West Seattle, Washington
30 Saturday
Another school fundraiser has gone virtual. Westside School (WSB sponsor) has a silent auction online, plus a virtual live auction tonight. The announcement:
Due to COVID-19, Westside School’s annual fundraiser has gone virtual! The Wolves Stick Together Spring Fundraising Campaign (through tonight) features a virtual silent auction with many great items to bid on and the chance to support Westside School. Need some retail therapy? Check out Westside’s virtual silent auction here!
TONIGHT – 7:00-7:30 p.m.
The Wolves Stick Together Campaign will conclude with a virtual live auction, hosted by Fred Northup Jr., which will feature some great “live” items to bid on, and a chance to raise your paddle for Tuition Assistance! Grab a cocktail and join us at 7:00 p.m. Check out the event on YouTube.
Tuition Assistance Program
Westside’s Tuition Assistance Program is the biggest fundraising priority of the year and your support impacts the quality of education for every student at Westside School. This year, one in seven Westside families received tuition assistance. NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) projects that the request for tuition assistance will increase 20% over the next three years. With uncertain times ahead, supporting the Tuition Assistance program is more important than ever to Westside’s educational program and to Westside families.
(Also published on our partner site White Center Now)
That’s a Little Free Pantry. In the spirit of Little Free Libraries, LFPs are a new neighborhood-based way to help address hunger – which has long existed in all neighborhoods, but is now worsened by the virus-crisis economic crunch. The project started in southeast Seattle and founder Molly Harmon says they are expanding west, looking for hosts:
A small movement has taken hold in SE Seattle and we are spreading the energy to West Seattle, White Center, and Burien – the building and installing of Little Free Pantries (LFP).
This project began with a micro-grant & six Little Free Pantries, and within a month we’ve raised over $3,000 and distributed nearly 44 Little Free Pantries. Little Free Pantries help neighbors feed neighbors. They aren’t intended to replace food security agencies nor eliminate the need to support them; rather they work alongside each other to draw awareness to food insecurity issues and create community through collective action in a neighborhood. We’ve begun working alongside Northwest Harvest & will work to reach out to area food banks, finding ways to utilize each other’s efforts in addressing food security.
The intention is to inform people on food insecurity and bring an issue, which hides in our society, to the surface. Millions of housed Americans are facing food insecurity on a daily basis and with our unemployment rate soaring due to COVID-19, food banks are struggling to access enough food to support those in need. It is imperative to educate the public on this growing need for food and LFPs bring this issue front and center to our neighborhoods, but in a supportive and caring way. Micro-communities form around this pillar (Little Free Pantry) and in turn, connect neighbors who otherwise would not have met. By neighbors stocking their neighborhood Little Free Pantry with non-perishable foods, it keeps the pantry full and helps those needing a meal. Whether a need for food or a need to give, Little Free Pantries help neighbors feed neighbors, nourishing neighborhoods.
We have hit our recent goal of $1150, which will enable us to build 18 pantries. We will distribute these pantries for free throughout Southwest Seattle. This is a grassroots, crowd-sourced solution to address immediate and local needs as a viable way to build community and support those facing food insecurity.
More information can be found at www.thelittlefreepantries.org. Additionally, if you feel a Little Free Pantry would work well in your neighborhood, please apply through the website.
Food insecurity is prevalent, whether you have seen it firsthand or not. And COVID-19 is intensifying the food insecurity that many of our neighbors are vulnerable to. With schools closed and layoffs rampant, many in our community are potentially going to bed hungry A quote from an owner of anewly installed Little Free Pantry in the Seward Park neighborhood, “Since it went up a little over two weeks ago, our LFP (located on Seward Park Ave, between Willow and Brighton) has been used daily, confirming that hunger is often hiding in plain sight, even in neighborhoods you might not think it would exist in.”
Questions? Ask here.
Last Saturday night, the West Seattle Food Bank‘s annual “Instruments of Change” happened online because of COVID-19 … but one thing didn’t change: Major community support. With that video, and this message, WSFB is expressing its gratitude:
Thank you for supporting your neighbors!
