(2013 WSB photo)

The path under the west end of the West Seattle Bridge needs some TLC, so Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor) is organizing another cleanup. Our photo is from one led by Swedish proprietor Dave Winters in fall 2013. They’re hoping you’ll be interested in helping out next Saturday, 9 am-noon, along the path from the bus stop to Chelan Café. This time, the city will provide all the equipment, so all you have to bring is yourself – and please RSVP to say you’re planning to help – call 206-938-8685 or e-mail swedishautomotive@msn.com.

“Enjoy a day in The Junction and feel good about spending local” – that’s what the West Seattle Junction Association is hoping you’re doing today, during its Day of Giving, with participating businesses donating 10 percent of their proceeds to the nonprofits of their choice. Above, Sierra demonstrated her enthusiasm outside her workplace VAIN West Seattle (4513 California), which has chosen the Senior Center of West Seattle as its beneficiary; below, Wallflower Custom Framing (4735 42nd SW) proprietor Courtney Sievertson, who’s chosen to help the animal advocates of Pasado’s Safe Haven:

Menashe & Sons Jewelers (4532 California SW) is supporting the West Seattle Food Bank – that’s Josh Menashe smiling below:

And at Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW), Art with Heart is today’s beneficiary – represented in the shop by Lisa:

VAIN, Wallflower Custom Framing, Menashe & Sons Jewelers, and Click! Design That Fits are all WSB sponsors, as are three other participants – Emerald Water Anglers (4502 42nd SW, benefiting the Wild Steelhead Coalition), and, both helping the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW) and Thunder Road Guitars (4736 California SW).

In all, more than 30 businesses are participating – see the full list, and their chosen beneficiaries, here, and get out to The Junction before 6 pm if you’re not already there!

Hour and a half remaining in this year’s Kiwanis Club of West Seattle donation drive to help the West Seattle Food Bank fight hunger – and you have two places to donate: West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan; WSB sponsor), where we found (from left, above) Sig, Johnny (from the Chief Sealth IHS Key Club), and Denis; and the Junction QFC (42nd/Alaska). If you’re going grocery-shopping while there, they can tell you the specific items that are most needed.

Just getting this on your radar for Saturday, if you’ll be out and about and able to donate – it’s the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s annual donation drive for the West Seattle Food Bank. Volunteers and collection bins will be at West Seattle Thriftway (4201 SW Morgan; WSB sponsor) and Junction QFC (42nd/Alaska). If you catch them as you go into the stores, you can get specific wish lists for the WSFB’s Home Delivery and Mobile Food Bank programs, which “deliver nutritious food to the homes of the homebound elderly and disabled neighbors unable to access the food bank.” And if you shop at Thriftway, give them your receipts, too, because the store will donate back 1 percent to WSFB. The drive is set for 9 am-2 pm this Saturday (April 2nd).

From the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA:

Chief Sealth International High School sends out a big THANK YOU to our community, especially the Westside Universalist Unitarian Congregation and St. John’s Episcopal Church, for their generous donations of clothing, school supplies and funds. Our students appreciate not only the useful items they get from the Clothing Closet, they are grateful that their community cares about them.

We have many students looking for gently used 2-piece business suits, white dress shirts and ties (thinner is more on-trend for youth) for their college, job and internship interviews. We can use all sizes and especially sizes that will fit slim young men. Donations can be dropped off at the front office Monday-Friday or contact Lisa Conley at lisalconley@hotmail.com to make other arrangements. Thanks!

Sealth is at 2600 SW Thistle; this year’s bell times are 8:40 am-3:10 pm, if you’re timing a donation dropoff.

More love for the West Seattle Food Bank from rock ‘n’ roll superstar-land.

You’ll recall the WSFB’s announcement that it would be spotlighted during last night’s Bruce Springsteen concert at KeyArena.

They sent a few photos and then tonight posted the results, including the news that West Seattle’s own Eddie Vedder (who took the stage with The Boss) is helping too:

Thank you to all of the many Bruce Springsteen fans who came out last night and donated generously to the Food Bank. And yes, Eddie Vedder said he would match it! It was a great night for the food bank – just under $24,000 worth! Thank you to Bruce and the E Street Band for partnering with us and thank you to our volunteers who worked so hard to collect all the donations. We had fun and I hope you did too!

You can follow their example and help the WSFB too.

That’s Clayton, who’s hoping you can help with a donation drive that he and his classmates are wrapping up at the end of the week. The photo and request were sent tonight by his family:

Clayton and his 7th-grade classmates at Westside School are collecting supplies for homeless youth. Clay’s group is trying to wrangle 50 new or barely used reusable water bottles by this Friday! They’d love some help from the West Seattle Community. Donations can be dropped off at our house (5417 36th Ave SW) or at Westside School by Friday at 8:15.

The school is at 10404 34th SW in Arbor Heights.

Thanks to Megan for the photo and report on one of the troops that participated in Scouting for Food last weekend:

Our West Seattle troop, #282, participated in Scouting for Food the last two weekends. We put up door hangers in the Genesee neighborhood the first Saturday, asking residents to donate food for the West Seattle Food bank. We went back last Saturday to pick up donations. Residents of Genesee were very generous. We collected 356 pounds of food for the Food Bank. We do this every year at this time because it is a time that food banks are historically low on supplies but yet there are still many in our community who need help.

If you weren’t in the territory covered by the Scouting For Food drives, you can still help local food banks in many ways – West Seattle Food Bank info is here; White Center Food Bank info is here.

(Photo provided by WSFB)

Maybe “everybody’s got a hungry heart,” as Bruce Springsteen sings, but no one HAS to have a hungry belly, if we all help each other. And with that in mind, Judi Yazzolino from the West Seattle Food Bank shares the news that Springsteen’s helping the WSFB while in town this week, as he has before:

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band are bringing their “River Tour” to KeyArena, this Thursday, March 24th. While in town, they’ve chosen the West Seattle Food Bank as their partner charity.

If you are lucky enough to have tickets to Bruce’s sold-out show, please look for the West Seattle Food Bank volunteers with the signs in the arena, say Hi and give generously to help the adults and children in our community that are in need of nutritious food and other services.

(UPDATED 7:36 PM with video and more photos; earlier 5:53 pm update with revised total: $600,000+)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“These kids are our kids.”

Interconnection was at the heart of what brought more than 600 people together this afternoon – not just theirs, but their interconnection with the people they were there to help via WestSide Baby, which now serves families in need all over King County.

The White Center-headquartered nonprofit got a sizable show of support this afternoon – (5:53 pm update) $600,000+ is the revised total – during its 15th annual CommuniTea, held once again at the Hilton conference center by Sea-Tac Airport, following what was hailed as a “record-setting year.”

The fundraising total grew (from $315,000 last year), as did the number of children served by WS Baby this year – 31,325, up from 331 in its first year – said executive director Nancy Woodland, who also noted other numbers:

For example, tea attendance was more than 600, almost 8 times the first benefit tea not long after Donna Pierce founded WS Baby in 2001. The organization has “stayed true to its mission,” Woodland said, of providing diapers, car seats, and other vital items to children in need.

With the tea reaching the 15-year milestone, a special spotlight shone on people who had long been involved with WS Baby; they reminisced about the milestones it hit over the years.

Read More

@sgerding tweeted a photo just as we were about to pass Seacrest – where, she explained, there are two groups selling Girl Scout Cookies right now, including one “drive-up” along Harbor Avenue. So we stopped. Their troop is #44428 and they’re here until 6 pm.

(On drive-up duty are Madelin and Lucy; closer to the pier are Stella and Logan.)

This Sunday (March 20th) is the last day for “cookie booth” sales all over our region – our previous coverage includes links you can use to find who is selling, where and when, until then.

The next door-to-door food drive is days away – here’s what’s ahead for “Scouting for Food” this Saturday:

If you live on SW 30th through SW 34th St. between SW Myrtle St. & SW Thistle St., Boy Scout Troop #284 (based at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church) would like you to know that for our Scouting for Food effort this year, we will be picking up donations for the West Seattle Food Bank this Saturday morning (the 19th).

If you would like to contribute, please leave your donations outside your front door by 8:00 AM. You may have received a door flyer from us last Sunday — or maybe not, since Sunday’s well-publicized wind storm started up shortly after our flyer distribution began, most likely removing a good number of said flyers from the attention of their intended recipients.

The most needed items are:
Canned meat
Canned beans
Peanut butter
Canned fruit
Canned vegetables
Spaghetti sauce
Pasta/rice
Breakfast cereal
Oatmeal
Baby food/formula
Shampoo/soap
Feminine products

Thank you in advance for helping those in need in our community!

Dwight Gilmore
Boy Scout Troop #284 parent