White Center Now: The blog about White Center

That’s White Center Now/West Seattle Blog video of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels joining in the Clean and Green cleanup this morning, helping give a kiosk a new coat of paint. More than two dozen people joined in the cleanup that launched from just outside the White Center Community Development Association, including WCCDA reps and volunteers from the Boys and Girls Clubs, and volunteers were treated to fresh coffee from nearby Cafe Rozella.

Time to get out there and help spiffy up the White Center area.  Come and help with clean up and green up sponsored by the City of Seattle.  Mayor will be in attendance so if you want to chat with Mayor Nickels, here’s your chance.

Wanted to point you to this report on our partner site West Seattle Blog – where we got e-mail from White Center Food Bank friends/volunteers mentioning the lengths WCFB boss Rick Jump went to, to be there for clients. So many great stories like this are emerging as we all thaw out; keep ’em coming.

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.

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:

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.

Happened onto the Evergreen Key Club‘s blog, with an update on myriad projects they’re taking on this fall, including work this week on scarves for homeless people. Sounds like these teens are going to have a very busy season of giving; read about it here.

The White Center Arts Alliance is moving forward with great plans for the White Center community.  Be a part of this wonderful organization.  The Arts Alliance is seeking new members.  If you are interested in participating come by Cafe Rozella on Monday, October 6th at 7 p.m.  Or contact Ricardo at guarnero@caferozella.com.   Join now!

The folks at Neighborhood House are hoping to engage more White Center community members in volunteer work like this – so they asked us to spread the word about an opening for a “tutor/mentor.” Read about it here (including info on how to apply). Youth Tutoring Coordinator Sarah Smith adds:

I am the best person to contact about this, my email is sarahs@nhwa.org and phone is 206-366-5084.

The volunteer hours would be from 3:30-6:00, and there are many opportunities ranging from direct interactions with the students to helping out with less direct contact (in case people aren’t comfortable helping with homework, etc.)

Thank you for starting and participating in lively discussions here on WCN, right from the start. Couple things we wanted to highlight this afternoon — First: Spirited discussions continue on threads that are now weeks old – so keep checking, if those are topics you’re interested in. In particular, our coverage of the last North Highline Fire District meeting is still drawing comments – including this one, just this morning, from “Concerned Firefighter.”

Second: Dick Thurnau from Friends of Hicks Lake just announced an event in comments on an “old” post. Before publishing it here to make sure everyone sees it, I wanted to note – if you’ve got something to announce – best thing to do is try one of these:
a) Send it to us and we’ll post: whitecenternow@gmail.com
b) Want to be a White Center Now contributor? This is a multi-contributor site – FullTilt, Ricardo, and I are the trio that launched it, but we’ve always hoped to have other participants. E-mail us at that same address, whitecenternow@gmail.com, and let us know what you’d like to write about, in general.

Now, the Hicks Lake event that Dick wants you to know about (also just added to the White Center Now Events Calendar):

Friends of Hicks Lake will sponsor and cooperate with KC Parks Evergreen Maintenance Dist for a cleanup day: On Saturday 9/27/2008 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Lakewood Park/ Hicks Lake.
Tools, gloves will be furnished — all we need is volunteers as there is a lot of work that needs to be accomplished. Students from Seattle Pacific University come annually.

This is an invite for all residents of North Highline to make a difference. Thank you in advance.
Dick Thurnau 206-244-4558

Note, it’s from the Obama campaign site, so you might not want to help if you’re supporting another candidate, but it’s a request for volunteers to help sign up voters at sites including Roxbury Safeway. Check it out here. (It’s also posted on our partner site, West Seattle Blog.) Meantime, if you still need to register, the deadline is two weeks from Saturday, and you can start at this page on the King County website.

This is taken directly from the website Moontown Foundation http://moontownfoundation.org

White Center Energy Festival & Prosperity Project

Date: September 27, 2008
Time: 8am to 6pm
Location: White Center Heights Elementary School

On Saturday, September 27^th, 2008, tens of thousands of Americans will mobilize for “Green Jobs Now: A National Day of Action to Build the New Economy.” Green Jobs Now is a National Day of Action that will empower everyday people to stage hundreds of grassroots events throughout the country. Special emphasis is being focused toward low-income communities and communities of color.

Moontown Foundation is spearheading the largest Day of Action event in the state of Washington. Over 300 volunteers are being called into action and tasked to canvass an estimated 32,000 residents living in approximately 7,800 households and small businesses to spread the word.

The event, aptly called the White Center Energy Festival & Prosperity Project, will occur in the White Center Community, a highly diverse, economically challenged, neighborhood located south of Seattle in unincorporated King County. The event is designed to promote home energy efficiency, spur economic development, increase awareness the emerging green job market, as well as raise funds for the Eco Apprentice Scholarship Fund. A Fund meant to help low-income youth and young adults pursue educational training and certifications in so-called green job trades (i.e., energy efficiency auditing and solar panel installation) at local vocational and community colleges.

Residents may be eligible to win free home energy audits, as well as energy efficiency improvement products and services, as well as, low interests loans to finance improvements.

To register, please visit http://events.greenjobsnow.com/greenforall/events/show/5211.