSB sponsor). Here’s the announcement:
John L Scott Westwood /The Madrona Group are taking toy donations/money donations from November 15- December 22, 2023. We are working again with THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN’s FUND, which works to give underprivileged children and their families a truly MERRY CHRISTMAS/ With the support of our West Seattle Community, we are able to purchase, wrap, and have Santa and his Elves deliver gifts every year.
The Forgotten Children’s Fund began when a boy named Craig wrote a letter to Santa Claus in December of 1976. That letter never got delivered to Santa’s North Pole, but it did reach a restaurant in Seattle called Francisco’s. The letter immediately captured the heart of Mr. Dick Francisco, and the Forgotten Children’s Fund was created to help others in similar situations. The FCF currently operates in King County, Lewis County, North Counties (including Skagit, Island, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties) and Chelan Counties of Washington State.
Visit forgottenchildrensfund.org to donate, volunteer or just learn more about this organization.
The kids are under 12 years old. The most-requested items are Legos, LOL dolls, Barbies, action figures, Sonic, Paw Patrol, Lincoln logs, Hot Wheels, unicorns, sport balls, arts & crafts, science projects, etc. We can always
use gift cards for the older kids.Please bring your unwrapped gifts to: John L. Scott Westwood at 2600 SW Barton Street, Suite A-6 (Westwood Village), Monday-Friday 9 AM to 4 PM. You can also donate at John L. Scott Bothell and John L. Scott Mukilteo.
Checks can be made to THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN’S FUND – P.O. BOX 365 – MOUNT VERNON, WA 98273. Questions? Contact Natalie Trius at 206-938-5572 or natalietrius@johnlscott.com
The John L. Scott Westwood office is on the breezeway.
Back on November 4th, most Green Seattle Day volunteer events were scratched because of wind and rain. But hundreds of trees are still waiting to be planted, and that means they’re waiting for you. Lincoln Park has room for more volunteers this Saturday morning (November 18th):
Green Seattle Day @Lincoln Park is NOVEMBER 18, 9 am-noon, and registration is still OPEN! Event Registration and Details: seattle.greencitypartnerships.org/event/38152
Join hundreds of volunteers across the city planting thousands of native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers that will become the future forests of Seattle. All community members are welcome, and no experience is necessary! The event is family friendly and open to all ages. Coffee and light snacks provided and Green Seattle swag available for all who register. AND local band, The Potholes will be playing their acoustic hearts out for volunteers as they plant!
This is also a fun outdoor opportunity for student service hours! (Video link from last year’s event)Email flip98136@gmail.com with questions.
(File photo from a previous year’s drive)>
We’re continuing to tell you about holiday-season donation drives – like this one that just launched at longtime WSB sponsor Dave Newman State Farm Insurance Agency, to help keep people warm as the coldest time of year arrives:
The 10th annual winter clothing drive has begun at Dave Newman State Farm Insurance Agency.
In conjunction with the West Seattle Food Bank/West Seattle Helpline, we are collecting donations of clothes, coats, and shoes from November 13th until January 1st. Please drop off your donations at 3435 California Ave SW. The office is open for donations Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 9 am to 5 pm. Tuesdays 9 am to 2 pm. For undergarments and socks, please donate only new and unopened packages of clothing items.
Pickup may be available for those who have donations but are unable to transport them. For further information, contact the State Farm office at 206-932-1878.
Thank you, West Seattle, for your generosity and spirit of giving.
That festive corner is dropoff spot for a donation drive for Treehouse foster youth at Alki Bike & Board (2606 California SW; WSB sponsor) this holiday season. You can go here to see what they’re collecting. Donation dropoffs are during store hours – 10 am-6 pm Fridays and Saturdays, noon-5 pm Sundays, noon-6 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays. The drive continues through December 15th, and there’s one request; “Please make sure all items are NEW or in GREAT used condition.”
P.S. If your business, organization, school, etc., has a holiday-season donation drive, email us info – westseattleblog@gmail.com – we’ll have a dedicated ongoing list as usual in our forthcoming West Seattle Holiday Guide.
