The Highline Schools Foundation is now accepting nominations for this year’s Gold Star Awards, which will honor outstanding teachers, staff, administrators and volunteers in the Highline Public Schools.

All members of the school community are invited to nominate their peers, and the deadline for nominations is April 1st.

Winners will receive a cash award and will be honored at the Foundation’s Gold Star Luncheon on May 21st.

Nomination forms will be available through school administrators and on the Foundation’s website: www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org, or you can download the form directly here.

The Gold Star Teacher of the Year will also be eligible to represent the District in the region’s Teacher of the Year contest.

Here’s more info on the May 21st awards luncheon:

Simply titled “ten”, this year’s luncheon is May 21, 2010 at the Double Tree Guest Suites Hotel and will feature programs of HSFFE over the past ten years and the impact we’ve had on the district.  The emcee this year is none other than Highline High Schools famous alumnus Peter Fewing.

Each year, four Gold Star Awards are presented to an outstanding teacher, administrator, classified employee or support staff and volunteer of Highline Public Schools. All members of the district and community are invited to nominate an outstanding individual. Winners receive a cash award and will be honored at the luncheon. The Gold Star Outstanding Teacher will also be eligible to represent the District in the region’s Teacher of the Year contest.  The deadline for nominations is April 1, 2010.

The proceeds from this luncheon support one of our major programs, classroom grants, which enrich the education experience for our students.  We look forward to partnering with you this year and hope to see you at the 10th Annual Gold Star Luncheon!

Please see the links below for more information on becoming a sponsor at this years Gold Star or to download the Nomination form.  For tickets, contact the Foundation Office at (206) 248-5196 or holly@highlineschoolsfoundation.org.

The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence was established in 1999 with the purpose of providing community resources to help Highline Public Schools succeed. We believe that by helping to enrich the classroom and school experience, we can engage students to reach a higher level of learning, and the entire community will benefit. The Foundation is governed by a dedicated group of volunteer Trustees and is the only 501(c)(3) organization supporting all Highline Public Schools. The Foundation strives to be the single point of contact for community members, local and national business, service organizations and other foundations to connect their philanthropic efforts with a single school or the entire district.

If you’re not familiar with the Highline Schools Foundation, here’s a video:

Thousands of Local Boy Scouts are mounting a massive Food Drive beginning this Saturday, March 13th (and concluding next Saturday, March 20th), in one of the largest food collection campaigns ever mounted by troops in the Puget Sound area.

The campaign, called “SCOUTING FOR FOOD,” kicks off this Saturday when Scouts canvas neighborhoods with door-hangers listing the most-needed food items for local food banks.

The Scouts will return next Saturday (March 20th) to pick up donations and deliver them to local food banks.

Record numbers of people are visiting local food banks in the wake of news that Washington state’s unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in January. 373,000 children living in Washington state households struggle to put food on the table, according to Children’s Alliance and USDA reports.  To meet the increased food shortage locally, the Chief Seattle Council is teaming up with the Pacific Harbors Council of Boy Scouts of America making this the largest food collection campaign ever done by them. The two councils represent up to nearly 46,000 Scouting youth participation.

“In these tough economic times the SCOUTING FOR FOOD drive is more important than ever,” says Pat Craven, Boy Scout Spokesman. “Coordinating the two councils for our 2010 Centennial effort means we can help more people.” Craven added, “This drive will allow our Scouts to put into action the Scout Oath by ‘Helping Other People at All Times’.”

“Many families have depleted their resources and find themselves in need for the first time in their lives and our stock is dangerously low,” says Teresa Andrade, Center Manager at Kirkland/Northshore Hopelink. “The SCOUTING FOR FOOD drive by the Boy Scouts makes a huge difference to the people who depend on our help, especially when programs serving Washington’s children have received harsh cuts in state and local funding.”

And speaking of local food banks and fundraisers, don’t forget that there are two major fundraiser events for the Highline Area Food Bank this weekend:

1. Friday night, March 12th, 6pm+: Cove to Clover Pub Crawl starts at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub.
2. Sunday, March 14th, 1pm: Cove to Clover 5k race begins at the Normandy Park Community Center.

The Clarion Hotel in SeaTac will be holding a special St. Patrick’s Day Spaghetti Feed & Auction fundraiser for the Des Moines Area Food Bank next Wednesday, March 17th from 5pm – 8pm at their location at 3000 South 176th Street in SeaTac.

Cost is $10 in advance for adults ($13 at door); Students & Seniors $7; or $25 for a Family Pack.

All proceeds go to the Des Moines Area Food Bank, so come on down, have some good spaghetti and help your hungry neighbors.

Here are the details:

WHAT: St. Patrick’s Day Spaghetti Feed and Auction fundraiser for the Des Moines Area Food Bank.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 17th, 5:00PM-8:00PM.

WHERE: Clarion Hotel, located at 3000 S. 176th St. in SeaTac.

COST: Adults $10 in advance, $13 at door; Students & Seniors $7; Family pack $25.

INFO: Proceeds go to the Des Moines Area Food Bank.

RSVP: Please call 206-676-3742 to RSVP, or click here for more information.

REMINDER: The 6th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival kicks off tonight (Friday, March 5th) with a black-tie “A Night in the Vineyard” gala party starting at 7:30pmat the Landmark Event Center in Des Moines.

Gala tickets are $75 in advance or $85 at the door, and include a buffet catered by Anthony’s HomePort, unlimited wine tasting, and live music by the Steve Ryals Trio and Ed Taylor & TaylorMade, plus free admission to the wine tasting event on Saturday or Sunday. Several premium wines and other exclusive items will be offered at a silent auction.

Sponsored by the Des Moines Rotary Club, this annual wine festival will run through Sunday March 7th at the historic and grand Landmark Event Center (formerly Landmark on the Sound) in Des Moines. Guests will enjoy live jazz and great food while tasting wines from 25 Northwest wineries.

“The wine festival gala is the hottest ticket in town,” says Des Moines Rotary President Lisa Meineke. “Everybody has a great time! People come back year after year. And this year we have new wineries and more wineries than ever before.”

The fun continues on Saturday and Sunday, with more wine tasting, food, and live music. Saturday’s music line-up includes Darren Motamedy and 4th Degree. On Sunday, it’s Rouge and Billet-Deux. Local restaurants and gourmet food vendors will sample breads, cheeses, smoked salmon, chocolates and other fine fare.

Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are just $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Gala tickets are $75 in advance or $85 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Corky Cellars in Des Moines (206-824-9462) or at www.dmrotary.org.

Through the Poverty Bay Wine Festival, the Rotary Club of Des Moines has raised over $150,000 in its five-year history. All proceeds fund a wide variety of charitable projects, including college scholarships, grants to local schools, safety and recreation programs for children, yard projects for elderly residents, support for the local food bank and the homeless, and projects to assist needy people as far away as South Africa and Pakistan.

“People can come to the wine festival to have fun and discover some great wines and feel really good about what they are contributing to the community at the same time,” says wine festival chair Brian Snure. “There are so many needs in our community and in our world right now. What better way to give?”

HOURS:

• Saturday, March 6:  12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• Sunday March 7: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

WINERIES:

• Canyon’s Edge
• Chandler Reach
• Covington Cellars – NEW
• Coyote Canyon Winery – NEW
• Burien’s own E.B. Foote Winery (BTB Advertiser)
• Eaton Hill
• Erin Glenn
• Fall Line
• Five Star Cellars
• Fort Walla Walla Cellars – NEW
• Kestrel – NEW
• Knipprath – NEW
• Masset Winery
• Otis Kenyon
• Page Cellars
• Pondera – NEW
• Sleeping Dog
• Sodo Vino – NEW
• Stina’s Cellar
• Two Vintners – NEW
• Vashon Winery
• Vin du Lac – NEW
• Waving Tree
• Willis Hall
• Windy Point

MUSIC:

• Friday, March 5 (Gala):
  • Steve Ryals Trio , Ed Taylor and TaylorMade
• Saturday, March 6:
  • 12:30-3:00:  Darren Motamedy Duo
  • 3:30-6:30: 4th Degree
• Sunday, March 7:
  • 12:30-2:30: Rouge
  • 3:00-5:00: Billet-Deux

For more information, please visit www.dmrotary.org. We’ll see you there tonight!

Our friends at White Center for the Arts are holding a very unique “Python-A-Thon” fundraiser this Sunday, March 7th, from Noon – 8pm at Big Al Brewing (in White Center), where episodes of the classic “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” TV show will be shown non-stop.

