White Center Now: The blog about White Center

This is an annual event that means your assistance for the White Center Food Bank (and West Seattle Food Bank too) goes farther than ever this month and next – read the announcement from WCFB’s Rick Jump:

$1 MILLION FEINSTEIN CHALLENGE TO BENEFIT LOCAL FOOD BANKS

March and April donations to White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank will qualify for Feinstein Challenge

The White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank are encouraging community members to make donations between March 1st and April 30th so they can receive additional funds from the Feinstein Foundation’s $1 Million Challenge.

For the past 12 years Rhode Island philanthropist, Alan Shawn Feinstein, has made $1 Million available to help anti-hunger agencies. For every cash and food donation received by the end of April the Feinstein Foundation will add a financial contribution.

“During these tough economic times local food banks are serving more families than ever. Many of them are first time visitors to a food bank,” said Rick Jump, executive director of the White Center Food Bank. “This increased demand for services is likely to continue over the next several months and we urgently need to support of the community to insure that we are able to provide nutritious meals to our neighbors in need,” said Jump.

For the White Center Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To make a donation online or for information about the White Center Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.whitecenterfoodbank.org or contact Rick Jump at (206) 762-2848, or e-mail rjump_wcfb@yahoo.com.

For the West Seattle Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 3419 SW Morgan, Seattle, WA 98126. To make a donation online or for information about the West Seattle Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.westseattlefoodbank.org or contact Fran Yeatts at (206) 932-9023, or e-mail wsfb@teleport.com.

Information about the Feinstein Foundation and the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.feinsteinfoundation.org

(Photo by Dina Johnson)
White Center Food Bank executive director Rick Jump made a guest appearance Monday night at the monthly meeting of the Highland Park Action Committee, whose turf stretches all the way to the WC line, and he shared numbers that won’t surprise you, but are startling nonetheless: Last month alone, WCFB served almost 1800 families – 6,000 people. That’s up to 80 percent more than this time last year, Jump said, describing it as “a bit of a crisis” while also noting that in addition to serving White Center, WCFB also serves Highland Park (and other areas of West Seattle’s south half). He elaborated: “We’re seeing a lot of people who have never visited a food bank before in their life, and they’re really embarrassed to be there … it really is a new face we’re seeing in food bank lines.” He says the Feinstein Challenge starts next month, with a private organization rewarding WCFB (and other organizations nationwide) depending on how much food and money is donated to the organization in March and April, so if you make a donation during the next two months, be sure to earmark it to qualify for the Feinstein Challenge. What they need most right now, he says, is “dry variety” food – macaroni and cheese, Hamburger Helper type of stuff. What they don’t need … tuna … they get that as a government commodity and, Jump smiled, “we’re swimming in tuna.” They have a “baby pantry” service as well, and while they don’t need formula – a private donor gives them all they could possibly need, according to Jump – they do need “larger size” diapers. You can find out more about WCFB, and donate money online, by going to its website, www.whitecenterfoodbank.org. (We’ll report more on the Highland Park meeting later today on our partner site West Seattle Blog.)

A new “edible garden” has sprouted at the White Center Food Bank; volunteers from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle and SeattleWorks spent several hours Saturday clearing ornamental plantings from the plots where vegetables will now grow. Read more about it on partner site West Seattle Blog – including the need for one more volunteer – somebody to set up and tend a new worm-compost bin! Meantime, hours after we stopped at WCFB, it was off to the first open house at the artists’ studios on the east side of the old skating rink:

The party inside and upstairs was a little too crowded and dark for good pix but we had a great time wandering from room to room, viewing some of the artists’ creations, including paintings, sculpture, even a striking bench with an inset eagle-head carving. Next weekend, the artists will be involved in the first Rat City Rummage event – remember, you can look for the entryway from 16th:

Rat City Rummage is set for next Saturday, 10 am-6 pm at the old skate rink.

Are you ready to serve? The search is on and maybe you can answer the call:

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is seeking applicants for council positions. Candidates must be 18 years and older, a resident of the area, and/or a business/property owner in the area or an official representative of a non-profit in the area. The council represents residents and business/property owners of the North Highline Unincorporated Area in their dealings with King County and surrounding cities. The council is comprised of 13 members representing the communities of Beverly Park, Boulevard Park, Glendale, Riverton Heights, Salmon Creek, Shorewood, South Park, Top Hat and White Center. To obtain a Candidate Filing Statement or to learn more about the open position’s contact Christine Waldman, cwaldman@northhighlineuac.org

We reported recently that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council had plans to help with a roundup of abandoned shopping carts – and now, NHUAC’s Heidi Johnson has sent us the flyer that has information on who to contact at which stores, and what their policies are. Download it here – and help clear those carts out of YOUR neighborhood!