The Westside HEY Coalition has a few questions for you, if you haven’t already answered the survey they launched in late summer:
Please take the time to fill out our 2023 Community Survey. This survey provides our Coalition with important information to help us prevent youth substance use. The survey takes about 5-10 minutes. If you would like more information on our coalition, please contact Donna Kelly at dmkelly@seattleschools.org
ONLINE SURVEY ENGLISH
surveymonkey.com/r/KIWEEN2023ONLINE SURVEY SPANISH
es.surveymonkey.com/r/KIWESP2023
Nine days until Friendsgiving, a party benefiting Mode Music & Performing Arts, which is on a mission to get arts education to more kids. Friendsgiving is planned on November 17th with live music, dinner, drinks, and a live auction, at SoDo Park (3200 1st Ave S.). The emcee is a familiar voice – KEXP DJ Troy Nelson; the catering is by Herban Feast. Student and teacher performances, too, plus a featured performance by Tio Nacho’s House. Be there to support MMPA’s programming – including after-school arts enrichment, in-school arts programs, pay-what-you-can group classes and camps, and private-lesson scholarships for music instruction. Buy your ticket(s) by midnight tonight – go here!
11:59 AM: Temperatures are dropping back to the seasonably chilly range, so if you know or see someone who needs a place to get out of the cold, Keith Hughes just let us know that he plans to open the Westside Neighbors Shelter for overnight stays tonight and tomorrow night. That’s the shelter in the West Seattle Veteran Center/American Legion Post 160 building (3618 SW Alaska). Its hours are on the shelter’s website. (That’s also where you’ll find word of a Veterans Day event dedicating a Peace Pole at the building, as well as a benefit concert at Kenyon Hall on December 2 to raise money to keep this donation-and-volunteer-powered shelter running.)
3:23 PM: We asked Keith if the shelter is in immediate need of any particular donated items. Yes – stocking caps and cotton gloves.
The Chief Sealth International High School PTSA‘s “rebuilding year” includes a big fundraiser that’s now less than four weeks away, and in addition to selling tickets, they’re also welcoming sponsorships and auction-item donations:
It’s the Season of Sealth! For the first time in four years, Chief Sealth International High School is hosting an auction. We’re so excited to be celebrating our school, its successes, and our students, teachers, and staff with an event that’s sure to sparkle and amaze. The auction will be December 2nd at 5:30 pm at the Brockey Center, South Seattle College.
The funds raised at auction are hugely impactful for our school. In the past, we’ve used these funds to support everything from academic programs, books, college readiness programs, sports uniforms, healthy snacks for test days and much more. We’re currently in the process of reaching out to businesses and members of the community who might have something great to donate for the auction, whether that be physical goods, a gift card, service, or a monetary donation. Have something to contribute? We’d love to hear from you!
Businesses can also become auction sponsors, which is a great opportunity to get visibility for your business and its support of our school. The following Sponsorship levels are available:
Seniors ($3,000 and above) Your logo on all advertising materials including social media plus a table for 10.
Juniors ($2,000) Your logo on all online advertising plus 6 tickets to the event.
Sophomores ($1,000) your logo on online advertising plus 4 tickets to the event.
Freshmen ($500) your logo on all online advertising plus 2 tickets to the event.Please contact Auction Chair Dawn Pomeroy with any questions or to arrange pick-up of a donated item. You can also send general questions to chiefsealthptsa@gmail.com. Buy tickets, donate funds or auction items, and learn more on our CSIHS auction website.
You can preview what’s already been donated here – including ticket packs for the Mariners and the Seahawks, ski and snowboard equipment, gift cards from all sorts of local West Seattle businesses. and a lakeside cabin getaway.
P.S. Along with sponsorships and item donations, the PTSA welcomes auction volunteers too.
(WSB photo, Thanksgiving 2022)
For a quarter of a century, The Hall at Fauntleroy has served a free Thanksgiving feast to community members – open to all. In addition to diners, they’re also again welcoming volunteers and dessert donors, Here’s the announcement:
All are welcome on Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 23rd from 12 pm-3 pm – for this year’s annual Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner! The delicious meal, created this year by Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering‘s Jr. Sous Chef Zach Mosely, will include a traditional turkey dinner and all the trimmings, with desserts donated by the community. No need to RSVP, just show up at Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California Ave SW) on Thanksgiving Day between 12-3 pm.