Participants are encouraged to bring potluck food items, dress in costume (lumberjack anyone?), bring penguins to put on the telly, and walk like you’re in the Ministry of Silly Walks, all while donating to a worthy local arts association.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Python-A-Thon” viewing party of classic Monty Python TV episodes to help raise funds for White Center for the Arts.

WHEN: Sunday, March 7th from Noon – 8pm.

WHERE: Big Al Brewing, located at 9832 14th Ave SW; (206) 453-4487 (website here)

INFO: From a poster:

Big Al Brewing Presents Monty Python Video Festival

“Continuing Education”

Earn your letters in Pythonology

Finding it hard to get promoted even though you have a MM- Master of Monty?

Get your Doctor of Pythonology (DP), and silly walk your way to the top!

DP courses in:

• The Arts
  • -Why lumberjacks sing
• Optical Sciences
  • -How not to be seen
• Aeronautics
  • -What makes sheep fly
• Military History
  • -German humor and the demise of the Wehrmacht
• Veterinary Sciences
  • – Learn to determine the difference between “Dead” and “Resting”

And much much more!

If you’re silly enough, you too could become a fully accredited Doctor of Pythonology, capable of answering such puzzling questions as…

• “Why is there a penguin on the telly”?
• “If she’s a go’er why is she with him”?
• And, “Did the Vikings invent spam”?

Classes begin on Sunday, March 7th

First class of the day starts at 12 noon

Location: Go to www.bigalbrewing.com for directions

Extra credit will be given for bringing pot luck and coming to class as your favorite Monty Python character.

To get you in the mood, here’s the classic “Ministry of Silly Walks” sketch:

What better way to prepare for the March 14th “Cove to Clover” 5k fundraiser run than by crawling in the fundraiser Pub Crawl on Friday, March 12th, where participants can feel good about going from pub to pub to help benefit the Highline Area Food Bank?

That’s right – there just isn’t a better way, so be sure to mark your calendars for 6pm+ Friday March 12th for what is sure to make a “great excuse for your poor upcoming performance on Snake Hill, with only one day to recover.”

For a $10 donation, you’ll get a commemorative keepsake bib qualifying you for “crawl” specials (our fave is the $1 bag of chips at the Hobnobber!), along with a passport and a map. Your goal will be to collect visitation stamps on your passport from at least five of the 13 official crawl stops (see the list below, which includes specials at each). Your stamped passport will serve as your entry to the door prize drawing @ 11 pm at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub.

And if this Pub Crawl is anything like the now-legendary Brat Trot one from last October, be prepared for one of the best nights in Burien you’ve ever had; just be sure to have a designated driver or a safe way to get home if you plan to imbibe.

Keep in mind also that you need not drink alcohol at every pub – you can just ask to get your passport stamped!

Here are the details:

WHAT: The 2010 Cove to Clover Pub Crawl fundraiser benefiting the Highline Area Food Bank.

WHEN: Friday, March 12th beginning at 6pm.

WHERE: Starts at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub at 6pm, with an 11pm return time for prize drawings.

COST: $10 donation gets you a commemorative, keepsake bib, which you’ll wear proudly as you “crawl” from pub to pub.

INFO: From the C2C website:

PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!! PRE-PLAN YOUR RIDE HOME OR HAVE A DESIGNATED DRIVER

Enjoy “crawl specials” offered at each official stop.

You can also expect special entertainment on the route.

Collect at least 5 official crawl stamps and you’ll qualify for the door prize drawing at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub @ 11pm. (must be present to win).

All proceeds will benefit the Highline Area Food Bank.

Best Leprechaun Contest: Gift certificates to Mick Kelly’s for 1st ($100), 2nd ($75) and 3rd ($50).

For you Normandy Parkers: Consider riding the free shuttle from Normandy Park’s Archery Bistro. Check in with them (website here) for the schedule and shuttle stops. While they are not an official crawl stop, we understand they will be offering a specials during and prior to the first run into Burien. You can park you car there and let them do the driving. You’ll also be able to purchase an official crawl number at Archery Bistro, in case you decide to make this your launching point.

Here are the 13 designated pub crawl stops – remember, you only have to get stamped at five of ‘em:

Specials:

• $3 Draft beer
• $4.50 House Wine
• Food Special

Specials:

• $2 PBR Tall Boys $2 Bacardi Silver Bottles
• $3 Giant Pizza by the Slice

Entertainment:

• Three Tree Point Blues Band 9P

Specials:

• Free Espresso Shot

Specials:

• Free Wine Taste
• Free Menu Taste

Specials:

• $3 House Beer
• $3 Apps off Happy Hour Menu

FILIBERTO’S

Specials:

• $2 Draft Beer
• 1/2 price Calamari and pizza

Entertainment:

• RLS Band

Specials:

• $2 Budweiser
• $1 Bag of Chips!

Specials:

• $5 House Margarita
• $5 Tacos (3 Beef or Chicken Tacos)

Entertainment:

• Live Mariachi Band at 6:30

Specials:

• $2 beer
• $4 sangiovese
• $1 Pizza slices

Specials:

• Sour Apple Jello Shots $2
• Irish Potato and Banger Stew $3

Entertainment:

• Cornerstone

Specials:

• $3 Alaskan Amber Pints

Specials:

• $2 Irish Nut Brown Ales
• Corned beef sliders

Specials:

• $6 Wine by the Glass

More info available at the Cove Clover Pub Crawl website.

And if you haven’t yet registered for the 5k run, click here.

Burien’s Hospitality House will be holding its Spring Fling Dinner and Boats for Beds Fundraiser on Saturday, March 6th at the Cove in Normandy Park beginning at 6pm.

Located in Burien, Hospitality House is a shelter and place of transition for homeless women in south King County. The Women of Hospitality House are supported by more than 12 local churches and organizations as well as by our local communities. Home-cooked meals are provided 365 days per year by volunteers. With the staff case workers, over 70 women each year develop and work their individual plans to find home, health and hope (see hospitalityhousesouthking.org to learn more).

Richard LeMieux, the author of “Breakfast at Sally’s,” will be the featured speaker, and according to a press release:

”Richard has lived in Washington State since 1981. He ran his own publishing company, producing medical directories and university student directories for 14 years. When his business failed, he lost his livelihood, his home, his possessions, and his wife of 17 years.

Richard was homeless in Bremerton, WA, with his dog, Willow, for a year and a half. He lived in his minivan while writing Breakfast at Sally’s with a second-hand manual typewriter at picnic tables in parks around the city.

While he was homeless, Richard and the other homeless people he portrays in his book regularly visited Sally’s, the soup kitchen at The Salvation Army in Bremerton.”

Today Richard has committed himself to sharing the story of homelessness with people of all backgrounds and of all ages across the country.

A short film about Hospitality House will be premiered at this dinner and a former resident will also be sharing her story.

Three Tree Point Yacht Club will be partnering with Hospitality House to raise funds with Boats for Beds. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase “the boat” or individual seats aboard one of several sailboats. It will be a fun afternoon of racing Saturday, June 26 out of the Des Moines Marina. What better way to celebrate a graduation, Father’s Day, girls’ day out, engagement or anniversary, than as crew, passenger or ballast aboard one of these special sailboats and with this fun-loving community of people? The boats are each photographed and featured on the Hospitalityhousesouthking.org website.

Tickets are available for purchase online at this website.

The Seafair Pirates have commandeered a highly-collectible, $150,000 handcrafted 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and will be auctioning a special Valentine’s Day ride this Saturday to raise money for “Heroes For Heroes,” a fund established for the children of Deputy Kent Mundell, who was killed in December.

This Saturday, Feb. 13th, from 6pm – 11pm, Emerald Downs will be hosting a dinner and benefit auction for this cause. Tickets are only $20.00 for a wonderful dinner and plenty of Piratical Company.

2009 was one of the most devastating years for law enforcement officers in the entire country, especially in the northwest. On Dec. 21st, Deputy Mundell was gunned down, and his partner Nick Hausner was possibly saved by the gunmen’s 16-year old daughter, Bryona Crable.

“Heroes for Heroes” is a nonprofit 501© 3 that has been formed to provide college tuition for all of the children touched by this tragedy – both the police officer’s and the gunman’s.

According to a tribute page website for Mundell:

Deputy Kent Mundell was killed while responding to a domestic violence call in Eatonville.

Deputy Kent Mundell

Mundell and his sergeant had responded to a house where a man was fighting with his daughter and brother. The deputies had convinced the intoxicated man to leave the house when he produced a previously concealed gun and fired ten rounds at the officers.