We are so grateful to the guests, donors, volunteers, supporters, and sponsors who made Saturday night’s first ever virtual Instruments of Change such an incredible success!
In the midst of so much uncertainty, it warmed our heart to see so many of you join us to help strengthen our community. Together, you raised over $95,000 to stop hunger and homelessness before it starts!
Despite the fact that we could not meet in person, you all really showed up for us and our neighbors. In case you missed the event, you can see some highlights in our short thank you recap video.
Your support for our neighbors and dedication to uplifting our community continues to inspire us. Thank you for showing the power of neighbors helping neighbors!
If you missed the event but would still like to support your neighbors, you can make a gift here.
WSB was one of the event’s community co-sponsors.
Despite pandemic-related health and business challenges, many local restaurateurs are giving generously to the community – with your partnership, when possible. Here’s an upcoming opportunity to support one such effort – while you get a cooking lesson AND gourmet dinner. The announcement:
Brian Clevenger, owner of General Harvest Restaurants, is partnering with local startup Zeacon to welcome people into his home kitchen for a virtual cooking experience on Saturday, May 16th at 7 pm.
Participants will learn how to make one of his signature pasta dishes and get exclusive access to the tips and tricks that make his cooking exceptional. Proceeds go toward providing free meals served out of Brian Clevenger’s West Seattle restaurant, Haymaker. Anyone in need of a meal who’s been affected by the current crisis can call ahead at 206-946-6994 for pickup, no questions asked. Haymaker’s daily menu can be found (here).
Brian Clevenger’s Zeacon LIVE experience is available for purchase here:
As explained at that link, the price includes the ingredients for the pasta dish. Clevenger, who lives in West Seattle, also operates Raccolto on the north side of The Junction. (2019 photo courtesy Haymaker)
We’ve been so busy spotlighting other ways to help, we haven’t had a chance to mention the South Park Arts AID auction until now – but it’s not too late; you still have a full day left to bid!
Last month, the reality of our situation began to sink in, and the pandemic was hitting artists especially hard. For so many, their livelihood relies on human interaction, and the government support was unreliable or nonexistent. South Park Arts wanted to help. The tight-knit community had weathered many storms together, and this was no different. The obvious solution was to buy lots of art. This auction features those pieces. So when you buy this work, you’re supporting not only the artist but you’re refilling the reserves of an art organization to provide for future assistance.
What – an amazing online art auction of painting, photography, collage, home goods, watercolor, letterpress, sculpture, stained glass, even body armor. Yes, body armor.
Who – featuring talented SPArtsAID recipients
When – Through Monday, May 11th at 7:30 PM
Where – from the comfort of your home
How – Go to www.auctria.com/auction/SPArtsAid to bid on the pieces.
Why – Because we could all use some beauty and community right now.
Tonight’s the night – we’re now less than 2 hours away from the West Seattle Food Bank “Instruments of Change” event to help WSFB continue helping neighbors in need. Here’s the reminder:
There’s still time to register and join us for the first-ever virtual Instruments of Change!
Join us tonight from 5:30 – 6:15 pm. This short virtual event celebrates our community and the merger between the West Seattle Food Bank and the West Seattle Helpline and raises funds to support our programs to keep our neighbors safe, fed, housed, and healthy. While short, this online event will include fun games, an exciting auction, and a compelling program.
For more information and to register, visit westseattlefoodbank.ejoinme.org/IOC
WSB is among this year’s community co-sponsors.
(Photo courtesy Alki UCC)
That’s what generous community members donated in the most-recent in-person food drive outside Alki UCC – and you have another chance to help tomorrow:
Thanks to our community’s continuing generosity, Alki UCC’s next In-Person, Socially Distanced Food Drive is set for this Sunday, May 10 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We will be collecting donations outside our building at 6115 SW Hinds.
Contributions of non-perishable food and other items will be distributed via the White Center Food Bank; top requests include Canned Meat/Soup/Fruit (pop‐top cans preferred), Rice, Noodles, Peanut Butter, Oats, Toilet Paper, Diapers, Similac Formula, Cleaning Supplies, Hand Sanitizer, and Baby Wipes.