This event happens with the help of many wonderful volunteers. You can sign up to volunteer or bring a dessert on signup.com.
Gently used warm clothing, new blankets and socks, and dessert donations can be dropped off at our SODO office at 4105 Airport Way S., from Monday, November 20, to Wednesday, November 22, from 9 am-3 pm [or drop in Fauntleroy Schoolhouse hallway bin] or bring it to The Hall at Fauntleroy on Thanksgiving Day from 10 am-1 pm.
Going to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market tomorrow? Before you shop for food, donate some! You’ll see a booth for Farmlink, a nonprofit founded by college students to work on food rescue, food insecurity, farmers’ rights, and related issues nationwide. Farmlink fellow Ariel Cook, who interned at the West Seattle Food Bank last summer, is hosting the booth to benefit WSFB by collecting food donations and inspiring financial donations. Ariel put together this presentation to explain the food-insecurity problem in our city – you can click through it:
Ariel says just about any kind of nonperishable food is welcome – except meat and dairy. Financial donations are welcome via this link. If you can’t donate tomorrow, the Farmlink booth will be back at the market November 19th and December 3rd.
If you’re ready to shift gears into the holiday season, here’s another way to do it – Hope Lutheran School (WSB sponsor) is selling wreaths and garlands:
Get your Holiday Greens! Orders due this Monday, November 6th!
Order your wreaths and garlands today and check that off your Holiday list while benefiting Hope Lutheran School’s East Coast Fundraising committee for 7th- and 8th-grade students.
Order online at: form.jotform.com/232977354905164
Act quick!
Two notes about outdoor volunteering on what is forecast to be a blustery Saturday:
SOME GREEN SEATTLE DAY EVENTS POSTPONED: Some of the Green Seattle Day forest-restoration events planned for tomorrow around the city have been postponed – it’s not safe to be around tall trees when the wind kicks up. Thanks to forest stewards Christine Clark (Puget Park) and Lisa McGinty (Lincoln Park) for letting us know their events are off (but watch for new dates – as Lisa notes, “Stay tuned for rescheduled date – we still have 400 trees and plants to install!”). If you’re signed up for other events, watch for messages from organizers about whether they’re on or off.
SCHOOL COURTYARD CLEANUP: One event that’s on, regardless of the weather – no trees at the site – is a cleanup at Chief Sealth International High School‘s courtyard. Just stop by if you can give some time between 9 am and 6 pm.
The Chief Sealth Green Team is having a work party this Saturday (rain or shine) 9 am-6 pm to help clean up an interior courtyard and prepare it for spring. Tools will be provided; volunteers are asked to bring work gloves and be ready to dig! We’ll be focusing primarily on removing bamboo that has taken over the beds.
That’s Puget Park, where Christine Clark is the forest steward. She is hoping to see you there during Green Seattle Day on Saturday – or one of the two other West Seattle parks where volunteer spots remain open, asking you for just a few hours of time to restore local forests. Here’s the list of three, the times, and the links:
Puget Park
November 4, 8 am-10:30 am
seattle.greencitypartnerships.org/event/38178Pigeon Point Park
10 am-12:30 pm
dnda.org/dnda-nature/volunteerWestcrest Park
10 am-2 pm
seattle.greencitypartnerships.org/event/38115
Thanks to Lincoln Park forest steward Lisa McGinty for sending word of Green Seattle Day volunteering opportunities on Saturday – LP is just one of the West Seattle options (in addition to others around the city):
PLANT A FOREST AND GROW COMMUNITY! Green Seattle Day (Nov 4) is part of Seattle Forest Week and one of Seattle’s busiest days for planting native trees and plants in our beautiful parks and green spaces.
We are so grateful for all who registered for the Green Seattle Day at Lincoln Park event and I encourage others to consider joining efforts at another of our city’s beautiful parks and green spaces, like the Daybreak Star Community Planting Event!
There are 21 planting/restoration events happening on Green Seattle Day. You can find the official GSD list and registration links here: 2023 Green Seattle Day Events
The other West Seattle locations on that list are Pigeon Point Park, Puget Park, and Westcrest Park.