Despite being wounded, Deputy Mundell returned fire and killed the subject. The suspect’s brother and daughter put themselves at risk to pull the wounded sergeant out of the line of fire by pulling him into another room. Deputy Mundell was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remained on life support in the intensive care unit until succumbing to his wounds seven days later.

Deputy Mundell had served with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for ten years. He is survived by his wife, 16-year-old daughter, and 10-year-old son.

Why the Seafair Pirates? According to a press release:

“Besides being Goodwill Ambassadors for the Pacific Northwest for the last 61 years, several Pirates have been Police Officers.

There have been many memorials and now with the outpouring for Haiti, the Seafair Pirates have joined with Heros for Heros to see that these heroes do not become forgotten.

The Seafair Pirates are out to prove once again, that it really is all about the Kids.

Individually we all can make a difference. Together we can make an impact.”

Emerald Downs is located at 2300 Emerald Downs Drive in Auburn; more info at their website here.

For ticket information or to donate for the auction click here: http://herosforheros.bbnow.org/ or call Sallie Stewart at (253) 468-1101.

More info on the Seafair Pirates is available at their website here.

by Ralph Nichols

Local groups and projects that receive financial support from the Exchange Club of Highline can look forward to a good year despite the lingering recession.

The Exchange Club’s annual spaghetti dinner and auction at St. Bernadette’s School on Jan. 30 “was a huge success!” member Sherrill Miller of BTB Advertiser E.B. Foote Winery told The B-Town Blog.

“Attendance was up over last year,” Miller said, with about 280 people attended the evening event. “Preliminary numbers indicate we made over $30,000” from the dinner with wine, a dessert auction, a raffle, and both silent and live auctions, which also “is more than last year!”

Miller added, “With our annual spaghetti dinner and auction, the funds generated are used to meet the ongoing needs of various community organizations.”

All money raised goes right back into the community, and “will be used to support more than 30 community organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, area food banks, WestSide Baby, Ruth Dykeman Center, local schools, backpacks and school supplies for kids, Crisis Clinic, and many more.”

At their regular meeting on Feb. 3, Exchange Club members said they were pleased with the “festive appearance” of the dining hall, adding that “the food was fantastic” and everyone “had all they wanted to eat.” They reserved special praise for the students who waited on tables.

“Donations (for the auctions) in this down economy were up,” it was reported, and “people already are talking about donating” for next year’s event. The Exchange Club got 285 items for the silent auction and anothe4 38 for the live auction.

The Exchange Club is a national service organization. The Exchange Club of Highline was established in 1961 with the goal of bringing business and community leaders together to support the needs of the Highline community.

Members also volunteer their time to community projects such as working at the White Center Food Bank one Saturday each month.

More information on The Exchange Club of Highline is available at its website here.

The 2nd annual Cove to Clover 5k fundraiser race is coming Sunday, March 14th, and to help stir up excitement and let people know you’re a supporter, race organizers are offering up a limited number of cool car window decals for a $2 donation at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub.

To get yours, just drop into Mick Kelly’s (located at 435 SW 152nd Street in Burien; 206.246.2473) and ask the bartender or server for one. They’re also available now at The Tin Room, Goodie Gumdrops and Emerald City Smoothie (both the Burien and Normandy Park locations).

But act fast, as they’re going quickly.

Your $2 donation will go towards the Highline Area Food Bank, as well as to local area schools. Last year over $12,000 was raised, and this year’s total fundraising goal is $20,000!

We’ve got one on the back of The B-Town Blogmobile™, and we think it looks pretty dang groovy.

If you’re interested in registering to run the Cove to Clover, please click here.

Here’s what to expect this year:

• The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, March 14th at Normandy Park Community Club. The course winds up “snake hill” all the way to the Gregory Heights neighborhood, past St. Francis of Assisi, crosses 152nd street with the finish line in Burien Town Square, where there will be a traditional Irish Festival.
• This challenging course takes its toll on even the most seasoned runners! Two water stops are provided, and racers will be rewarded with music from an Irish Piper when the reach the top of the ominous “snake” hill.
• Again there is a 1-mile Family Race which begins at St. Francis and follows the last of the 5K course.
• NEW: “While You Run” childcare, check your kids in at the Family Race start. Run the first 2 miles of the 5K, check your kids back out to run the Family Race together. Your 5K time will suffer of course.
• NEW: Pub Crawl – Friday March 12th!
• NEW: School Registration Contest! $5 from each registration fee can be donated to the local school of your choice! Just—type in your school’s name at registration–the school with the most registrations will be awarded an additional $1,500! Registrations can track their school’s progress at www.covetoclover.com/schools.
• NEW: School Limerick Contest — A $500 prize will be awarded to the school (or non-profit for non- student entries) who present the winning Limerick! Limerick contest details at www.covetoclover.com/limerick. BTW, we’re working on our own Limerick that starts “There once was a man from B-Town…”
• NEW: Start Line Party – Live Band inside the Normandy Park Cove Building prior to the race so you can warm up dancing to old school rock and roll.
• NEW: Expanded Pre-Race shuttle service from the finish line to the start line.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER:

5k at 1:00pm:

• $30.00 early registration (before Mar. 2nd; $35 after)

Family Race (1 mile) at 1:30 PM:

• $25.00 early registration (before Mar. 2nd; $30 after)

Some other highlights include:

• On-course Irish Pipes
• Irish Entertainment
• 2 Live Bands
• Bigger Beer Garden
• 1-mile Family Race
• Free Hot Dogs for Kids
• Free Root Beer Garden
• Irish Grub

Not a runner? Get involved as a race day volunteer! Please contact John Nelson at jonelson@adobe.com.

As the official web Sponsor of the Cove To Clover race, we’ll be posting more updates soon (including details on the Pub Crawl March 12th!), so be sure to check back often.

More information available at the official Cove to Clover website here.

The Des Moines Area Food Bank is holding a fundraiser Italian Dinner this Saturday, Feb. 13th, beginning at 6:30 pm at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, which is located at 15226 21st Ave SW in Burien.

The Des Moines Area Food Bank serves the city of Des Moines, most of the city of SeaTac and parts of Normandy Park and the West Hill of Kent.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines Food Bank Italian Dinner

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 13th beginning at 6:30pm

WHERE: St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, which is located at 15226 21st Ave SW in Burien

COST: $25 per ticket; call for reservations: (206) 878-2660.

INFO: Here’s what to expect on the menu:

• Antipasto
• Salad
• Penne pasta with red sauce & meatballs
• Coffee
• Tea
• Dessert
• No host bar (beer and wine)

For more information, visit the Des Moines Area Food Bank website: www.myfoodbank.org.

We’re huge fans of the all-girl sk8er team the Rat City Rollergirls, and when we heard that they’re kicking off their 2010 season with a charity fundraiser at Key Arena this Sunday, Jan. 31st, we just had to announce it.

Donation amounts will depend on game outcomes, and the four home teams have chosen to support the following local charities:

• The Throttle Rockets with play for Fisher House, which assists families of military personnel.
• Grave Danger will support OldDog Haven, finding new homes for abandoned senior dogs.
• The Sockit Wenches are skating for Lambert House, a center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning youth that encourages empowerment by developing life and social skills.
• Derby Liberation Front will support Pinup Angels, who send care packages to troops overseas.

Here are the details on the event:

WHAT: Rat City Rollergirls charity fundraiser bout.

WHEN: Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the game starts at 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: KeyArena in lower Queen Anne.

INFO: The Rat City Rollergirls now have a dedicated entrance for our season ticket holders – enabling them to score the best seats! Doors on the East side of KeyArena will open for season ticket holders at 2:15pm.

Visit www.ratcityrollergirls.com for more information on the 2010 season.

Founded in April 2004, Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, (RCRG) is Seattle’s (and the Northwest’s) first flat track, all-female roller derby league. RCRG is composed of about 100 member-owners, who are divided among four teams:

• Derby Liberation Front
• Grave Danger
• Sockit Wenches
• Throttle Rockets

RCRG’s fifth team, the Rat City Rollergirls All-Stars, is composed of the best players from the four home teams, who represent RCRG in regional and national play.

Also, be on the lookout next week for a video we’ll be shooting at Sunday’s bout.

Burien’s annual “Empty Bowls” fundraiser for the Highline Area Food Bank is coming to Moshier Community Art Center Friday, Jan. 29th, with both a lunch and dinner serving, along with one-of-a-kind original bowls handcrafted by area Potters.