From Aviva at Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle:

Community Harvest of SW Seattle in partnership with the White Center Food Bank will be removing some grasses and other ornamentals to make room for a food garden. This demonstration garden, designed by a SSCC horticulture student, will have sections for traditional Asian greens, square foot gardening, northwest berries, and containers. The intention of this garden is to inspire and educate on the possibilities for growing food, even in limited spaces.

Seattleworks volunteers will be digging up existing landscaping on February 21st, and we would like to offer some of these lovely grasses and bushes in exchange for compost (or $$ to buy compost!) All donations of time or money will be happily accepted and will go toward this project and other projects which encourage food growing amongst low-income residents of West Seattle and White Center.

Contact: info@gleanit.org

Big changes ahead for the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition, and you might qualify to be part of them. Here’s a letter from its staff liaisons:

We are excited to be preparing to hold our first elections! As this is the first election, we are accepting nominations for the new Executive Committee until Thursday, February 19th, at 4:00 pm.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s the day for a big fundraiser for White Center’s New Start High School. As Paul Fischburg put it in a letter we published in its entirety earlier this month:

On Thursday 1/29, all day, when you buy anything at the Barnes and Noble at Westwood Village shopping center and show them the attached flyer, a portion of the sales will be donated to New Start for the library. Better yet, books on New Start’s wishlist will be on display and you can buy one directly for the library. Even better still, come on down between 6:30 and 8:00 pm, and view student art work, hear readings of student writings and enter a drawing to win an ice cream party at White Center’s own Full Tilt Ice Cream!

You can download and print the flyer, which has the voucher number, here.

(WCN photo of Hicks Lake, 1/7/09)
From Dick Thurnau at Friends of Hicks Lake:

King County has allotted $25,000 in the budget for Lakewood Park / Hicks Lake improvements and has asked Friends Of Hicks Lake for suggestions. We have many; however, we wish to gather input from the community to provide the best and wisest recommendations.

Suggestions (including, so far):

*Water fountain with an aeration system to help cleanse the lake water and display a beautiful attraction. (will need volunteers)

*Walking path around Hicks Lake might require use of a small section of school property (safety reasons)

*Volleyball, basketball court in half of the tennis court, horseshoes

*Full-time caretaker for the park house to control graffiti, litter, illegal alcohol usage, and vandalism

We welcome the community’s input.

You can reach Dick by e-mail at hdthurnau@juno.com or by phone at 206-244-4558.

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.

Forum members at our partner site West Seattle Blog have organized a shoe drive in honor of Inauguration Day, and White Center’s own Full Tilt Ice Cream is one of the dropoff sites. New/lightly used shoes dropped off between now and Inauguration Day will be donated to Soles4Souls. Join the shoe-drive conversation here! And here’s the official flyer.

We’ve had this fundraiser for White Center’s New Start High School, coming up 1/29, on the White Center Now Events Calendar for a few days. Now, a letter from Paul Fischburg:

Hey friends,

As many of you know, I’ve been volunteering to help New Start High School in White Center create a school library. New Start started as a King County funded after-school program for kids who were skipping school and hanging out in downtown White Center. After a few years of great success, King County funding ran out and with tremendous commitment, the Highline School District took New Start from a small storefront helping a few kids, to a growing alternative high school for about 120 kids who haven’t succeeded in traditional schools. Last year, New Start graduated its first class of seniors!

Working with teachers, students, and Michael Sita, the school principal and head of alternative programs in the Highline District, I designed the library and raised $15,000 in addition to donated computers to get the library started. Andrea Love, a new para-educator at New Start, scavenged district furniture got the library set up and running, ordered and catalogued books, and uses the library as her office to work with students individually and in groups.

We don’t want to stop there and you can help.

On Thursday 1/29, all day, when you buy anything at the Barnes and Noble at Westwood Village shopping center and show them the attached flyer, a portion of the sales will be donated to New Start for the library. Better yet, books on New Start’s wishlist will be on display and you can buy one directly for the library. Even better still, come on down between 6:30 and 8:00 pm, and view student art work, hear readings of student writings and enter a drawing to win an ice cream party at White Center’s own Full Tilt Ice Cream!

You can download and print the flyer, which has the voucher number, here.

Just got this advisory from the Seattle Fire Department: Holy Family School in White Center will host a Firefighter Memorial and Benefit Dinner next Monday night, 7 pm (after a 6 pm social hour). This is on the anniversary of one of the most heartbreaking and horrifying tragedies to hit the city – the Pang warehouse fire, a deliberately set fire that killed four Seattle firefighters, including a Holy Family alumnus. From the SFD media advisory:

January 5, 2009 marks 14-years since four Seattle Firefighters died in
the Mary Pang Warehouse Fire. In memory of Lieutenant Walter Kilgore,
Lieutenant Greg Shoemaker, Firefighter James Brown and Firefighter Randy
Terlicker, Holy Family Parish School in West Seattle is conducting a
Memorial and Benefit Dinner for the Randy Terlicker Endowment Fund.