(WSB photo)
Sitting outside the Southwest Precinct, ready to collect your donations for the West Seattle Food Bank – and/or unwanted/expired prescription drugs for safe disposal – are, from left, SPD Officer Matthew Roberson, SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Sarah Lawson, and Yuri Bolivar and Donna Kelly with Drug-Free Youth. Drug Take-Back Day happens twice a year, but adding a donation drive for food and warm clothing, to benefit WSFB and its Clothesline clothing bank, is new. They’ll be there until 2 pm, at 2300 SW Webster (the public lot entrance is just east of The Home Depot’s south entrance). The wish list of requested donations is here.
Thanksgiving is one month away. The week before, you can make sure more kids have access to arts education by showing up for Friendsgiving, a party benefiting Mode Music & Performing Arts. This invitation explains what it’s all about:
Friendsgiving will be hosted on Friday, November 17th, 2023, 5:30 pm – 10 pm, at SoDo Park, located at 3200 1st Ave S. Our evening, emceed by KEXP DJ Troy Nelson, will be filled with Herban Feast catering, local drinks, student and teacher performances, plus a live musical performance by Tio Nacho’s House.
Mode Music & Performing Arts (MMPA) was founded by Erin Rubin in 2017 to provide accessible arts education programs for students in the greater Seattle area, from West Seattle and beyond. MMPA’s programming includes after-school arts enrichment, in-school arts programs, pay-what-you-can group classes and camps, and private-lesson scholarships for music instruction.
“I’ve always known there was a need for accessible arts education in our area as I saw the inequity in private one-on-one music lessons over the years as a music instructor. My goal in starting MMPA was to meet the students and families where they are, whether that be financially with scholarships and pay-what-you-can classes and camps, or meeting them directly after school to bridge transportation limitations,” Erin says. “Our team works hard to provide quality education taught by local, professional artists with little to no barriers. We are so happy to have the support of the community in our outreach so far.”
Want to make an immediate impact? We are actively recruiting both event sponsors and donors for auction items. Sponsor and donor information as well as tickets can be found at www.modemusicandperformingarts.org.
Mode Music and Performing Arts is a nonprofit arts organization offering innovative arts education programs promoting confidence, social awareness, equity, and empathy in our students and community.
West Seattle’s only emergency shelter is expected to open this week, with nighttime departures forecast to get down into the 30s. Manager Keith Hughes tells us, “Going by (the) weather reports, I am planning to open the Cold Weather Overnight Shelter starting Thursday night.” The shelter at the West Seattle Veteran Center/American Legion Post 160 building in The Triangle remains entirely volunteer- and donation-powered, so if you can help, here’s the wish list:
Food Pantry
Ground Coffee (Folgers 3# cans)
powdered coffee creamer (like Coffeemate)
Instant Hot Coco Mix (for hot water)
Bottled water
Soft drinks in cans (store brands and things on sale)
Instant Oatmeal packets
Granola type low sugar cereal
Pancake mix, bisquick mix,
Pancake syrup, butter, jam
Canned soup, chili, beef stew
Packaged food like top ramen, cup-o-noodles
Rice-a-roni, noodle-roni boxes
Dry pasta (spaghetti, egg noodles, macaroni )
Spaghetti sauce in jars
Food store gift cards so we can get fresh things like milk, eggs, butter, meatOther Needs
Travel size individual soaps, shampoo; tooth brushes & tooth paste (ask your
dentist for donations) bar soap for shower, laundry detergent pods
Toilet paper and paper towels, napkins, disinfectant wipes
Folding Camp Cots(Amazon or Big5), Single bed size blankets
Stocking caps, cotton gloves, tee shirts (mens L and XL) socks
Sheatshirts, regular and hooded -L, XL, XXL
You can drop donations off at 3618 SW Alaska starting tomorrow: “The Legion Hall will be open every morning starting Tuesday at 7:30 am to receive donations.”
Seen at Duwamish Alive! this morning – one example of what the twice-yearly habitat-helping event is all about. That was just before volunteers set out by water and by land for four hours of volunteer cleanup and restoration.