This is always a great, fun and fulfilling event involving great food, art and fundraising for Burien’s hungry, and you can bet The B-Town Blog will be there.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Empty Bowls” fundraiser for the Highline Area Food Bank

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 29th:

• 11am – 2pm: Lunch
• 4pm – 8pm: Dinner

WHERE: Moshier Community Art Center, located at 430 South 156th, Burien

COST: Just $10 donation, which will get you both a good solid meal AND a work of art in the form of a beautiful handmade bowl!

INFO: From their flier:

JOIN US FOR A MEAL AND HELP FIGHT HUNGER IN OUR COMMUNITY!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Lunch served 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

Dinner served 4:00-8:00 PM

Moshier Community Art Center, 430 S 156th, Burien

$10 (minimum) Donation

Proceeds to benefit Highline Food Bank

Moshier Community Art Center Potters have teamed up with the Highline Food Bank and Discover Burien to bring you Empty Bowls 2010. Empty Bowls events can be found around the country raising money to combat hunger in our communities. Potters have donated bowls to be filled with soup at this fun event…all are invited!

Your $10 (minimum) donation will get you the opportunity to pick out a beautiful handmade bowl, as well as a simple but wonderful meal of soup, bread, dessert and drink; all donated by local businesses. 90% of proceeds go to the Highline Food Bank, which serves over 750 area families per month, and 10% will go to provide art programming for low income youth.

www.MoshierArtCenter.org or phone: (206) 988-3700

Here’s a video we shot at least year’s event, where over 800 participants helped raise over $10,000 (let’s break that record this year!):

The Burien / Normandy Park Fire Department has done a holiday outreach program for over 25 years, and Tuesday morning (Dec. 22nd), they set out with Santa in their shiny fire trucks to make their annual delivery to 59 local families in need.

Local firefighters receive family names from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services office, then provide each one with a nice turkey dinner as well as stuffing, pies and other assorted food.

Each family also receives several toys and gifts for each child, as well as gift cards to Fred Meyer for each teenager 13-17.

One hundred percent of all donations are returned to the community and all donations are distributed locally.

“Contributions were down a bit this year,” said Doug Leudeman of Fire District #2. “And while we had enough gifts to give out, we could certainly use more cash donations to help offset some of the costs.”

Cash donations are still being accepted at the Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department Headquarters Station, located at 15100 8th Ave SW; phone: (206) 242-2040; website: www.burienfire.org.

Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture this Photo Slideshow:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

The Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department is seeking help for their annual “Light Up The Holidays” outreach program for needy families in the area.

Donations of food or toys are being accepted at the locations listed below through Dec. 18th.

All will go directly to needy families in the area.

Christmas Outreach Drop-off locations include:

• Burien Fire Department – 15100 8th Ave SW & 135 S Normandy Rd.
• North Highline Fire Department – 1243 SW 112th & 1606 S 128th
• Highline Medical Center – 16251 Sylvester Rd SW ∙ 12844 Military Rd S ∙ 13030 Military Rd S
• Burien Toyota – 15025 1st Ave S & 139 SW 150th
• Burien Chevrolet – 14400 1st Ave S
• Albertsons – 15840 1st Ave S & 12725 1st Ave S
• YB Tubless/Economy Wiring – 633 SW 148th
• Frenzi – 218 SW 153rd
• Boulevard Park Place Seniors Center – 2805 S 125th
• Curves – 17824 1st Ave S
• Breaktime – 635 SW 152nd
• Page 2 Books – 15706 1st Ave S
• Collins Chiropractic – 619 SW 152nd St.
• Dooley’s – 611SW 152nd St.

Christmas Outreach Sponsors include:

• Sylvester Middle School
• North Highline FD
• Highline Exchange Club
• Plush Pippin Pies
• Burien Town Square
• DSHS
• Burien/Normandy Park FD

The Highline Historical Society is holding an online auction fundraiser, which runs until Tuesday, Dec. 15th, and offers local restaurants, foods, trips and unusual experiences – all perfect gifts for the holidays, all the while supporting a great local cause.

You can access the auction here:

www.highlinehistory.cmarket.com.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the ongoing programs and activities of the Society, including their capital building campaign for the new Highline Heritage Museum on their property in “Old Burien.”

“We cannot thank our local vendors enough for their participation. I encourage everyone to take a look at the website and support the Society by bidding on something fun for the holidays,” said Terry Anderson, Society President.

The new Highline Heritage Museum, designed by Rohleder Borges Architects, will be located on the Southwest corner of SW 152nd Street and Ambaum Blvd. SW, where Karuna Yoga Arts is currently housed.

The online auction is hosted by cMarket, which is the country’s leading provider of non-profit online auction services. On any day there are as many as 200 cMarket auctions underway online nationwide. With their secure servers and a growing number of community-minded vendors, more and more shoppers are finding that this is an excellent way to shop close to home for the holidays and to also assist a worthwhile local charity.

by Mark Neuman

All of us at The B-Town and White Center Blogs would like to offer a huge Turkey Day “thank you” to everyone who donated this past weekend at our 2nd Annual Turkey ‘N’ Diapers Drive at Albertsons in White Center.

Over $800 in donations was collected!

The food items will be distributed to those in need by the White Center Food Bank.

Baby related items will go to WestSide Baby, located in White Center.

Team leader Bart Bryan, who often hosts “Whaddaya Think?” on our six neighborhood blogs said “It was very, very cold weatherwise, but the hearts of our neighbors were warm.”

Example: two men, both fighting cancer, arrived three hours apart and, not knowing each other, donated food. Each did so with giving smiles.

One of the most touching moments of the day was when an elderly man donated all he could – 24 cents.

A Sarah Palin look-alike stopped by and contributed food.

A casino dealer set his 52 cards down and gave away a box of 168 diapers.

A grandmother waved and left a grocery bag of pasta and sauce.

A man named “Joe,” who did not want his picture taken, gave four bags of Top Ramen for “starving college students.”

Darla Green, from Skin Perfect Aesthetics in Burien, was the first donor of the day, bringing in a paper bag full of canned goods.

Mike, from an up and coming spot in White Center called Proletariat Pizza, donated three pizzas for the volunteers.

We’d also like to give a big shout out to the good folks at the White Center Albertsons!

Thanks, everyone!

WestSide Baby is a nonprofit organization that collects previously-owned items for children and babies and distributes them free of charge to South King County families in need.

In 2008 WestSide Baby served more than 12,000 children.

In any given month the White Center Food Bank serves over 1,500 families.

Here’s contact information:

White Center Food Bank
10829 8th Ave SW
Seattle WA 98146
www.whitecenterfoodbank.org
Phone: 206-762-2848

And:

WestSide Baby
10032 15th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146
(206) 767-1662
www.westsidebaby.org

Here’s a Photo Slideshow shot by Mark Neuman and Scott Schaefer of the day:

Click to View Our Photo Slideshow

by Ralph Nichols

While the number of families seeking help from the Highline Area Food Bank in Burien increased by 17 percent during the first six months of 2009, food donations are down by more than 30 percent.

“In this recession, we’re hurt the most by the lack that kind of giving,” said Mike Werle, executive director of the Highline Food Bank. “At every food drive for the past year and a half, the poundage of donated food has been going down.”

Werle notes that 380 pounds of food were donated during Prudential’s food drive in Burien on Oct. 1, compared to 780 pounds last year.

Yet, he adds, “We’re doing better than some food banks.”

This fall, the Highline Area Food Bank has been serving about 850 families a month.

Located at 18300 4th Ave South, the bank distributes food to clients on Tuesdays from 12 to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The value of donated food distributed last year topped $1,042,980. Food donations come from supermarkets, smaller stores and food outlets, and individual donors. Day-old and damaged goods come from:

• Fred Meyer
• Safeway
• Albertson’s
• Three Starbucks
• Little Ceasar’s
• Mud Bay pet store
• Bartell Drug in Burien
• QFC in Normandy Park
• Safeway and Gai’s Bakery in SeaTac

In addition to financial donations from individuals, businesses and churches, the food bank receives grants from federal, state and city governments, King County, United Way, and FEMA.

Financial donations, which Werle said “are way up” even as food donations are down, are essential to the food bank’s mission. “The purchase of food is essential to our ability to give out a nutritionally balanced unit of service to our clients.”

The Highline Area Food Bank serves clients north of 192nd Street and south of 116th Street, from Pacific Highway/International Boulevard/Military Road west to Puget Sound. Of those served, 42 percent are adults, 18 percent are seniors, 38 percent are children, and 2 percent are infants to age 2.

Clients come from Burien (65%), SeaTac (20.5%), Normandy Park (4.5%), and unincorporated King County (4%). Six percent say they are homeless.