The drive will benefit our vulnerable neighbors in need, those who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
The food drives continue every other Sunday (May 24, June 7, etc) until further notice. Tell your friends!
Information at alkiucc.org.
12:05 PM: Procrastinating on those Mother’s Day flowers? An update from the Lafayette Elementary PTA benefit-bouquet sale:
We have 20 bouquets left to sell! Call or text Jenny King at (206) 637-1004 to place your order – $30 each, pay here. For every bouquet sold, $5 will be donated back to school.
Your flower bouquets will be ready for pickup Today (May 9, 5-7pm) or Sunday morning (May 10, 8:30-9:30am). Pick-up location: 4224 Beach Drive SW, Seattle. NO CONTACT PICKUP.
2:05 PM: All gone!
Two updates from the West Seattle Food Bank today: First, WSFB sent photos of a special event today:
The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild is doing “Food Bank Fridays.” This Friday they dropped off over 1,500 pounds of food to the West Seattle Food Bank.
City Councilmember Lisa Herbold volunteers there on Fridays, too – she’s at right in this photo:.
Tomorrow, it’s your turn to help – register today (free!) for the live online edition of Instruments of Change, the annual celebration of WSFB, which this year in turn is celebrating its merger with West Seattle Helpline. The live online event will start at 5:30 pm Saturday, on YouTube; the online auction has already begun.
Haven’t lined up your Mother’s Day flowers yet? From the Lafayette Elementary PTA, another opportunity to buy them and help both the growers and students:
Treat the special someone in your life to a beautiful Mother’s Day flower bouquet from local farmer Chao Chang Gardens in Snohomish. In addition to helping a local flower grower, a portion of your purchase will support Lafeyette Elementary PTA. For every bouquet sold, $5 will be donated back to school.
Your flower bouquets will be ready for pickup Saturday evening (May 9, 5-7 pm) thru Sunday morning (May 10, 8:30-9:30 am). Pick up location: 4224 Beach Drive SW, Seattle.
NO-CONTACT PICKUP. PLACE YOUR ORDER BY THURSDAY, MAY 7, 4:30 PM.
(WSB photo)
Another school that had to cancel its annual auction has taken it online, so everybody can bid – here’s the announcement from the Pathfinder K-8 PTSA:
The Pathfinder K-8 PTSA is pleased to announce its first-ever online auction!
We are offering some great items and packages, many generously donated by local West Seattle businesses, along with art pieces made by individual classrooms. We are excited to try out this new format and pleased that it will allow the entire community to participate – no tickets required.
Due to schools being closed and ongoing restrictions on large gatherings, our auction gala was rescheduled and then cancelled entirely. The funds we planned to raise with this year’s auction are needed more than ever for next year’s PTSA budget to support our school and community. The money helps support everything from teacher classroom funds and academic support to the garden program and community events. We hope you’ll join us in generously supporting our school from the comfort of home.
The COVID-19 response interrupted plans for West Seattle mobile blood drives, and compounding that with the bridge shutdown, it’s been challenging for local would-be donors to be able to help. Now, there’s a way! Combat Arts Academy (5050 Delridge Way SW) is hosting “pop-up blood drives” starting today. CAA’s Sonia Sillan sent this word from Bloodworks Northwest:
Combat Arts Academy Gym in West Seattle will be hosting a new Pop-Up Donor Center, providing donors a convenient, local location to donate blood during statewide stay-at-home orders. The governors of both Washington and Oregon recognize the crucial role that Bloodworks donors fill in sustaining community health, so leaving home to donate blood is a crucial and safe activity exempt from both states’ stay-at-home orders. Local, state, and national leaders are unanimous – donating blood remains a critical and safe activity for community health.
Thankfully, the number of new coronavirus cases in our region has been declining recently, which means that soon, hospitals will once again be able to begin performing elective surgeries which were cancelled or delayed during the first weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in a successful effort to stabilize the blood supply. The resumption of these surgeries will increase the demand on our blood supply – in addition to the cancer, trauma, transplant, and critical surgery patients we always support – and to meet that challenge, we need all our donors to step up. So pre-book your next donation to make sure patients get the fighting chance they deserve.