First, at həʔapus Village Park and Shoreline Habitat in West Seattle, some of the volunteers heard from river champions – like Cecile Hansen of the Duwamish Tribe, whose longhouse is just across West Marginal Way SW:
It’s important for you to understand why Seattle’s only river – West Seattle’s eastern border – matters so much. Listen to what the speakers had to say:
If you missed this work party, watch for the next Duwamish Alive! in spring – and many other work parties in the months ahead.
(West Seattle Monster Dash photo – this is its mascot ‘Monster’)
If you haven’t already seen this year’s West Seattle Monster Dash in the WSB Event Calendar, organizers want to be sure you know you’re invited to this truly fun run! Here’s the reminder they asked us to share with you – still time to get a pre-race-day registration discount:
Join us this year for the 12th annual Monster Dash fundraiser to benefit South Seattle College’s Cooperative Preschool Program! This event is a costumed 5K trail run/walk, Kids Dash, and Kids Zone featuring games, activities, and prizes. Paid registration includes a T-shirt featuring our iconic Monster (all races) and bib with timing chip (5K only). Jogging strollers welcome; please leave pets at home.
Monster Dash 5K and Kids Dash
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Lincoln Park, 8011 Fauntleroy Way SW
9:30 am 5K/10:30 am Kids Dashes$40 Adult 5K Registration ($45 on race day)
$15 Kids Dash Registration ($20 on race day)Register: runsignup.com/Race/WA/Seattle/WestSeattleMonsterDash
Donate: runsignup.com/Race/Donate/WA/Seattle/WestSeattleMonsterDashPacket Pickup Event:
Thursday, October 26, 3-6 pm
West Seattle Runner
2743 California Ave SW, Suite 101All funds raised benefit the SSCC Parent Advisory Council’s program-wide initiatives, including outreach, equity, and tuition assistance.
Love where we live? Love the fact that orcas and salmon live in the waters around us? Worried about their chances of survival? You can spend a few hours taking action next Saturday during the fall Duwamish Alive! event. Here’s a reminder from the Duwamish Alive! Coalition:
The Duwamish River is alive with its returning salmon and wildlife. This is a year with one of the largest Pink salmon runs in recent history. In caring for the river, and all those depending upon it, communities will join together for a day of impact at the semi-annual Duwamish Alive! habitat restoration event on Saturday, October 21st. Starting at 10:00 am, community members will roll up their sleeves at multiple sites, to plant native plants, remove invasive plants, and mulch for critical restoration work in the ongoing effort to revitalize Seattle’s only river and its 5 species of salmon, especially its Chinook. which are important for the Southern Resident Orcas.
Efforts include caring for Duwamish Tribal Sacred Sites along the river, special salmon-habitat sites that are critical for juvenile salmon as they make their way to Puget Sound, a kayak river cleanup, creating pollinator-plant meadows, improving the river’s upland forested Greenbelt, and restoring Hamm Creek at a site that honors military veterans and John Beal, the person who started the immense effort in restoring the river’s health. This is a day of not only improving the health of the Duwamish Watershed but also connecting with community. All are welcome to join this effort. This is a family-friendly event, all ages welcome.
For more information and volunteer registration, go to DuwamishAlive.org
Four locations on the list of locations you can choose from are in West Seattle – the other two aren’t far.
Two ways to help Roxhill Elementary as its support organization concludes its fall fundraising – here’s how:
Friends of Roxhill Elementary is wrapping up our 2 Fall fundraisers this weekend and so we are calling on our West Seattle community to help us reach our goals.
1. The Back to School Field Trips and Classroom Fund provides teachers with money for field trips and to equip their classrooms with much-needed supplies, like educational games, toys and books. The goal this year is to give each teacher $20 per student. Donate at: gofund.me/6d1ced75
2. There are only 3 more days to order from the Fall Flower Power Fundraiser! Buy flower bulbs, kitchen garden herbs, sprouts and seeds to bring some joy to your home garden or window sill. Friends of Roxhill Elementary receives 50% of the profits from every order. Order deadline is this Sunday, October 15:
friendsofroxhill.fpfundraising.com
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