White Center Now: The blog about White Center

A big volunteer effort this afternoon unloaded hundreds of packages of diapers into storage for WestSide Baby in White Center, after the first successful installment of the “Stuff the Bus” donation drive. Executive director Nancy Woodland said they’d brought in more than 27,000 diapers – and there’s another installment coming up, August 7 at Burien Town Square.

White Center-based WestSide Baby needs you – tomorrow, while the first leg of its two-prong Stuff the Bus diaper drive is under way at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm, you can have breakfast at the White Center Eagles and help by bringing a diaper donation! Get $2 off by bringing a package of diapers, 9 am-noon Sunday, 10452 15th SW, you don’t have to be a member.

From Nancy @ White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby – they’re putting out the call for help:

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

From WestSide Baby, which was awaiting exact delivery time of a huge diaper donation from Huggies:

As part of the WestSide Baby Community, we thought you’d want to be the first to know that we will receive 200,000 diapers thanks to Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies Brand tomorrow, Wednesday June 23 at 11 am.

Join us!! We are located at 10032 15th Ave. SW Seattle 98146. We are just south of the Dollar Store and behind White Center Chiropractic. Please park on the street.

Ever wonder what 200,000 diapers looks like?

We have! Come join us to see for yourself! A big semi-truck is scheduled to arrive at our little facility in White Center at 11 am loaded with diapers! We’ve lined up containers in our parking lot, a fork lift and pallet jacks and can’t wait to celebrate this amazing gift.

While we gave 200,000 diapers out in 2009, we’ve never seen that many all at one time. Along with 9 other diaper banks across the country, we’ve been talking with Huggies about diaper need since last fall. The donation arrives not only because of the obvious need but, at WestSide Baby, we believe these things happen also because of the incredible community support we have. Huggies wants to be a part!

Several updates – first one, $7,000 was the take for WestSide Baby at Saturday night’s first-of-its-kind Guys’ Night Out. Above, WestSide Baby’s Nancy Woodland with Kemp Garcia, who hatched the Guys’ Night Out WS Baby benefit idea, and Gerard Denommee. The event was held at the White Center Eagles‘ HQ.

And the White Center Food Bank got some extra help this weekend: First, a Friday delivery from Windermere Real Estate, which conducted a door-to-door food drive in part of West Seattle, dropping off bags on Wednesday, then coming back two days later for pickups – the WC Food Bank got more than 600 pounds, according to Audrey Zemke’s online update. West Seattle’s Life Church is planning a similar food drive on June 30th, she also writes. One more boost: Full Tilt Ice Cream celebrated the 2nd anniversary of its original location in White Center on Sunday, and was donating to the WC Food Bank the equivalent of every scoop and cone purchased that day!

From one of the many fab nonprofits in WC – a great way to spend the night before Father’s Day!

Guys’ Night Out
Benefitting WestSide Baby

When was the last time you had an excuse to either have a night out with just your
friends OR to set something fun up for the guy in your life and his cronies? When
was the last time you said to your partner, “I’m sending out you for the night to
play poker, pool and horseshoes with good food and great drinks.” without being the
hero of the house? What a great Father’s Day prelude! ACT TODAY!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date:
Saturday June 19
5:30 PM – 10 PM

Goal:
To raise funds to support WestSide Baby Programs.

Location:
10452 15th Ave. SW

Questions:
E-mail Kemp at kemp_garcia@hotmail.com
Call us at (206) 767-1662

They desperately need boys’ clothes sizes 8 and/or 10. But they’re also celebrating a different type of donation. That’s all part of this story from our partner site West Seattle Blog.

(Crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog)

WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland had reason to smile. WestSide Baby’s 9th annual Benefit Tea in Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge was sold out long before the doors opened – check out the crowd:

Volunteers young and old made it a success – including ambassadors Sonja and Kelsey (wearing, and handing out, tiaras):

Nancy Woodland says the final guest count was 470 – and they raised more than $100,000. “Unbelievable and amazing and we are so very thankful!” she adds. ADDED: Courtesy of Donna Ryan Photography, Rinku Wheaton speaking at the event, including her thoughts on being part of WestSide Baby’s “Giving Circle” (read more about it here):

First, crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog – a chance to volunteer Monday afternoon at WestSide Baby in White Center, offered by executive director Nancy Woodland:

WestSide Baby would love extra hands on MLK Day! We’ve received so many donations of clothes since the holidays, we could really use extra teen or adult hands to sort through all the donations. We inspect each article of clothing for cleanliness and condition before we shelve it by size so it’s ready for another volunteer to place it in an order for local children in need.

We will be open extra hours on Monday from 2-5pm for up to 15 volunteers! It’s a great opportunity for high schoolers looking for service hours on their day off. Please let us know you are coming by emailing sarah@westsidebaby.org.