Randy Terlicker was a 1974 graduate of Holy Family Parish School. The
endowment fund will provide scholarships to families who can not afford
school tuition.

The program will begin at 7:00 p.m.at Holy Family School, located at
9615 20th Avenue Southwest. The program will include a performance by
the Seattle Fire Department Pipes and Drums Band, a presentation of
colors by the Walter Kilgore Memorial Honor Guard and testimonials from
the family and friends of Randy Terlicker.

I was a newscast producer at KOMO TV (Channel 4), on duty the night this tragedy happened. Newspeople sometimes pretend they are a little bit numb to the awful things they sometimes have to report … but I can tell you that the word of four firefighters losing their lives that night, fighting flames someone started on purpose, rocked us all. The memorial for them was an amazing, massive outpouring, with their firefighting colleagues sending delegations from near and far. The sight of the memorial sculpture in Pioneer Square’s Occidental Park brings the memories back, every time. There’s a bit more about the Holy Family event on this page of the Seattle Fire Fighters Union site.

Puget Sound Blood Center has put out a warning that the blood supply is at a critically low level, with many scheduled donations canceled during the snowy/icy weather woes – but today, according to the PSBC mobile-drive schedule, there are two ways for you to donate right here in our area: PSBC will have blood drives at White Center’s Holy Family, 10 am-4 pm (20th and Roxbury, Tice Hall; here’s a map) and at West Seattle’s Admiral Safeway, 9 am-3 pm (California/Lander; here’s a map). Appointments were suggested but the site says walk-ins are welcome.

11:20 AM UPDATE: Got another note from Rick, who says they’ve gotten LOTS of help thanks to folks who read about this on WCN and/or partner site West Seattle Blog. However, we have another request in the WSB Forums for some White Center area volunteer help – read about it here.

ORIGINAL 6:21 AM POST: From White Center Food Bank executive director Rick Jump:

The White Center Food Bank has 300 families scheduled to pick up their holiday baskets on Monday and another 300 scheduled for Tuesday. Our plan is to be open for those with appointments but I will probably need some additional volunteers to make this happen. A few of our loyal volunteers showed up last Friday and we served 144 families (out of the 300 scheduled that day). We will be open from 10am to 6pm. If there is anybody who lives within walking distance of the food bank OR has a 4 wheel drive vehicle and can safely get there we would greatly appreciate the extra help. I will also need help shoveling the sidewalks and part of the parking lot to make it safe for those who show up. Please help spread the word.

WCFB is at 10829 8th SW; here’s a map.

Across from the Salvation Army building, you’ll find New Traditions – a simple name that doesn’t reveal much about what happens there, or the fact the women who founded it, and opened it in White Center just two months ago, are doing something they say no one else in the Seattle area does: Offering chemical-dependency treatment for female clients, by female providers, while also offering care for their children, in cheery rooms like this one for babies:

New Traditions is accepting new clients, but that’s only part of why they’re inviting people to visit 3-7 pm today (9045 16th SW; here’s a map) – but they also will be happy to meet White Center and West Seattle neighbors who want to know what their work is all about. We visited recently to find out more ourselves, including what the special significance of an all-female setting can be – read on: Read the rest of this entry »

As the city’s Neighborhood Service Center coordinator for Delridge, Ron Angeles, put it in his e-mail – “here’s a great community activity to start the New Year.”

They certainly can use donations of money and clothing/diapers/toys/furniture any time – BUT tomorrow night, what WestSide Baby needs most is your time – two hours for a festive sorting party. We were just over at WestSide Baby (talking to executive director Nancy Woodland, who explains the party – and more – in the video clip above, produced for WCN and partner site West Seattle Blog) and they have requests this week alone for items for almost 200 local kids — and that means lots of help is needed to go through all the items they stock, to sort them into the specific bundles to go out to those families. 7-9 pm tomorrow (December 4th), 10032 15th SW (here’s a map), behind White Center Chiropractic. If you get a sec, e-mail Sarah (sara@westsidebaby.org) to let her know you’ll be there. More in a bit.

Big Brother Big Sister is having their “Big Night Out” Today.  Full Tilt is donating 30% of the days till to them. So are a number of other businesses in the area. Follow the link below to find some place that interests you.

http://www.bbbs.org/site/lookup.asp?c=guLUJbMRKtH&b=4696831

Many of the businesses will have represententive from Big Brother on hand to answer any questions that you may have.

Thanks to Shorewood Christian School for e-mailing to call our attention to that clip they posted on YouTube after 5th graders went to work at the Burien-Highline Food Bank; we told you earlier about the school’s food drive to help the White Center Food Bank (which you can help anytime by donating online; here’s the link). Here’s the full news release about their latest project: Read the rest of this entry »