All donations at this Pop-Up Donor Center and our other Donor Centers are by appointment only to provide the safest donation environment and adhere to all social distancing guidelines. Additionally, no walk-ins, guests, or people under age 16 are permitted onsite. Your one-hour donation appointment is a safe and essential action to support local hospitals.
Various dates and times are available; you can make an appointment by going here. (Thanks to the readers who tipped us about this just before we heard from Sonia at CAA!)
We’re continuing to feature fundraisers for a variety of causes – including local PTA/PTSAs whose annual fundraising events were canceled by COVID-19. Today, an opportunity to support the Alki Elementary PTA and flower farmers, by ordering a Mother’s Day bouquet! (The big day is just a week from today.) They’re available for pickup or West Seattle delivery – order by Friday!
(P.S. Any other Mother’s Day offers, whether nonprofit or business? Let us know!)
When the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading in our state, one of the many things it interrupted was Girl Scouts’ annual cookie sales. But there are now two ways you can get them:
ONLINE: Suzanne sent word of this. You can order cookies from Girl Scouts of Western Washington by going here – you can even specify if you’d like the proceeds to go to a specific zip code. Suzanne is also interested in figuring out how to get cookies to West Seattle first responders – if you’d like to help out with that, contact her at (corrected) szkrom (at) gmail (dot) com.
RETAIL: Bartell Drugs is helping Girl Scouts of WW sell some of the unsold cookies by carrying them in stores. The West Seattle-headquartered chain announced this week that “Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Lemon-Ups, Trefoils, S’mores, Do-Si-Dos and gluten-free Toffee-tastic cookies will be sold at neighborhood Bartell’s locations.” There are two stores in West Seattle – Admiral on 42nd just north of Admiral Way, and The Junction (Jefferson Square), plus one in White Center, at 15th/Roxbury.
The first-ever Arbor Heights Virtual Auction is happening now! From the Arbor Heights Elementary PTA:.
Our original auction was set for March 13, then postponed to May 8, and now moved online.
While we wish we could be gathering together at the Hall at Fauntleroy for our annual dinner and auction, we kick off our first-ever Arbor Heights Virtual Auction!
Choose your token, dust off your top hats, get to your computer, tablet, or smartphone and join us (now) until Friday, May 8 at 10 p.m. for Arboropoly, a week of online bidding on fun and fabulous items and experiences to support the Arbor Heights Elementary school community.
Now that we have gone virtual, we can share this experience with our extended West Seattle community of supporters through our online auction link, helping to further our efforts in raising essential funds for our students and staff.
For additional information, please visit the Arbor Heights PTA website or email our auction co-chairs at arborheightsauction@gmail.com.
The need is greater than ever – for helping prevent hunger and homelessness. The West Seattle Food Bank does both. If you can help, you’re invited to register for the WSFB’s virtual “Instruments of Change,” now a little more than one week away – here’s a reminder:
Every year we celebrate our community and raise money to support our neighbors through our annual Instruments of Change Dinner/Auction. While we cannot gather together in person this year, we are adapting this event for the virtual world!
Join us on Saturday, May 9th at 5:30pm for our virtual Instruments of Change. We will celebrate our community, the merge between the West Seattle Food Bank and West Seattle Helpline, and raise funds to support our neighbors. This interactive event will include exciting auction items, fun activities, and a compelling program about the West Seattle Food Bank services.
You can join for free — just register here! And for those who want to get a head start, the event’s online auction will be open at 10:00 am on Monday, 5/4. All who register and attend are automatically entered into a drawing to win 2 round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines!
We want this to be a party, so invite your friends!
Can’t wait to spend time with you celebrating and supporting our community!
WSB is an Instruments of Change co-sponsor.