We will also have our regular third Thursday Sorting Frenzy this Thursday evening from 7-9 pm!

WestSide Baby HQ is at 10032 15th SW (map).

Also, there’s an event Monday morning at the Southwest Boys and Girls Club at Greenbridge, including the American Red Cross and HOPE Worldwide Washington. They’re going to rally with volunteers at the club at 10 am, with Seahawks stars, Sea Gals cheering team members, and Blue Thunder on hand, then go out to canvass local neighborhoods with safety information including escaping from fires and safely heating homes – the info will be in English and Spanish.

From Nancy Woodland at WestSide Baby in White Center:

Did your New Year’s Resolution include more volunteer work?

WestSide Baby needs extra volunteers today, Saturday Jan. 2 (now until 4pm), to help sort toys. We will stay open today until 4 pm just for toy sorting volunteers. If you’d like to come down today to help us, show up or call us at 767-1662. Children 7-14 welcome with adult supervision and teens over 14 can be dropped off. Adults always welcome, of course!! We need extra hands today to help sort and package all the toys that have been displaced by the bounty Santa brought this year. Item donations encouraged until 1pm. THANKS!!

WestSide Baby is at 10032 15th SW – here’s a map.

Bret the Brat, star of that quick clip, is the mascot for the Burien Brat Trot, coming up October 4th and benefiting White Center-based WestSide Baby. No, no, no, not THAT kind of brat – think “rhymes with trot.” Goes with beer. Oom-pah music. Etc. (But not till AFTER you run.) Register online, for solo or relay, by going here.

Buy some diapers and take them to either Burien Chevrolet or the West Seattle Farmers’ Market by 2 pm today – Roxbury Safeway is a dropoff spot too – it’s the annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive for WestSide Baby, which is based in White Center and helps thousands of local families every year. The sizes that are most needed are 4-6 and 4T.

From Sarah at WestSide Baby:

Grab a friend and join WestSide Baby tomorrow, May 21st,from 7-9pm, for our monthly “After Hours” sorting frenzy. Enjoy an evening of sorting donations, socializing and making a difference in the community!

Please RSVP to Sarah@westsidebaby.org if you know you will be able to attend. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult and it is especially important for us to know if minors are coming so we can prepare appropriate jobs for them.

We also have an ongoing need for larger size diapers (Sizes 4-6) and Pull-ups (Sizes 3t and 4t).

WestSide Baby is at 10032 15th Ave. SW in White Center.

White Center-based WestSide Baby sends word of a car-seat safety day coming up this Wednesday at IKEA in Renton. Even if that’s too far for you to go – before we get to the announcement of that event — here’s something you might be able to help with, right here in White Center at WestSide Baby HQ, today or tomorrow:

Special offer from WestSide Baby: Bring us your recalled or outdated (6 years or older) carseats by Tuesday afternoon and we will take them to the recycle event so that 90% of the parts can be reused instead of going into the landfills. This recycling can only happen in partnership with a facility in Portland so this offer only happens twice a year.

Volunteers also welcome! If you are interested in helping with the event to support recycling of carseats, please contact us at sarah@westsidebaby.org by Tuesday afternoon. We’d love extra hands to dismantle the seats.

Now, the official event announcement for Wednesday.

State Farm Child Safety Day at Safe and Sound (& Green)

A partnership preventing unintentional injuries through education and access: In King County car crashes continue to be the number 1 killer of children under 18. Though many families now understand the importance of car seats they are often confused about correct installation and the best “seat choice” for their child. State Farm is committed to helping keep kids safe and are sponsoring this event. In addition to the inspections, the South King County Child Passenger Safety Coalition will be collecting used car seats for either re-distribution into the community or recycling them back into usable materials. About 97% of the car seats materials can be made into new products. It takes time and effort but the Coalition feels that keeping these seats from the landfills is an important investment. Following are the details.

Where: Ikea in Renton (601 SW 41st St., Renton, WA 98057)
When: Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 from 9 am to 1 pm

Here’s a look at what’s happening at this fantastic event!

FREE Car Seat Inspections by State Farm and Safe Kids King County – South Car seats inspected for correct installation and proper fit. Donations gladly accepted. Last car taken at 12pm.

Car Seat Donation Event by PASS-IT Program Do you have a car seat you no longer need? Bring it here so it can be assessed for redistribution to families in need. Useable car seats are inspected by a certified passenger safety technician and then re-equipped with the necessary registration material, manual and other information to maximize potential for correct use.

Car Seat RECYCLING by Safe Kids King County – South Unusable car seats will be collected and sent to a facility where 90% of the materials will be recycled. Keep these items out of our landfills!

