White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Less than two weeks until White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby welcomes you to their annual fundraiser, “Beyond the Basics,” to help local families care for their kids. It’s at 6 pm Wednesday, September 25, at WS Baby’s Hub (10002 14th SW):

Meeting the basic needs of children is more than just the diaper or car seat that we distribute. These items represent dignity, freedom, and joy for the child, and their entire family. For over 20 years, you have partnered with WestSide Baby in support of the belief that every child deserves to have their most basic needs met.

Diapers are a universal need, and yet they are out of reach for so many families. We see the ripple effect that basic needs insecurity has on parents, caregivers, children, and our whole community. We believe that when families have what they need to thrive, they can go Beyond the Basics.

WestSide Baby is thrilled to host our community where the magic happens at WestSide Baby: our warehouse! While the warehouse will be partly transformed for this event, we want you to have an opportunity to see the space in which we serve over 100 community organizations and their clients.

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW

You are invited to gather with a common goal – ensuring children have their most basic needs met. You will be treated to delicious food, refreshing beverages and inspiring connections.

A safety drive at West Seattle’s Nucor steel mill has resulted in support for the work WestSide Baby does keeping babies and kids safe – from car seats to diaper supply. Nucor reps stopped by WestSide Baby’s headquarters in White Center at noontime today to present a $11,040 donation stemming from the company’s fall Observation Blitz. Nucor’s safety director Shayne Dinkle explained that the company has a special campaign of “safety observations” twice a year – here’s how it was explained at the time of a similar donation last year:

During the Blitz, which ran for three weeks, Nucor challenges their teammates to complete as many safety observations as possible and donates $5 to a local charitable organization for every observation completed.

You can support WestSide Baby too, in multiple ways from giving money to donating items to volunteering – find out how via their website.

Saturday (December 11th) from 2 pm on into the night, it’s the first-ever White Center Santacon, to enjoy local businesses and raise money for WestSide Baby. It’s a two-part party – 2-5 pm, free family activities at some businesses, then a food/bar crawl starting at 5, requiring a $20 wristband (benefiting WS Baby) to get in on the deals. Buy your wristband here. The map and other info is below:

See a larger version on the White Center Block Party website.

Looking to make the new year more meaningful? Volunteer for a local nonprofit! Here’s one that just put out the call – WestSide Baby:

Interested in volunteering?

Join us Tuesdays from 1 pm – 3 pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 am – 12 pm and 1 pm – 3 pm at our White Center Hub to help keep babies and children warm, safe, and dry!

Sign up for a shift at westsidebaby.org/volunteer

WS Baby’s White Center hub is at 14th SW and SW 100th.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

What a relief! WestSide Baby has welcomed shipments totaling 1 million diapers this past week, partly thanks to pandemic relief – with $225,000 received from the City of Seattle’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Diaper Distribution program. We were at the nonprofit’s White Center hub this morning as the final installment arrived. Yet as impressive as a million diapers sounds, the need is even greater.

Last year alone, WestSide Baby provided families with a record-high number of diapers – 2.4 million. Executive director Sarah Cody Roth notes, “In King County, 23% of families could not afford enough diapers and the devastating economic impacts of COVID have only widened that gap.” The nonprofit has strong community support, but the city contribution has made a huge difference. West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, calls WS Baby “a regional treasure … helping low-income families survive through the pandemic.” Also invaluably helpful, WestSide Baby says, was its WC neighbor La Mexicana, which temporarily donated warehouse space to help store all those diapers. Now they’re racing to distribute them quickly!

(WestSide Baby photo)

That photo’s from a delivery in West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood. “We have never done anything this big before – we are coordinating the distribution of 700,000 diapers over the next 4 weeks, one of the quickest and largest distributions we have ever done, all in response to emergency need this winter,” said Will Owen, WS Baby’s donation and logistics manager.

Here’s how you can help: Support WS Baby’s holiday-season JOY campaign – have a diaper drive, donate to one, and/or donate money so the purchases – and distributions! – can continue. Follow the link to see what else is on their most-needed list – such as winter coats, warm hats and gloves, and baby hygiene items.

Special delivery for White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby!

The Jolly Rogers Motorcycle Club‘s Halloween party at the White Center Eagles’ HQ resulted in diapers and dollars for WestSide Baby’s work helping thousands of local families.

(File photo: Stack of donated car seats from past WS Baby drive)

With your help, local nonprofit WestSide Baby works to help families keep babies safe, warm, clean, and dry. One important component of that: Car/booster seats for wee ones to ride in. On Saturday, WestSide Baby’s collecting them – and you can help even if you don’t have one to donate:

Donate your new or used car seat

Saturday, April 17, from 11 am-2 pm
White Center Hub & South Lake Union Branch
(or)
Purchase car seats to ship to us directly through our Amazon Wishlist

Car Seat Details
Donated seats MUST meet the following requirements:

For Infant Car Seats: Donated items must be at least 6 months from the expiration date. Expiration dates are typically 6 years after the manufacture date. This date is often located on either side or under the car seat on a sticker.

For Convertible/Combination/ Booster Car Seats: Donated items must be at least 1 year from the expiration date. Expiration dates are typically 6 years after the manufacture date. This date is often located on either side or under the car seat on a sticker.

Have not been in an accident. You will be asked to sign a waiver stating that this car seat has not been involved in a vehicle accident.

Have not been washed with harsh chemicals, like bleach. Although we love to receive clean items, bleaching the straps impacts the webbing, as it easily frays, allowing children to come out of the seat in a crash.

In addition, whenever possible, please visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov to quickly review whether your seat has been recalled. You may be surprised. Many issues can be addressed by ordering a part (usually free of charge from the manufacturer). This individual effort on your part allows us to move items safely and quickly.

Other ways to donate to WestSide Baby are here.

(Photos by Patrick Sand for White Center Now and West Seattle Blog)

Fixing up gently used car seats to help keep kids safe is part of what dozens of volunteers did at WestSide Baby in White Center today, for an MLK Day of Service project organized by United Way of King County. WS Baby has a mountain of car seats to move:

Volunteers were from businesses and organizations including Starbucks and Nordstrom.

They also helped process and package donated clothes and diapers for some of the thousands of families WS Baby serves in a growing area of King County.

Many brought their own kids to help out. WS Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland reminds us volunteer help is needed and welcome year-round.

Here’s how you can help!

That’s a photo from last year’s WestSide Baby Stuff the Bus Diaper Drive Bash at WS Baby’s White Center hub. The party’s happening again this year and you’re invited! Noon-3 pm Sunday, July 22nd, at 10002 14th SW. Bring diapers and/or cash donations! Here’s the current list of most-needed items:

-Diapers sizes 4,5,6
-Pull-ups sizes 3T-4T and 4T-5T
-Wipes, baby shampoo, baby wash, powder, lotion, diaper cream

P.S. It’s OK to bring packages of diapers that have been opened.

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is now on summer semi-hiatus after another information-packed meeting at North Highline Fire District HQ in White Center:

NEW BOARD MEMBER: Wendell Davis, a local USPS worker and dad of 4, long active in the community including sports coaching, has joined the NHUAC board.

WESTSIDE BABY: This organization helping local families “to provide the essential items that every child needs to be safe, warm, and dry” has long been headquartered in White Center, but this was executive director Nancy Woodland‘s first appearance.

She stood beneath a photo long displayed in the fire station that happens to show her husband – a North Highline FD firefighter – and child. In 2017, WestSide Baby served more than 40,000 kids in western King County. She explained how WS Baby works, with two locations now – besides the WC HQ, there’s also a location opened earlier this year in South Lake Union, and drop-off sites for strollers, car seats, diapers, etc., all over the county. They partner with more than 110 social-service agencies. They don’t provide housing; they don’t provide money. “We are experts at just providing the material items” that families need as they get back on their feet again. She told the story of helping a single dad raising his baby who couldn’t afford items beyond a “bucket car seat” in which the child was spending all waking and sleeping hours. It’s not just about feeling good, Woodland said, there’s science and research behind why this matters – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. “Something as small as a diaper can change the world.” Another analogy: It’s like helping somebody push a boulder uphill.

Ways you can help – Stuff the Bus month is July, the Bus Bash is July 22nd, during Jubilee Days (the WS Baby school bus will be in the parade again this year), and clients will be invited to WS Baby for the event for the first time – the community’s invited too. They run on volunteer power and tomorrow are moving their distribution area to get more room, because their distribution numbers have doubled in just the past year and a half. “Every single child deserves love, and deserves joy, and deserves to know that they matter,” she concluded.

MARY’S PLACE UPDATE: More than a year after Mary’s Place opened a shelter in the former King County Public Health building next to the White Center Food Bank, a rep came to talk about the property they’ve just bought in Burien. “This does not mean we’re leaving White Center,” said Liz McDaniel, to cheers. She explained they have changed their staffing structure so “one person will be in charge of one building.” Meantime, they hope to open the new Burien location – a former rehab center – the first week of August. They hope community volunteers will help them get the Burien site ready as they did before WC opened. It will have a capacity of 218 people – “about 60 families.” Among the work they are doing are painting bright colors and expanding the dining room – the building’s been vacant a year so it needs cleaning, refreshing, setting up the rooms. Their work days will likely be in late July. This will be their furthest-south location so they will be working with the Highline school district as well as likely some to the south. It will also be their fifth 24-hour facility. Asked how many families are exiting into housing, McDaniel said it averages one a week.

KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM: Angie Benedetti, who manages “the six libraries surrounding the airport,” came to talk about the imminent remodeling of the Boulevard Park branch –

KCLS has just announced that the branch will close for up to nine months starting June 24th. She said that just this past month, they have eked out a little money from the 1 Percent for Art program and the branch will get some original work by Barbara Earl Thomas. It’ll be incorporated into the meeting-room glass. (A few windows will be added to the branch in the remodel, by the way.) The contractor who is handling the job might get it done faster – KCLS has worked with them elsewhere and “had a really great experience,” she said. They aren’t yet planning to add any hours at other branches to make up for the closure. What will the library’s staff be doing during the closure? They’ll move to other branches temporarily – some to Burien, some to White Center, some to Tukwila. P.S. The branch’s beloved “donut table” will be staying, restored and refinished.

KING COUNTY COMMUNITY AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT: Mark Ellerbrook spoke about affordable housing in the North Highline/WC area, distributing paper copies of a map with approximate locations of sites where he says it is available. NHUAC president Liz Giba said she had wanted a list of the properties and how many bedrooms their units had, to compare with an inventory she had taken a year or so ago. She is concerned about an overconcentration in this area. Ellerbrook said he believes the county Housing Authority owns about eight properties. Fair housing “is a really important question,” he acknowledged, saying they are talking with various neighborhoods about “what is the fair share” and what responsibilities communities have. Ellerbrook also said that more housing is ultimately the solution for getting people out of shelters, such as the families that Mary’s Place is helping in White Center and, soon, in Burien, as mentioned earlier in the meeting. “The way that they get people out of their shelter is that they have a place to move to.”

Giba also brought up the under-construction Southside complex in Top Hat, which she says she’s been told will potentially house up to 1,500 people.

Accused by one attendee of concentrating low-income residents with “slums” resulting, Ellerbrook said, “That’s certainly not our intention.” Another attendee asked if the county is campaigning for higher wages so that there are fewer low-income residents; Ellerbrook said that’s outside the housing bailiwick but the county does have multiple employment-related programs. A discussion of earnings and low-income housing qualification ensued, as well as a point often made in similar discussions – that publicly owned projects don’t result in property-tax revenue to support community infrastructure. “So what’s really happening is that our local taxpayers are supplementing and making up the difference,” Giba observed.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE: New Southwest Precinct commander Maj. Bryan Howard said he started his career in the precinct in 1991, and has moved around since then, but has always considered this “his home precinct. … I have returned to this precinct at every rank.”

He said they are focused on three things:

-Crimefighting, so everyone feels safe doing “whatever they want to do.”
-Community engagement. “If you don’t know at least one officer by name, then we’ve failed … we need to be out and about in the community.”
-Taking care of our officers – being sure they know they are appreciated and supported, among other things.

Maj. Howard also brought up an issue that’s often arisen at NHUAC meetings – what’s done with tax revenue from marijuana? He said they’re requesting that one full-time DUI-handling officer be funded with that money.

He was followed by storefront deputy Bill Kennamer, who handed out the latest crime stats – K-1 is White Center, K-11 is Seola and vicinity, K-7 is Boulevard Park and unincorporated South Park and vicinity – and while auto theft is up year to year in all three areas, it’s down from Kennamer’s last NHUAC briefing two months ago.

MARIJUANA SURVEY: NHUAC vice president Barbara Dobkin urged everyone to answer the online survey that was announced during the recent Unincorporated Area Town Hall – ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>here’s the link.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS: The White Center Food Bank‘s “block party” is coming up Saturday; the WC Community Development Association‘s Refresh (formerly Spring Clean) is coming up too … The Highline Bears‘ season has begun at Steve Cox Memorial Park, and president Russ Pritchard said tomorrow is Jelly Donut Day, which means the first 200 in attendance get a coupon for a free jelly donut at the concession stand … among other promotions, Bring Back the Sonics night (with former Sonics players expected to be on hand) … July 20th is ice-cream night, July 21st will be Food Truck night with eight food trucks due, and they even have a bobblehead night coming up. Here’s the promo schedule. The team has signed a five-year lease with the county. Tickets by the way are $8 adults, under 12 free.

NEXT MEETING: NHUAC won’t meet in July or August, but you’ll see them at Jubilee Days. So at this point, first-Thursday meetings will resume in September – watch northhighlineuac.org for updates.

P.S. Before adjourning, NHUAC board members also agreed to send a joint letter with the Highland Park Action Committee, expressing disappointment in the city of Seattle decision – announced earlier in the day – to give a one-year extension to Camp Second Chance to stay on the Myers Way Parcels. See it here.

(Photo courtesy WestSide Baby)

Another reminder that regional family-assistance organization WestSide Baby, headquartered in White Center, doesn’t only deal with diapers: WS Baby is celebrating a donation of 278 strollers. Here’s the announcement:

278 local children will be more mobile thanks to a recent charitable donation. Summer Infant, a manufacturer of juvenile products, has donated 278 brand new strollers to local nonprofit WestSide Baby for them to distribute to low-income families through a network of over 120 social service agencies.

The donation, which is worth more than $60,000, was made after WestSide Baby issued a request to help them fill a high number of requests for strollers to provide to low-income parents. In 2015 the nonprofit was unable to fulfil more than 850 of the requests for strollers from families who needed them.

Nancy Woodland, WestSide Baby Executive Director, says: “We are very excited about receiving such a generous donation from Summer Infant. This donation means that we are very likely to be able to provide strollers for all of the parents who request them this year. Many of the parents that we serve are forced to choose between buying equipment for their children and paying for necessities such as bills or rent. A stroller can make the difference between a parent and child staying in or leaving the house.”

The more help WestSide Baby gets, the more families it can help – here’s what you can do, any time.

Earlier this month, on partner site West Seattle Blog, we reported on a small fire with a big effect on WestSide Baby‘s operations – shutting down the WS Baby volunteer/donation center in White Center, from which the nonprofit serves thousands of families around the area. The resulting power outage isn’t fixed yet. So WS Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland has announced they’re making an emergency move – not far, but it leaves them in urgenet need of multiple types of help:

On April 9, WestSide Baby’s main facility in White Center experienced a small electrical fire that eliminated power for our donation and volunteer center. This means we’ve been unable to fill orders for 350 children per week as the building is completely dark, cold and unsafe. Because this is not the first time this building has had major maintenance issues, we have decided to take a brave step and move our entire operation within the next week because leaving children in the lurch is unacceptable to us.

To get up and running as soon as possible, over the next 10 days we are moving our main donation and volunteer operations across the street into a warehouse where we have been storing diapers! We plan to open our doors at 10002 14th Ave SW by April 27.

This is a plan we have been working on for some time and had actually hoped to execute this summer. Because of the fire and resulting urgency, we have now divided it into Phases and we’ll start a little earlier than we expected by moving one component of our organization now. We’re excited to share updates on Phase 2 and 3 soon. It’s going to be great and we hope you will be excited to participate in our growth!

We have a list of opportunities for you to support this effort with your time or treasure. Both are critical at this point in order for us to be able to get back up and running and filling orders as soon as possible.

You can donate now at WestSideBaby.org to help us with the following things to get set up quickly:

Critical for Phase 1:

Shelving – $5000 Total ($300/each)
Signage – $2000
Pallet Stacker – Rent or Purchase
Canvas Bins – $1000 Total ($250 each)
Moving and Storage Expenses – $10,000

Things we’ll need for Phase 2 -3:

Moving Expenses – $15k
Industrial Carpet/Flooring
Painting help
Lumber

We will also have Volunteer Opportunities:

Tuesday, April 21 6-7 pm Car Seat moving
Friday, April 24 3-6 pm Shelf Assembly
Saturday, April 25 10 – 5 Moving!!
Sunday, April 26 9 – 5 Deconstruction of old facilty and clean up
Soon after – a small masonry and curb installation project needs a skilled professional

Contact Volunteer Manager, Shana Allen (shana@westsidebaby.org), if you are interested! We have some flexibility with this schedule and we anticipate more things unfolding this week. These are all physical projects.

To help us with backlog – we anticipate announcing additional Sorting Frenzies and Order Filling Opportunities the week of April 27. Let Shana know if you want to be on the lists to receive those updates!!

Two volunteer opportunities coming up, according to Kari Kopnick from White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby:

*Volunteer at WS Baby on Thursday, September 19th, 7-9 pm

*Volunteer at WS Baby on Thursday, October 3rd, 5:30-7:30 pm

Spaces are limited so please RSVP to kari@westsidebaby.org.

(Photos and video by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
Of course EVERY day is a “day of caring” at White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby, which helps thousands of families every year. But today is THE volunteerism-centered “Day Of Caring” for United Way of King County – and this year’s campaign chairs, former Mariners baseball player Dan Wilson and wife Annie Wilson, started their day at WS Baby! Above, they posed with WS Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland. They of course had something to say to the amassed volunteers, too:

Also as part of Day of Caring, volunteers from Virginia Mason are working at WestSide Baby, where there’s always lots to do, to take donations, diapers, car seats, and other necessities and make them ready for the families who will use them:

You can help WestSide Baby any time – here’s how to volunteer, and here’s information on other ways of giving.

(crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog, since WestSide Baby serves both areas)

They help thousands of local families … but they can’t do it without help from you … and tonight, White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby has a new call for volunteers “ages 8-108”:

WestSide Baby is increasing our Volunteer hours and we need your help!

The need is growing and our ability to respond to that is also growing. We are offering more volunteer opportunities than ever before and we hope you will consider helping out, either regularly or by dropping in when it’s convenient for you.You can tailor your volunteering to meet your schedule: once a week, once a month, several times a year, or more! WSB has monthly evening, weekend and daytime shifts. Check out the schedule on our WSB Volunteers page. WSB can also schedule special times for groups of 10-20 volunteers.

Onsite volunteers sort donations, fill orders, package diapers, check equipment and toys, and dismantle unusable car seats. Take-home jobs include laundry, mending clothing, pick up and drop off of items. We especially need committed regular volunteers for toys, donation collection (van or truck required) and car seat/equipment checking. Anyone ages 8-108 can volunteer. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult and youth 14-18 can volunteer on their own, with signed consent form.

To start volunteering, please go to http://www.westsidebaby.org/default/volunteer and fill out the volunteer application. Or contact Maria Groen, Outreach/Operations Manager at WestSide Baby, maria@westsidebaby.org, (206) 767-1662.

Maria also notes that “… our first “First Tuesday Frenzy” 5:30-7:30 pm volunteer time at WestSide Baby will be on June 5th, 10027 14th Ave SW.”

Another big delivery of diapers is news worth celebrating – but it also means WestSide Baby needs help! This Thursday, in White Center, it’s your chance to lend a hand … Here’s the announcement from WS Baby’s Maria Groen:

WestSide Baby has received a donation of nearly 100,000 diapers from Huggies through the National Diaper Bank Network. While it seems like a lot, it is just a little more than a two-month supply at the rate we distribute diapers to local children in need.

We’re inviting volunteers to a “Diaper Frenzy” this Thursday, 7-9 pm. Volunteers will be hauling and storing diapers in our operations facility. It will definitely be a mini workout, fun time with other caring community members and will help us tremendously. Interested volunteers must RSVP to whitney@westsidebaby.org as space is limited. We’re honored that the CoHo Team of Windermere Agents sponsors our After Hours Frenzies on the third Thursday of each month!

From North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Barbara Dobkin, the agenda for, and a preview of, this Thursday night’s meeting:

Deanna Martin from King County Metro Transit will be providing updates on the scheduled transit service changes to White Center and beyond. Additionally, questions regarding safety at bus stops along 15th Avenue, as well as the 2-zone fare issue, will be discussed.

We also welcome Nancy Woodland, Executive Director, WestSide Baby, who will update the community on what is happening at WestSide Baby, as well as the “homeless summits” that she has been heading in White Center.

Metro’s revised proposal for fall “restructuring” is due out no later than this Wednesday, so that will be a particularly timely discussion. Click ahead to see the agenda in full: Read the rest of this entry »

Just in from White Center Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes:

The White Center Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission and WestSide Baby, is planning a working summit of White Center service providers on Friday, Oct 21 from 9 am to 12 pm at Mount View Presbyterian Church – 10806 12th Ave. SW.

The summit will bring together front line service providers who are currently serving the estimated 45 people struggling with homelessness and chronic alcoholism who currently live on White Center streets. The goal of this summit is to find ways to help our homeless neighbors and to establish a 10-point plan that addresses their service needs, plan a budget estimating the costs to provide these services, and discuss possible policies needed to address the challenges they create for our community.

“We are finding that more and more people are in need in White Center,” said Mark Ufkes, president, White Center Chamber of Commerce. “We estimate that our community’s homelessness has grown by about 30% this past summer. While I’m concerned about their needs, Chamber members want a family-oriented shopping district. I’m hearing from business owners that several of the new faces are aggressive and congregate in groups that can be intimidating.”

(Adapted from an announcement first published earlier this week on partner site West Seattle Blog)
White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby has accepted car seats for recycling before – but usually, just the ones in good enough shape to reuse. Starting tomorrow (Saturday), they will accept ALL used car seats – 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, bring yours to their donation HQ, 10032 15th SW (map) – so if you have one, in any condition, in the basement, the attic, the closet, the garage, bring it over! For the new campaign Re-Ride: Car Seat Reuse and Recycling for Local Children in Need, WS Baby is now partnering with recyclers Total Reclaim to enable acceptance of any and all car seats. If yours can’t be reused, they request a $5 minimum donation to help cover the cost of recycling its materials. WS Baby says they are only able to fill about HALF the requests they currently get for car seats, so widening the recycling program will hopefully help them fill more. P.S. If you can help them dismantle car seats in preparation for recycling, please contact Shana Allen at shana@westsidebaby.org or 206-767-1662.

From Shana at WestSide Baby in White Center:

We wanted to remind you that our monthly After-Hours event is this Thursday evening, March 17th, from 7-9pm. Please grab a friend and join us on St. Patrick’s Day for an adult evening of sorting donations, having fun and making a difference in the community!

Space will be limited to 20 people so please RSVP to shana@westsidebaby.org if you will be attending. Parking is available in front of our Operations Center located at 10027-14th Ave SW.