We’ve learned a lot about local nonprofits and their scope during the coronavirus crisis. If you are fortunate enough to be able to assist, rather than needing assistance, here’s another way to do that. From Vicki Quinn, president of St Vincent de Paul‘s Holy Rosary Conference, and Bob Bucci, president of SVdP’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Conference:
During these weeks of enforced isolation, have you wanted to help the thousands of our neighbors here in West Seattle who have been laid off, face an uncertain future and are unable to pay the rent, utilities or even put enough food on the table for their kids?
The St. Vincent de Paul Society has been helping our neighbors here in West Seattle, from the Admiral District down to White Center, for the last 60 years. We reach out to our neighbors through our 65 dedicated local volunteers; pre-pandemic we would always visit with our neighbors in need in their homes to make sure we did not overlook any need that they might have forgotten in their anxiety and stress. These days we try to deliver the same message of compassion and care by phone.
Even before the Covid-19 crisis, the priority for St Vincent de Paul in West Seattle was to keep our neighbors in their homes, to stop evictions and do this by helping pay their rent.
In March 2020, the SVdP Helpline received a staggering 1.079 requests for rent help – 40% more than in February 2020, and a 47% increase over March of last year. Many callers in West Seattle have never called any organization for help before. When we talk to them, our responsibility is to let them feel the compassion and love of our entire community – to let them know that they are not alone and that their community cares deeply about their situation.
At the same time as we have been hit by this wave of need, our income has been hit because church services can no longer be held and therefore donations are down sharply. So, we ask you to please help your neighbor by following this link to make an online donation. Please be sure to select the “Where needed most” box and where you’re asked for the name of the specific conference or program please type in “West Seattle.”
Alternatively, please send a check payable to St. Vincent de Paul Society, write West Seattle in the Memo line and mail it to St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle/King County, 5950 Fourth Avenue South | Seattle WA 98108.
To learn more about SVdP after receiving this, we asked about referrals from 211, the phone number people can call for help and resources. The reply: “St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle | King County has been the largest 2-1-1 referral source for many years, receiving 12,000 to 25,000 referrals annually, more than any of the 1,700 social service agencies in the county. Of course, today those numbers are off the charts.”
Another fundraising auction that had to go online because of the coronavirus crisis is happening right now – here’s the announcement from Holy Rosary School:
Due to COVID-19, Holy Rosary School’s annual auction has moved ONLINE. The great news is you don’t need a ticket to participate. EVERYONE IS INVITED! Over 125 items will be up for bid between today and Saturday evening. Closings are staggered, starting at 6:30 pm on Saturday.
In addition to merchandise, getaways and services, Holy Rosary School has two funds available for straight donations. The Holy Rosary Fund A Need will go towards providing scholarships for those students in our community whose families are facing financial hardships due to COVID-19. The Fund A School will assist Holy Family Bilingual School, located only 4 miles from Holy Rosary. Holy Family has been awarded a $1,000,000 building grant from Shea Homes Charities, but they need to raise 5% of these funds in order to secure the grant. More than ever, we need to come together as a community and support each other.
Please consider bidding on items or donating to one of the school funds. If bidding, please read all restrictions thoroughly. Winning bidders will be notified to pick up their items when the Stay at Home has been lifted or shipping is available at the winning bidder’s cost. Thank you in advance for your support.
For additional information, visit the Holy Rosary School website.
(Photo courtesy Alki UCC, April 12th)
That’s part of what was donated outside Alki UCC on Easter Sunday two weeks ago, and they’ve sent a reminder that you have another chance this Sunday:
Thanks to our community’s generosity, Alki United Church of Christ (Alki UCC) will once again be accepting donations outside our building for an In-Person, Socially-Distanced Food Drive this Sunday, April 26 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Contributions of non-perishable food and other items will be distributed via the White Center Food Bank; top requests include Canned Meat/Soup/Fruit (pop‐top cans preferred), Rice, Noodles, Peanut Butter, Oats, Toilet Paper, Diapers, Similac Formula, Cleaning Supplies, Hand Sanitizer, and Baby Wipes.
The drive will benefit our vulnerable neighbors in need, those who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID 19. The food drives will continue every other Sunday (May 10 and 24) until further notice. Check alkiucc.org for updates.
The church is at 6115 SW Hinds.
Got your own mask yet? Making them is suddenly a booming business. Some are making and selling them to raise money for nonprofits – like the family members our area’s State Sen. Joe Nguyen emailed to tell us about:
My awesome mother, who is a retired seamstress, has been making masks for the community and using it to raise donations for nonprofits that serve West Seattle and beyond.
In the past 2 weeks we’ve been able to raise over $4,500 and made nearly 1k masks.
Funds have gone to:
– White Center Food bank
– West Seattle Food bank
– El Centro De La Raza COVID relief fund
– Southeast Asian Coalition
The fine folks at Bakery Nouveau ordered masks and not only did they make a generation donation of funds they included baked goods to help keep the operations going!
Here’s the form, should folks want to get a mask and donate to a good cause.
In the photos sent by Sen. Nguyen are his mom Neo Nguyen as well as Lauryn Nguyen, a junior at West Seattle High School, and Alex Nguyen, a WSHS graduate; he says, “their mother Anna Nguyen has been organizing all of this as well.”
Two months into the COVID-19 outbreak in our region, health-care workers’ need for PPE (personal protective equipment) remains great. The Seattle Mask Brigade – a volunteer effort – asked us to remind you how you can help with what they’re doing = “collecting donated masks from around the greater Seattle area and delivering them to hospitals and nursing homes that are running out”:
Most donations are just a few masks (less than 20) that people have lying around in their emergency kit, but they all add up! So far we have coordinated deliveries of over 25,000 donated masks to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, shelters, food banks, and more. We usually distribute masks within a day of receiving them.
Our small group has helped folks in over a dozen cities around the country launch their own mask brigades, from Los Angeles to New York to Louisville.
Our website is seattlemaskbrigade.org. There’s a form on our website where people can sign up to donate N95 masks, surgical masks, homemade cloth masks, and nitrile gloves (we will accept opened/unsealed boxes of masks). Our volunteers pick them up from donors’ porches within a day or two. We also have a form where health-care workers can request masks.
The need for masks is critical. Even with PPE arriving from the government, we are still receiving urgent requests and we need more donations to be able fulfill them. In the past week donations have been decreasing, but requests for masks have not. Recently we’ve received a lot of requests for homemade cloth masks that can be reused.
Questions? Email seattlemaskbrigade@gmail.com
That’s West Seattle music superstar Eddie Vedder as seen tonight during the “One World Together: At Home” coronavirus-crisis benefit, soloing “River Cross” from Pearl Jam‘s new album “Gigaton.” So far, organizers say, the broadcast/webcast has raised $128 million for causes including the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
(BHHSNWRE photo: Tay Krull and Rebecca King)
PPE goes from head to toe. Closer to the latter end are shoe-covering “booties,” recently collected and donated by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor), which has also launched another community-service drive, as they explain:
The brokers from both West Seattle and Burien Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate offices pulled together their on-hand inventory of foot coverings commonly used at open houses and in homes for sale.
The booties were dropped off to an offsite location and one broker then delivered them to their destination. The shoe coverings were distributed at various locations within the Multicare Health System; the Ambulatory Pharmacy teams were the primary recipients of the booties. This was something that came together fast to help fill an urgent need. We learned of the need on a Wednesday and by Friday we had all the booties collected.
We are still able to collect and deliver donations, so if people would like to donate their unused foot coverings they can contact Tay Krull at TayKrull@BHHSNWRE.com.
They’re supporting WestSide Baby, too, with an awareness campaign:
We started our awareness campaign with the intent to support WestSide Baby and the incredible service they provide for children in need. It’s so important in times like these that our amazing charities that provide necessary services are still supported and not forgotten. Through awareness we are hoping to help fill the diaper needs for WestSide Baby.
WestSide Baby has a button on the front page of their website right now – “Give a Gift Today” – and we are encouraging our Realtors and our community to donate directly through their website to make the best and fastest impact. You can donate at WestSideBaby.org. We plan to continue to draw attention and make donations through the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order.
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