Children’s Basics Donations Event – Your donations of diapers, child safety equipment and other basics will be collected and distributed through West Side Baby and Pregnancy Aid of King County.

Custom Fit Helmet Sale by Safe Kids King County & Bell-Anderson Insurance Wearer of helmet must be present for custom fit. Bike style helmets will be available for sale for only $7.

Join us in helping families in our community to be safe and environmentally responsible!

Just in from WestSide Baby, which is headquartered in White Center but helps families in West Seattle and surrounding areas too:

WestSide Baby is opening on Thursday, April 16th from 7-9, for our monthly “After Hours” sorting frenzy. Grab a friend and join us for an evening of sorting donations, socializing and making a difference in the community.

It is very helpful for us to know if you are coming though so we can prepare with staff and projects. Please RSVP to Sarah@westsidebaby.org. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult and it is especially important for us to know if minors are coming so we can prepare appropriate jobs for them.

We also have an ongoing need for larger size diapers (Sizes 4-6) and Pull-ups (Sizes 3t and 4t).

Though the event is in West Seattle, White Center’s part of it too. DNDA is presenting the Gathering of Neighbors/Biz Expo tomorrow (Saturday 4/4) with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and tonight we have the full participant list: To see who’ll be there, click here – on behalf of White Center Now and partner site West Seattle Blog, we’ll be there along with more than 70 other local businesses and organizations, including, from White Center, WestSide Baby and the White Center Community Development Association, as well as the White Center-based YWCA Employment and Training Program. Come by and say hi, 11 am-3 pm tomorrow, Chief Sealth HS at Boren (5950 Delridge; here’s a map); one other note — if you’re in West Seattle and you’re thinking about joining in this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (May 9), sign up at our table tomorrow — the first day of registration — and get a one-day-only discount on the signup fees (which pay for mapmaking, posters, other fun stuff that gets WSCGSD on the regional radar). See you tomorrow!

Just got this from executive director Nancy Woodland at White Center-based WestSide Baby:

WestSide Baby is hosting a 3rd Thursday After Hours Sorting Frenzy

Join us between 7 and 9 to organize and sort toys, clothes, bottles and more. Open to ages 8+ but ages 8 to 14 must be accompanied by a volunteering adult.

WestSide Baby is at 10032 15th SW; here’s a map.

That’s just one of the cheery groups that joined in the WestSide Baby annual fundraising Valentine Tea this past weekend at South Seattle Community College. As reported earlier this afternoon on partner site West Seattle Blog (see the story here), the event made WestSide Baby history – the first sellout crowd, and the biggest total ever: more than $70,000. Even if you didn’t make it to the tea, you can help WestSide Baby any time – just go here.

Got time to spare Thursday night? Just in from Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby, which helps families in the greater White Center/West Seattle area – they’re looking for “after-hours” help 7-9 pm tomorrow (Thursday 1/15):

WestSide Baby is inviting volunteers to join us to help sort through the many wonderful donations received during the snowy weeks in December. We have mounds of items to sort through so that we can get them distributed out into the community. Our last event like this in December was extremely successful with almost 20 volunteers appearing to help us wade through the donations. It is very helpful for us to know if you are coming though so we can prepare with staff and projects. Please RSVP to Sarah@westsidebaby.org. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult and it is especially important for us to know if minors are coming so we can prepare appropriate jobs for them. We also have an ongoing need for batteries (size C&D) and larger size diapers (Sizes 4-6) and Pull-ups (Sizes 3t and 4t). We have many diapers in smaller sizes though. The batteries are most often used for swings so we can get them back out into the community rather than waiting in our facility.

From Nancy Woodland at WestSide Baby:

The weather has impacted our operations this week to a near standstill.
This is especially concerning timing with orders waiting for children
expecting warm clothes and toys for Christmas. We need extra hands to help
us sort the many donations we’ve received (yeah!) and to fill orders for
pick up by our agency partners on Monday. We’ve been closed for most of
this week but will be open on Saturday from 10am to 3pm for volunteers,
donations and pick-ups. Although our parking lot can be treacherous we’re
inviting people to make their way to White Center to help out if they are
comfortable driving. Because of the volume, we’d love to have adult or
experienced volunteers only so that we can make the most of the time we’ll
have tomorrow before the snow hits again. Even an hour or two makes a huge
difference.

Because of this week’s unpredictability, please call our phone in the
morning or check our website if there is concerning weather between this
afternoon and tomorrow. Of course, today our voicemail outgoing message
isn’t working properly so we hope that will be a good tool for communication
tomorrow.

We also plan to be open Monday 9-3 (weather permitting) and possibly on
Tuesday too. Thanks so much to everyone who supports WestSide Baby!

P.S. Not related to WestSide Baby but this photo is just in, 16th SW looking south from SW Henderson: