White Center Now: The blog about White Center

It’s going on noon, and we’re just back from a quick tour of some White Center Spring Clean sites. First, above, we stopped at White Center Community Development Association HQ, where the Polynesian Club was helping out with a planting project – a few members stopped to pose with “Miss Piggy” outside the office. Across the street, the triangle’s getting some love too:

In the downtown business district, Rat City Rollergirls are working at several spots – this group was at the second of 15 businesses in need of window-washing:

Across 16th SW, King County Sheriff’s Office community-service Officer Vary Jackson was outside the KCSO storefront with planters and plants:

As we pulled up, a well-known White Center-based entrepreneur happened to be wheeling one of the planters away – Full Tilt Ice Cream‘s Justin Cline:

WCCDA had signed up more than 500 volunteers for White Center Spring Clean even before the big day arrived.

They’re small, but these might be enhancements to our increasing number of White Center Now visitors (thank you!) – the right sidebar now features the latest headlines from the White Center Community Development Association site, which gets newsier all the time, and from our partner site West Seattle Blog, since we hear so often from folks suggesting that certain WSB stories should be featured here too. We’ve noticed there’s a bit of a lag in the digest, so what you see in the WSB box may not necessarily be the very newest stories (we update news there VERY frequently most days), but it’ll give you an idea of what’s going on, and of course any breaking news of value to White Center/vicinity will be here in the main section too.

The latest update from White Center Community Development Association, as Spring Clean approaches (just a month and a half away) on May 15:

The White Center community is gearing up for its annual Spring Clean, an event that brings together volunteer youth and elders, business owners and residents, retirees and students to work, clean and improve the community’s physical environment.

“White Center is people-powered. Events like Spring Clean showcase our collective action for positive neighborhood revitalization that truly defines our diverse community,” said Aileen Balahadia, Executive Director of the White Center Community Development Association. The White Center CDA is a catalyst for a healthy community and new prosperity in White Center- so it’s a better place to visit, shop, and live.

Asked why she participates in the Spring Clean event, White Center resident Keysha Bryant said: “You must be the change you wish to see in your community, to help build and keep it a clean safe place for our children and everyone who lives here.”

In 2009, more than 350 volunteers turned out for the Spring Clean event. We painted one block-long mural previously plagued with graffiti, cleaned and painted art on 21 trash cans for the business district, removed invasive plant species at six parks, and hauled away two tons of garbage. Volunteers covered 70 neighborhood blocks, picking up litter and completing 19 individual beautification projects developed by local residents and groups.

The White Center CDA thanks our sponsors for their contributions to this year’s event: BECU, The Home Depot, King County Housing Authority, King County Parks and Recreation, Seattle Public Utilities, The Triangle Pub and the White Center Chamber of Commerce.

Volunteers are needed! To sign up as a volunteer, contact Nhan Nguyen, Neighborhood Revitalization Program Manager at (206) 694-1082 or at whitecenterspringclean@gmail.com, and fill out the attached registration form. To register online, visit http://www.wccda.org/home/wccda/644 and you will see the link to register at the bottom of the page. Volunteers will receive a complimentary t-shirt, light breakfast, refreshments, and lunch. For event information or to sign up as a volunteer, refer to additional information on the program’s website www.wccda.org.

Perusing the White Center Community Development Association website, we note an item from almost a week ago, in which a community newsletter from Shorewood draws WCCDA ire. The piece singled out by the WCCDA site writer complains about dog waste along Shorewood trails and suggests penalties for offenders, such as “sending their beloved pets to White Center to be recycled (eaten).” A complaint letter was written to the Shorewood on the Sound Club, signed by WCCDA’s Aileen Balahadia, Karen Veloria and Heather Downey and saying in part:

We do not find this remark funny- we find it offensive, as this stereotype is obviously applied to the communities of color in our diverse White Center. It is also abusive to our goal to market and promote our wonderful, hard-working, and largely immigrant owned small businesses and restaurants.

We appreciate community residents like yourselves getting together to improve your neighborhood. We’d implore you to please do so without dragging down a neighbor, especially one like White Center that has done so much to counter such negativity over the last few years.

We’ll be checking with both WCCDA and the Shorewood group to see if there’s been followup, since a week has gone by. 2:13 PM UPDATE: We heard back from Shorewood newsletter editor Kevin, who said he had replied to say he’s sorry they were offended. Aileen at WCCDA confirmed they had received a response but it wasn’t as much of an apology as they felt was in order, since the remark was published in a community-wide newsletter.

(Photo courtesy White Center Food Bank)
That’s Long Nguyen with his raised-bed garden at White Center Heights Park – and now you might be able to have one too, according to this announcement, which includes a call for community-garden volunteers:

Together with the White Center Community Development Association, the White Center Food Bank is announcing that applications for raised beds at White Center Heights Park are now available.

The garden is located at 102nd SW and SW 7th across the street from White Center Heights Elementary School. Community members will have an opportunity to use a raised bed to grow their own garden. Raised beds are free to garden for the season. Gardeners can also contribute a part of their harvest to feed the clients of the White Center Food Bank.

Now In its 3rd year, the garden will be a place where residents can come together as a community to grow food with neighbors, family and friends. White Center Food Bank is excited to be able to provide an opportunity to the community to increase self-sufficiency and celebrate the diverse cultures that make White Center a wonderful place.

Applications are available at the White Center Food Bank. Contact Audrey Zemke in person, at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 for an application. Applications are due to the White Center Food Bank by March 30, 2010. A lottery system will be used to pick the 16 individuals or groups who will receive a raised bed.

The White Center Food Bank is also looking for people to help with the community garden. Volunteers are needed to help with composting, cleaning up before and after the season, educating gardeners, planning the kick-off garden event or year-end harvest celebration. If you want to be connected to a great community of gardeners, contact Audrey Zemke to volunteer.

Day after the White Center Community Development Association put up that hip-hop video about green job opportunities, a news release just in from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation includes word of a $200,000 grant for WCCDA’s “green jobs initiative” (and other nonprofit endeavors):

Providing foreclosure counseling for distressed homeowners in southern Oregon and supporting the development of a green jobs initiative for young adults in Seattle’s White Center neighborhood are among the grants recently awarded by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. These latest grants reflect the Foundation’s continued focus on strengthening the social safety net for those living on the financial edge as well as supporting longer-term initiatives to help low-income families and individuals achieve economic stability.

“During one of the most dramatic economic downturns in history, we remain committed to helping our nonprofit partners and the communities they support respond and adapt to these growing challenges,” said Susan M. Coliton, vice president of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “Our latest grants will help people build the long-term social and economic assets they need for economic stability in these uncertain times.”

As part of its latest round of grants awarded in 2009, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $4.6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. The Foundation awarded grants to 66 diverse non-profit organizations in the Pacific Northwest region (including 38 nonprofits in Washington, 18 in Oregon, four in Alaska, four in Idaho, and two in Montana).

Providing Economic Relief and Building Family Assets

The Foundation continues its focus on helping nonprofit organizations meet growing community needs during the current economic crisis. The latest grants include $50,000 to the Umpqua Community Development Corporation (Roseburg, Ore.) to help it meet increasing demand for foreclosure counseling, with the goal of assisting 700 Oregon homeowners facing foreclosure.

In addition to helping individuals in crisis, the Foundation’s latest grants will also help people build income streams and learn new skills to create long-term financial stability. The Foundation awarded $200,000 to Hacienda Community Development Corporation (Portland, Ore.) to expand its entrepreneurial micro-enterprise program called Micro Mercantes that provides mentoring to Latina women in becoming successful food vendors at local farmers’ markets; and $200,000 to White Center Community Development Association (Seattle, Wash.) to develop a green jobs initiative that will take advantage of federal stimulus funding to train young adults in home weatherization as a foundation for additional education, training, and employment security.

Expanding Educational Opportunities for Youth

The Foundation’s latest grants continue to support initiatives that test new models within the K-12 public education system and expand opportunities for youth to develop new interests, skills, and abilities. Grants include $400,000 to the Washington State STEM Education Foundation (Kennewick, Wash.) to support comprehensive professional development for teachers at Delta High School, a new high school focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the Tri-Cities region; $100,000 to the Portland Schools Foundation to support Ninth Grade Counts, a broad-based program to increase high school graduation rates and workforce readiness for Portland youth; $150,000 to Business Education Compact (Beaverton, Ore.) to increase capacity and facilitate expansion of their Proficiency-Based Teaching and Learning program to reach more than 1,300 educators; $50,000 to IslandWood (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) to support a two-year pilot program called Stewardship Stories in partnership with the Seattle Park and Recreation Department to provide hands-on environmental education programs for Seattle youth; and $60,000 to the National Wildlife Federation (Anchorage, Alaska) to expand a green jobs program for teens in rural Alaska.

Continuing a Longstanding Commitment to the Arts

Arts and culture grants in the latest round of giving include support for many of the Foundation’s longstanding nonprofit partners, including the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle and Perseverance Theatre, among others. The latest grants include support for annual arts programming as well as initiatives that help arts organizations strengthen their financial condition and sustain themselves during the recession and beyond.

Arts and culture grants include $75,000 to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, Idaho) to support the Tessitura Consortium project, an initiative that creates a technology-sharing partnership with the Boise Contemporary Theater to integrate ticketing, donor, educational and financial data systems that improve operational efficiencies and customer service; $40,000 to the Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery (Portland, Ore.) to support the organization’s integration with the Pacific Northwest College of Art by providing improved infrastructure, training and staffing support.

Other key grants include $25,000 to the Seattle Chamber Music Festival for marketing initiatives to increase ticket sales and expand the organization’s 2010 Summer Festival audience base at its new Benaroya Hall location; $50,000 to the Northwest African American Museum (Seattle, Wash.) to develop a strategic marketing and outreach program to promote the museum’s exhibits, membership and services; $50,000 to the Holter Museum of Art (Helena, Mont.) to support a two-year audience and resource development project that honors the military and veteran community in Helena and greater Montana; and $75,000 to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (Anchorage, Alaska) to support the commissioning and presentation of four culturally significant works honoring Alaskan Native heritage and culture.

“Our commitment to supporting the continued vitality of the local arts sector has not changed,” said Coliton. “Like other nonprofits, arts and culture groups are grappling with new economic realities. It is encouraging that attendance at local museums and performing arts organizations remains strong. Clearly, even in challenging times, audiences find value and meaning in the creative work being developed and presented in our communities.”

Launched by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Jo Lynn Allen in 1988, the Allen family’s philanthropy is dedicated to transforming lives and strengthening communities by fostering innovation, creating knowledge and promoting social progress. Mr. Allen has contributed $378 million to the Foundation since its inception, benefitting over 1,370 diverse nonprofit groups to support and advance their critical charitable endeavors in the Pacific Northwest. A complete list of the Foundation’s latest grants is found at www.pgafamilyfoundation.org/grantlist.

White Center Community Development Association is promising to send updates via Twitter – you can see them by going here. It’s under way till 4 pm at Mount View Elementary.

The announcement comes from the White Center Community Development Association – you can see the flyer here.

If you don’t check out the White Center Community Development Association‘s website routinely – you should! We just checked in and discovered a couple of new items, including awards won by two WCCDA staffers – executive director Aileen Balahadia and community-building director Virgil Domaoan were honored this past week as Emerging Filipino Leaders. Read all about it (and see photos!) here.

From the White Center Community Development Association website: Feet First is out with its White Center On Foot map – the links are in this WCCDA post.

One week from today’s the big day – check ticket availability at the WCCDA website.

That’s a brand-new flyer for the White Center Community Development Association luau coming up August 29th, 4-8 pm at White Center Heights Park. Island food (an imu-roasted pig!) and entertainment are promised, as money is raised for WCCDA (with an auction, too). Lots more info on the WCCDA site – just go here.

(WCN photo from March)
It’s a followup to the BOOM Youth Summit three months ago – a chance to propose a project, and get funding for it. The deadline’s just been extended – find the details, plus a link to the application, here. (You can see some of what was actually created at the summit itself by checking out this link on the White Center Community Development Association site.)

Noticed this in the blog-format section of the White Center Community Development Association website – a restaurant review about one of WC’s newest eating/drinking places. Photos too. See it here.

Followup to our report earlier this week about White Center Community Development Association getting a $5,000 award from the Seattle mayor’s office, which will be used for business-district branding: The mayor’s office just shared this photo of WCCDA’s Karen Veloria accepting the check from Mayor Nickels at the awards-announcement event in Columbia City yesterday.

This morning in Columbia City, the Seattle mayor’s office is awarding grants to business and community groups from all over Seattle, and one of them is going to the White Center Community Development Association (whose headquarters are on the Seattle side of WC). Congratulations! (P.S. WCCDA has posted even more photos from last weekend’s Spring Clean on its website, plus a big “thank you” to the nearly 400 people who joined in last weekend’s event.) THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The city has released the full list of grant recipients and the amounts; WCCDA’s grant is for $5,000. According to the mayor’s office, WCCDA will use the money for a “business-district-branding campaign.”

Thanks to James Bush from the office of King County Council Chair Dow Constantine for sharing photos from today’s big White Center Cleanup – we also have a reporter covering the cleanup and legislative Town Hall on behalf of White Center Now and West Seattle Blog and will have more later. Above, that’s Constantine welcoming the group just after 9 this morning; next two photos, 34th District Democrats reps hit the street, followed by Constantine pulling weeds:

If you have photos, we’d love to add yours too – whitecenternow@gmail.com – thanks!

Even if you didn’t make the registration deadline, you can still show up tomorrow and pitch in.

Learned via Twitter that White Center Community Development Association (@wccda) is working on a “massive upgrade” to its website. Checked out wccda.org – found Soona Vili‘s personal section, including, most recently, a recipe for a tasty-sounding tropical drink. Check it out here.

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!