The food bank negotiated a 25-year lease at its present facility, the former Manhattan Community Center, which Werle calls “a heck of a deal.” It opened there in 1996 and since has added 40-foot and 20-foot insulated containers and a 12 foot by 24 foot walk-in cooler and freezer for an on-site storage capacity of about 60,000 pounds of food.

“On average,” he says, “we go through 50,000 to 65,000 pounds of food a month.

The large storage capacity gives the Highline food bank the ability to accept large donations and then give some to other food banks if they can’t use all of some items.

Werle says Highline and other area food banks adopted in 2001 a list of foods, which was reviewed and revised slightly by nutritionists from the University of Washington, to provide clients a “standard minimum unit of service.”

Clients self-select from a standard list of items at the food bank, with the variety depending on what has been donated. Once a month their minimum unit includes milk, meat, peanut butter, cereal, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, rice, beans and Jell-o.

Once a week they can get fresh fruits and vegetables, potatoes and onions, bread and other baked goods, baby food, nutritional supplements – and pet food when it’s been donated.

For Thanksgiving and Christmas, which Werle describes as “special giving,” more than 400 families will be served before each day with holiday foods as well as some of the regular food items that are distributed.

At Christmas, donated toys will be given to the children of clients at the John Knox Presbyterian Church fellowship hall in Normandy Park.

After the holidays, he says, “the need continues,” but donations decline sharply from early January until May, when the U.S. Postal Service holds its annual carrier food drive at “the best time of year for that to happen.”

In addition to providing food for clients in need, the Highline Area Food Bank also serves new people from outside the area for that day and refers them to the food bank closest to their home, helps people sign up for DSHS services and rental and energy assistance.

Twice a month, a United Way worker comes in to help them sign up for food stamps and summer nutritional programs for kids.

There’s no question that the Highline Area Food Bank could use some help this season; here’s how YOU can lend a hand:

• Send checks made out to Highline Area Food Bank and mail to:

Highline Area Food Bank
P.O. Box 66427
Burien, WA 98166

(you can also place checks into the drop box located at the Normandy Park QFC)

• Drop by the Burien Albertsons any Saturday or Sunday between 10am and 2pm and buy some “Turkey Bucks,” which come in $1, $5 and $10 denominations. Turkey Bucks are converted in to actual, hot Complete Holiday Meals for people in the Highline community to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day (which, by the way, is Thursday Nov. 26th).

• Drop non-perishable food off at Page2Books (15706 1st Ave South; 206-248-7248‎) which delivers to the Food Bank every Tuesday. Also, on Saturday (Nov. 14th) they are donating ALL proceeds from their $1 Book Cart to the Food Bank.

• Come to The B-Town Blog’s “Food Bank Blog Party” on Tuesday night, Dec. 8th at The Tin Room in Olde Burien! Stay tuned for more details soon…

For more information, visit the food bank’s website here.

Three big Burien events coming up – the annual Spring Art Walk, Plant Sale and “Cards for a Cause” on Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9th.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Annual Spring Art Walk and Plant Sale and “Cards for a Cause” Play Texas Hold’em, roulette and blackjack tournament.

WHEN: Friday, May 8th from 6pm to 8pm and Saturday, May 9th from 10am to 5pm; “Cards for a Cause” is from 3pm to 8pm Sat. May 9th.

WHERE: The stroll and plant sale will center on SW 152nd Street between 6th Avenue SW and 10th Avenue SW in downtown and Olde Burien. Maps will be available at the information booth on SW 152nd at 9th Avenue SW. Balloons will mark activity sites.”Cards for a Cause” will be at Karuna Yoga Studio.

INFO: Revel in local culture during Burien’s annual spring art walk and plant sale

Relish the culinary and visual arts, court Lady Luck at a charity casino and discover that perfect garden plant during Burien’s annual Spring Stroll Art Walk and Bloomin Burien Plant Sale on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9.

During the Spring Stroll from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 9, savor the work of talented area artists, from jewelry artisans to watercolorists, plus
local food, wine, beer and arts-related activities. While many activities and samples are free, some involve a small charge. A sneak preview and reception is slated from 6 to 8 p.m. May 8.

Among the fine wine and beer explorations are samples of Abundance Vineyards bottlings at Poggi Bonsi Cucina and summer beers at the Mark Restaurant & Bar. For a $5 fee, experience affordable new Washington State wines at Vino Bello Wine Bar from noon to 9 p.m., with blues guitarist JD Hobson live at 5 p.m.

Check out offerings from Burien food-related businesses including Hey Paison!, where strollers can browse owner Ronnie Santone’s Frank Sinatra art collection while eating.

Take the kids to Goodie Gumdrops to sample sodas and indulge their inner artist with arts and crafts activities. Follow up with ice cream tasting at B-Town Scoop.

Refurbish the garden with finds from the Bloomin’ Burien Plant Sale May 8 and May 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Olde Burien Retail Group tables will be packed with bedding plants, and proceeds from sales help pay for the stroll. For new and unusual plants, head to Grassroots Home and Garden.

The Olde Burien Retail Group and Marketing Innovations are producing the stroll, which is sponsored by Karuna Yoga Studio and the Celtic
Prayer Center, and the plant sale.

For more information, call 206-941-7199 or go to www.shopoldeburien.com.

In conjunction with the stroll, Soroptimist International of Seattle South is hosting Cards for a Cause, a casino to benefit local women’s charities.

Registration is required only for the Texas Hold’em tournament.

For information, go to http://event.pingg.com/Cards4Acause.

3 Wishes Boutique, located at 929 SW 152nd in Olde Burien, is holding a fundraiser for the YWCA’s “Dress for Success” program, and is asking residents to bring in clothing they no longer wear to donate to disadvantaged women.

Here are the details:

WHAT: 3 Wishes Boutique’s “Dress for Success” clothing drive fundraiser for disadvantaged women.

WHEN: Now through May 15th; Hours: Mon.: Fri. 10am – 6pm • Sat.: 10am – 6pm • Sun: 12pm – 5pm

WHERE: 3 Wishes Boutique is located at 929 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien (map below); (206) 248-3332; email: 3wishesboutique@gmail.com

INFO: Here’s some info from 3 Wishes:

It’s Spring and time to clean out your closets and drawers! Let us help! Bring in clothing you longer wear and receive a certificate for 15% OFF your next purchase of regular price merchandise!

Sound interesting? Here are the details:

Bring in at least 3 clean, gently used pieces of clothing (dresses, skirts, tops, pants, jackets)

We will donate the items to “Dress for Success” in downtown Seattle.

You will receive a certificate for 15% OFF the total value of your next purchase of regular price merchandise.

Donations will be accepted through Friday, May 15th. The certificate can be used through May 31st, 2009. The discount applies to the total value of your purchase of regularly priced merchandise only (does not apply to sale items).

Come join the fun! Save money and lend a helping hand!

About Dress for Success® Seattle:
YWCA Dress for Success® Seattle promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Dress for Success Seattle is part of the national Dress for Success network, which provides interview suits, confidence boosts and career development services to more than 45,000 women in over 79 cities each year.

Locally, DFSS and the YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County have teamed up to bring these important services to women in need. Since March 2003, DFSS is housed at the YWCA building located in downtown Seattle at the corner of Fifth & Seneca.

Looking good means feeling good. And when you feel good about yourself, that confidence shines through to others…including prospective employers.
In addition to helping clients train for and find jobs through various employment programs, the YWCA also offers Clothing Services to help individuals get the right look for job interviews, office work and more.

We help women entering the workforce after years as stay-at-home-moms, women moving from welfare to work, domestic violence survivors forging new lives, homeless women working towards self-sufficiency and residents of emergency shelters.

Touching Lives:

Janet, age 48:

When Janet left an abusive marriage of 17 years to establish a new life for her and her children in Washington, she was scared, but ready to start building a new, safe life for herself and her family. But just as she began to regain her footing, unfortunate circumstances derailed her career, and she lost her home.

Undeterred, she attended and completed a computer training course offered by a women’s employment program. She was then referred to Dress For Success® Seattle where she received both a new interview outfit and the self-esteem boost that played a key role in finding and securing her new job. “It just filled me with the confidence I needed.”

She views her DFSS experience as a blessing to be shared, saying, “I’ve seen that there is a fine thread of human care and compassion…I want to carry that forward and share it with others. That is what success is.”

…Making a real difference

More info available at the YWCA’s Dress for Success website.

View Larger Map

by Janet Grella

To Celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, local resident Maureen Hoffmann organized a “clothing swap” party at her Burien home, where numerous area women donated unused clothing.

Burien city councilmember Sally Nelson and BTB Sales Diva Janet Grella were among the 14 women who swapped clothes, shoes and accessories. The left over clothes were delivered to two local charities over the past two days – Hospitality House and Community Clothing Closet.

On Monday, clothes were delivered to Hospitality House Executive Director Natalie Reber and case worker Judy Allman. Natalie asked that if BTB readers want to donate clothes or personal items to its residents to call first (206-242-1860) or donate to the Community Clothing Closet.

The shelter is housed at the Lake Burien Presbyterian Church, located at 15003 14th Ave SW.

Since opening its doors in October 2000, Hospitality House has been assisted by more than 500 individual volunteers who have received orientation in the causes of homelessness and how to relate to women who would be housed in the shelter. In the past 8 years over 500 single homeless women have been helped. Typically at the end of the program, about 80% move into permanent housing.

In 2008, the House provided 2,710 bed nights for 84 homeless women of South King County. They also revamped their strategic goals and named Natalie Executive Director. Natalie has had extensive experience working with non-profit and political organizations and is deeply committed to social justice.

Maureen took a carload of clothes to the Community Clothing Closet, located at Hope Christian Fellowship  on Sunday March 22nd. On Sundays, anyone can walk in, get a meal and gather clothes that they need, for free. The Community Clothing Closet is a church-based outreach program that helps needy Burien-area individuals and families.

They are currently seeking volunteers to help – if you live in the Burien or surrounding communities and have a desire to serve the needy.give ‘em a hand!

More info at: www.hope-christian.net.

The Community Clothing Closet is located at 623 SW 143rd Street in Burien. If you care to donate gently used items drop them by Sundays between 3 and 5pm.

“What a great way of having a party,” Maureen told us, “enjoying laughter, conversation and a bite to eat…getting some “new” clothes and shoes…and providing a lot of very nice clothes to other women! We had four hanging racks of clothes, shelves and piles of folded items, shoes hither and yon and an accessories corner. Everyone seemed to go home with a few new treasures.”

800 people raised over $10K for the Highline Food Bank at last Friday's "Empty Bowls" fundraiser, held at the Moshier Arts Center.

Gina Kallman, Cultural Arts Supervisor for Burien Parks emailed us this great news – last Friday’s “Empty Bowls” fundraiser for the Highline Area Food Bank brought in 800 diners and raised $10,613!

Here’s some snippets from her email:

In four short years we have created an amazing community event that this year brought in 800 people and raised $10,613.00 for the Highline Food Bank!!

A big thank you to:

• Debra George and the Mark Restaurant who did an amazing job procuring all the food and paper products and baked 1,200 cookies!
• Moshier potters who made over 1,200 bowls
• Puget Sound Skills Center students for baking 1,200 yummy rolls and soup too
• Burien’s generous businesses for donating 75 gallons of great soup
• Moshier studio artists for moving their spaces to give us space for the event
• Burien Little Theatre for the decorations
• Discover Burien for printing the posters
• Jini O’ Flynn for her lovely harp music
• And last, but definitely not least, all of you, our wonderful volunteers, who cleaned, served, greeted, organized, photographed, heated, took money, washed bowls, and more to make the event run so smoothly!

And if you didn’t see it already, here’s a video we put together with some highlights from Friday’s lunch crowd:

The Burien/White Center Rotary Club will host their 2nd Annual Casino Night & Auction at the Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College (map below) on Saturday, February 7th at 4:30pm.

Tickets are $65 per person or $600 for a table of 10.

This event is the organization’s primary fundraiser for the year and helps them support several local nonprofit organizations such as:

• Highline Area Food Bank
  
• White Center Food Bank
• Westside Baby
• The Hi-Liners
• Miss Burien Pageant
• Highline Hospital Foundation
• YMCA
• New Futures
• Many others

To donate an auction item or to purchase a ticket please call Rick Jump at 206.351.6739.

To be included in the catalog items must be received by January 29th.

View Larger Map

Story & Photos by Janet Grella

On Wednesday Dec. 10th, I left the BTB offices on 10th SW to visit the Digital Print Center at Bartell Drugs in their new location in Burien. I had already been schooled on how to make my own custom-made Christmas cards by a very knowledgeable associate the day before.

I was delighted to find the Salvation Army and KOMO 1000 News collecting new toys outside of the Burien Bartells location:

After designing our Christmas card, I conducted an interview with Bartell’s Ad and Marketing Manager Jennifer Kupka and Major Kathy Sargent of the Salvation Army.  I learned that this is the sixth year that Bartell Drugs has teamed with a number of media outlets and the ‘Army’ to collect Toys for the Giving Tree.

How exciting it was to have KOMO 1000 News’ tent outside of Burien’s very own Bartells, mostly because it was the only Baretells location selected for the massive toy drive by KOMO and the Salvation Army.  All 50+ Bartell locations are collecting toys, however.

In an all-day event in front of Bartells, by 4:30pm, three large barrels had been collected, and the fourth was filled to capacity.  Plus there were cash donations in the familiar red bucket. Also collecting toys and cash were KOMO’s Morning News Anchor Bill Yeend and Account Executive Barbara Ross.

According to www.bartellsdrugs.com, the Salvation Army Toy ‘N’ Joy Giving Tree takes place from Nov. 20th to Dec. 17th, where Bartell Drugs has teamed up with the Salvation Army to collect new, unwrapped toys for needy children from age 0-17.  The collected toys, according to Major Kathy Sargent of the Salvation Army, will be distributed in the Salvation Army’s “toy warehouse,” held at Qwest Exhibition Center on December 18 from 9AM to 6PM.  Parents/guardians of children who have signed up will be able to go shopping to select gifts for their children.

Bartells wants to thank all of their customers for helping put smiles on over 3,000 children’s faces at Christmas time.

by Janet Grella

Burien/Normandy Park Fire Department’s Lt. Inspector John Zilke is at it again!

As in years past, John is coordinating the very large and important Christmas Outreach Program in the Burien and White Center areas. Our very own Burien Fire Department (King County Fire District 2, Burien & Normandy Park) has been helping needy families during the holidays for over 20 years.

This translates to thousands of families enjoying a happy holiday because of Burien’s generosity.

This year, with the help of the White Center DSHS, 73 local needy families have been identified to be recipients of Burien’s largess.  Thirteen local businesses have volunteered to be drop-off locations and are accepting NEW toys, canned food, gift cards and cash.  Thanks to both our local Fred Meyer and your cash donations, each family will also receive a turkey dinner.

All donations must be made by the morning of December 22. Upon final collection, John and our firefighters match the gifts with the families’ needs at Sunnydale School, where they will be loaded up and delivered by Santa Claus and others on December 23.

To help out our fire department, eleven departments within Highline Medical Center have each adopted one family. Sylvester Middle School students and teachers will be conducting in-school food drives as part of this community effort.

John knows that this is a particularly tough year to ask for donations, but adds. “Your donations bring light to the holidays for a needy family.”

Following are the local businesses where you can donate to the Christmas Outreach Program:

• Albertson’s—15340 1st Ave S. & 12725 1st Ave S.
• Boulevard Park Place Seniors Community—2805 S. 125th
• Burien Fire Department—15100 8th Ave. SW & 135 S. Normandy Rd.
• Burien Chevrolet—1440 1st Ave S.
• Burien Toyota—15025 1st Ave S. & 139 SW 150th St.
• Collins Chiropractic—619 SW 152nd
• Curves—17824 1st Ave S.
• Dooley’s General Store—625 SW 152nd
• Frenzi—218 SW 153rd
• North Highline Fire Department—1243 SW 112th & 1606 S. 128th
• Highline Medical Center—16252 Sylvester Rd SW
• Highline Medical Center—Riverton Campus 12844 Military Rd. S, & 23030 Military Rd
• North Highline Fire Department—1243 SW 112th & 1606 S. 128th
• Red Apple Market—96th & Des Moines Memorial Dr.
• YB Tubless/Economy Wiring—633 SW 148th

The Seafair Pirates not only have the ability to scare the livin’ bejesus out of any B-Towner, they also have the ability to help needy families, especially during this time of year.

That’s why they’ve brought in their Holiday Treasure Chests to the following two Olde Burien businesses, where they’ll be on display and awaiting donations until Wednesday, Dec. 24th:

• Dan the Sausageman’s shop, located at 923 SW 152nd Street
• Goodie Gumdrops Toy Shop, located at 816 SW 152nd Street

Generous B-Towners can donate:

• Non-perishable food items (cans, boxes, etc.)
• Toys

Text from the Seafair Pirate’s P-Arrrrgh:

While we’re a notoriously scurvy bunch, we Pirates have big hearts and simply can’t stand the thought that there will be children that wake up Christmas morning with nothing to open. With that in mind, in 1996, we began the Holiday Treasure Chest program.

We discovered that far too many families were going without a Christmas because they were unable to find assistance. The Seafair Pirates heard the need, and met the challenge to help these deserving folks. That is how our program was born.

Since the creation of our program, with the help of local businesses and “Pirate Santa’s” throughout the community, we have served thousands of individual families; have provided countless tons of food and goods to local service providing charities and distributed tens of thousands of new gifts to children throughout the Puget Sound region.

We distribute throughout the Puget Sound area. We are constantly on the lookout for donated warehouse space as the holidays approach. As soon as we have established a “home base”, we begin filling it with our collections from the community and the purchases that we make. We create two areas within the warehouse. One holds the “treasures” where our clients can come and choose gift s for their children and the other holds our foodstuffs.

The families will receive enough food for the holidays and countless days after the holidays have passed. With greater resources and more diligence, we know that we could have served an even greater number of deserving families. For this reason, we have begun our eff orts even earlier this year. We began organizing immediately following the Torchlight Parade and are currently accepting donations as well as taking names of individuals interested in volunteering. In order to make this program a success we spend countless hours acquiring the necessary goods and funds. It doesn’t end there however. If at all possible, we spend individual time speaking with each family and ascertain their needs. If we find that there is a special request, we will network within the community to fulfill it if at all possible.

We need to give credit where credit is due, and thank you for the role you play in making our program possible. We would not be able to continue our work without your kindness and generosity. You are truly a tribute to compassion and we value each and every one of you.

Our “Turkeys N’Diapers” Fundraiser Saturday (Nov. 22nd) was a resounding success, with an impressive final tally of $1,170 in cash and food/baby item donations raised for the White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby.

All of us here at the B-Town and White Center Blogs send a huge THANKS to everyone who helped out!

Some details:

• Cash & checks donated: $201.00
• Food donations: huge rush at the end, with folks bringing shopping carts full of food; total # of food items donated approx. 606lbs (between 400-500 cans/packages) from Thanksgiving food items to soup to sugar to marshmallows and more – equal to $969 worth of food!
• $1,170 total donations for the day!

If you’d like to donate to the White Center Food Bank, you can do so directly online here anytime.

To donate to WestSide Baby, please click here.

We know that many hungry neighbors in the Burien/White Center areas will most certainly be thankful, and this couldn’t have been done without our loyal and generous Readers!

Our “Turkeys N’Diapers” fundraiser ends at 4pm today, and so far we’ve raised over $400 in both cash and food donations for both the White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby!

Here’s a little video shot by Mark Neuman and featuring Bart “On the Street” Bryan as pitchman, along with BTB friend Steve Costanzo and Rick Jump of the White Center Food Bank:

Some details:

• Our donation table is in front of store doors
• We’re there until 4pm, so come on down!

View Larger Map

Just a reminder to everyone that tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 22nd) is our first-ever “Turkeys N’ Diapers” holiday fundraiser for both the White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby!

It will take place from 11am to 4pm at the White Center Albertsons, which is located at 10616 16th Avenue SW in White Center (map below).

We’ll be accepting food donations, diapers and baby items, etc. as well as cash and check donations to benefit hungry and needy Burien and White Center families who are served by the White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby.

These are wonderful non-profit groups that help people, year round, who could really use a hand.

We are kindly asking for the following donations, which can be purchased at Albertsons (or elsewhere) and left with our crew outside the front door:

• Turkeys and Hams (or Tofurkey, etc.)
• Chicken or Turkey Broth
• Gravy Mixes
• Stuffing Mixes
• Fruit Cocktail
• Whole Olives
• Jello or Pudding Mixes
• Canned Pumpkin
• Canned Cranberry Sauce
• Condensed or Evaporated Milk
• Canned vegetables
• Canned yams or sweet potatoes
• $5 or $10 gift certificates to Albertsons
• …and Diapers and other baby items (formula, baby wipes, etc.), of course!

Cash and check donations are also welcome.

See you there!

View Larger Map

The staffers from both the White Center and B-Town Blogs look forward to seeing as many of our readers and neighbors as possible on Saturday, Nov. 22nd at the White Center Albertsons for a special Thanksgiving-related fundraising drive.

It’ll run from 11am to 4pm.

Albertson’s is located at 16th Avenue SW and SW 106th Street, White Center.

We’ll be collecting turkeys and diapers (yes, that’s correct: turkeys and diapers!)

And stuffing and canned vegetables and other Thanksgiving-related food items.

And baby blankets and strollers and high chairs.

The folks at the White Center Food Bank will make available the food (as they do year round) to nearby families in need.

The Food Bank works hand-in-hand with WestSide Baby, a nonprofit organization that collects previously owned items for children and babies and distributes them free of charge to South King County families in need.

In 2007 WestSide Baby served more than 7,000 children.

As always, at any time, here’s how to contact the Food Bank:

White Center Food Bank
10829 8th Ave SW
Seattle WA 98146
www.whitecenterfoodbank.org
Phone: 206-762-2848

You can also donate online directly here.

WestSide Baby:

WestSide Baby
10032 15th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146
(206) 767-1662
www.westsidebaby.org

View Larger Map

The folks at the new Normandy Park Towne Center tell us that their Grand Opening will be Saturday and Sunday Dec. 13th and 14th, with a Winterfest theme.

Here’s their press release:

Normandy Park Towne Center is proud to announce the Grand Opening of their new building, built by local developer McKittrick Real Estate Group.  Housing tenants such as nutritious (& yet still tasty) vendor Emerald City Smoothie, old favorite hamburger-maker Herfy’s, and Café Mia, a lovely Italian themed restaurant with its own pizza oven, bakery, wine & coffee bar; this addition to the Normandy Park neighborhood promises to be well received.  In addition, NPTC houses the offices of McKittrick Real Estate Group, as well as the local non-profit, the Hear See Hope Foundation.

To introduce the new tenants to the community, Normandy Park Towne Center is hosting a community-wide Winterfest on December 13th & 14th from 10am to 3pm. Be sure to mark your calendars as you will not want to miss out on this festive holiday event that includes a little something for everyone:

• Baked goods offered by Café Mia
• Specially priced Smoothies from Emerald City Smoothie
• Local entertainment from The Hi-Liners, Momentum Music & Dance Academy, TeenSounds, YouthSounds, & KidSounds Northwest Choirs
• Special visits from Rudolf, Frosty and their friends
• Story time and sing-a-long with Mrs. Claus
• Professional holiday photos taken with our Special Guest, Santa Claus!

Yes, Santa Claus truly is coming to “Towne” to partner with the Hear See Hope Foundation to raise awareness about Usher syndrome. Created in 2004 to as a response to the diagnosis of their eldest son Conner, Todd & Lane McKittrick created Hear See Hope as a means to raise funds to support research looking to find a cure.  Four years later, their fourth son, Dalton, was born with Usher as well. Usher syndrome is the leading cause of deaf-blindness in the world. Those with Usher syndrome are born profoundly deaf, and lose their vision by their teenage years. To date, Hear See Hope has raised approximately $850,000, and will not stop until a cure is found.

NPTC is continuing to look for local entertainment that would make the event even better. If you have an idea, let us know by emailing us at info@mckittrickre.com. We will contact you once your information is received. No matter what, plan on joining in on the fun at Normandy Park Towne Center!

Located in-between the City of Des Moines and the City of Burien, Normandy Park Towne Center can be found at 19803 1st Ave South in Normandy Park.

Directions and more information on the development can be found at www.normandyparktc.com.

See you “around Towne”!

Here’s an informational video about the Hear See Hope Foundation:

We got an email from Hope Kerkof, Public Relations Director for Burien-based The Giving Zone, announcing a new fundraiser:

Due to the current economic crisis, many of America’s soldiers will not be able to afford to come home for the holidays.

The Giving Zone, a Burien-based nonprofit organization, is launching Operation Home for the Holidays, which is seeking people to donate airline miles or credit card rewards to help these soldiers come home.

Monte Regier, Executive Director of The Giving Zone, explains, “Watching the economic crisis daily on the news, it very apparent the military families, our soldiers, will be hit the hardest this holiday season. Therefore, the reason for launching Operation Home for the Holidays. We at the Giving Zone, already being an airline miles and credit rewards donation portal for charities, are in the perfect position to make a difference for our American Heroes. We are asking for America’s help. Even though main street has been hit hard in their pocketbooks, they can still make a difference and help our soldiers thru donating their airline miles.”

The Giving Zone is a global reward incentive trading portal where dollars, points and miles earned as incentives from air travel, hotel, credit card purchases and other incentive programs can be donated to Giving Zone’s registered projects. The Giving Zone is helping charities around the world ranging from food banks, homeless shelters, orphanages, medical research, national disaster relief projects, abuse shelters, missionaries, and many more.

Your airline miles and credit card reward points can be converted to cash equivalent for charities. Although this is a time cumbersome process for individual charities to do on their own, the Giving Zone is a mega website where non-profit organizations can be listed and people can go to the Giving Zone website to donate their miles and points or cash donations to the charity of their choosing. The Giving Zone takes care of all the details of converting the points to cash donations!

Make a difference today, and help America’s finest men & women come home for the holidays. Support Operation Home for the Holidays, donate your airline miles and credit card reward points at www.GivingZone.net.

For more information, contact Hope Kerkof, Public Relations Director at 206-420-4545.

Have you ever fantasized about having strangers sit on your company name or logo?

Well, here’s your chance to make your wish come true right here in the heart of Burien – at the new Town Square Park.

Take it away, Captain Press Release:

With all the hustle and bustle construction, a crane you can’t miss, beams going up around the new library/city hall and the rest of the activity at Burien’s Town Square, it’s easy to forget that a new one-acre park is soon to emerge from all the work.

The City of Burien has awarded a contract to L. W. Sundstrom, Inc. for the park’s construction, and Burien’s first downtown park should be completed in time for the opening of the new library/city hall in the spring of 2009.

The park will be the focus of community activity for generations to come (perhaps even another B-Town BlogstockAPalooza?), including concerts, events, festivals and other gatherings. It will offer a plaza, fountains, public art, and a low-maintenance “green” landscaping plan.

Citizens are invited to be a part of this historic change in Burien’s downtown by making a contribution to the new park. The park will have several benches and other amenities that citizens sponsor by making a donation toward the cost of installation. Donors’ names will be placed on permanent plaques on these park furnishings.

The City is also looking for a major donor to contribute to the park’s major sculpture piece, known as the “Sunset Pavilion” by artist James Harrison.

The Town Square Park donation program is as follows:

Town Square Park Project:

• 10 benches: $1,500 each
• 5 trash receptacles: $1,000 each
• James Harrison art piece: $20,000

Town Square and 4th SW Ave:

• 7 benches: $1,500 each
• 9 trash receptacles: $1,000 each
• 1 landscape planting box feature: $1,000

If you would like more information about the donation program or are interested in donating toward the costs of have these park and street furnishings, contact the City’s Parks Department at (206) 988-3700.

From our sister site The White Center Blog comes news that last Saturday’s White Center Food Bank Harvest Dinner and Auction at South Seattle Community College raised “about $50,000.”

Read the full story here.

The White Center Food Bank serves not only the community of White Center, but parts of Burien as well.

If you’re so inclined to help out a neighbor or two, you can donate easily, directly and securely to the White Center Food Bank by clicking here.

A couple of weekends ago, we posted notice of a “Tree Gleaning” effort planned for a group of apple trees near SW 128th and SR-509.

Today, we just got this word on results of that job from Suzanne Greive of Sustainable Burien:

Sustainable Burien’s recent apple tree gleaning with Community Harvest of South Seattle (CHOSS) netted around 100 pounds of apples, along with a few boxes of pear apples.

We are presenting information on our Burien Sustainable Living group to the Burien City Council tonight (Mon. Oct. 20th) to make them aware of our mission and goals!

We hope the City Council listens to these good folks.

Here are some photos showing the bountiful rewards of everyone’s hard efforts:

by Janet Grella

High winds and intermittent rain showers kept many people away, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the 20 Burien businesses who hosted “Ladies Day Out” on Sat. Oct. 4th on SW 152nd in Burien.

Participants in the event purchased pink bandannas from participating businesses to enjoy special discounts all day and into the evening. 100% of all bandanna money was donated to the Highline Cancer Center.

Many businesses pledged part of their daily sales to Highline Cancer Center as well.

Here are some photos of the event:

by Scott Schaefer

Previously we broke news about a local filmmaker shooting a movie at Highline High School, and now we’ve just learned of another area auteur – a local Director/Producer named Frank Oliver who is seeking donations and locations from area residents and businesses for his upcoming film production “The War of the Grandmas.”

The film’s plot:

“War of the Grandmas” is a family-fun-packed, independent comedy – half live action and half cartoon animation.

This is a screwball comedy in the vein of “Grumpy Old Men,” but with women.

PATTY, a sixty-something frugal tomboy, reigns as queen of her cul-de-sac until an arch enemy from her past – flirty, glamorous ROSE, also in her sixties – invades Patty’s territory and the queen declares war. The grannies fight the only way they know how – over a man. But when the old gals try to bring their twenty-something granddaughters into the fray, the young gals decide it’s time to teach the old gals a lesson: A woman does not need a man to make her happy! (Or does she?)

Oliver, 33, of Boulevard Park, is seeking local sponsors, including residents and businesses, to help defray some of the film’s $15,000 budget. His intent is to film and edit a six-minute scene, then promote that at film markets in the next year or so in hopes of turning it into a full-length feature film.

“I’m trying to get the community involved, as this is a great opportunity for locals to help create a fun and entertaining project,” Oliver said as he took a break from his regular day job as a Construction Inspector. “I’ve received a grant from the Northwest Film Forum, but we’re still in need of funds to pay actors and crew.”

We spoke with Oliver on the phone recently, and found him to be a very passionate and ambitious man. We know personally that making a feature-length movie is a huge undertaking, and we admire his goals and passion.

From Texas originally, Oliver has been in the Northwest for six years.

“I moved up here for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I was inspired by the WTO riots,” he said. “I love activism, and am also a huge fan of the artistic and independent spirit of the region, which I love.”

Oliver is currently seeking:

• Access to locations in exchange for product placement in the film; specifically three houses situated next to each other, perhaps in a cul-de-sac, to serve as the movie’s major location
• Donate money (any amount, even minor)
• Visit the website, download the flyers, and post at their workplace/social activities
• Everyone is welcomed to audition for the cast or participate as crew

Here’s his self bio:

Frank is creative, resourceful, and entrepreneurial. He helped manage the family business while still attending high school and learned about taking calculated risks and surrounding himself with talented people to help achieve a goal. He founded a non-profit dance organization in Texas and taught swing and lindy hop to inner city youth. Frank is socially conscientious and passionate about social and economic justice. When he relocated to WA, he joined the union construction trades and actively helped organize and educate others about the struggles and gains of the labor movement. Frank enjoys cinema and aspires to be much like Ken Loach, the filmmaker, and serve the people through his art. Frank hopes to achieve credibility as a director by successfully completing the “The War of the Grandmas” production and attracting well-versed writers to collaborate with him on docudramas and films of social commentary.

We encourage all our BTB Readers, and anyone who enjoys supporting the arts, to visit the “War of the Grandmas” website, and consider volunteering their location(s) and/or time, as well as making a donation to the film.

Rest assured, the B-Town Blog will keep you posted on the progress of this creative endeavor as things develop.

Our generous friends at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub are holding a couple of fundraisers for the Susan B. Komen Foundation, including a Bikini Car Wash and Car Show in Renton on Sunday July 27th:

According to Christina Rogers, they’re still seeking donations, so if you have something cool and want to donate, please call her at 206-243-2358.

Beaucoup kudos to one and all in B-Town (and beyond) who turned out, donated, bought, ate, drank and had fun at last night’s Fire Victims Fundraiser at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub – you raised over $10,500!

Some of last night’s highlights:

• 14 fire victims were there, and got their entire night’s food and drink comped courtesy Mick Kelly’s. All were very emotional about the outpouring from their generous neighbors; some spoke, some cried, and at times there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We spoke with many of them (see below for details) and it’s clear that they’re still dealing with pain and trauma. It’s tough to not be affected when talking with people who either lost family members, friends or everything they owned and not get angry at a system that doesn’t support them. Where is the counseling? Where are the Therapists? These folks are hurting, and will be for a long time.
• Mick Kelly’s co-owners Mick Purdy and Adrian Kelly’s generous donation of one of their beloved soccer balls autographed by soccer superstar Pele sold for $825. The boys were so overwhelmed that they donated their second (and final, thus very precious) Pele ball which went for another $825 (for a total of $1,650).
• “This is my home forever,” said survivor John Miklosh, referring to the outpouring of support from the people of Burien and its firefighters. He had just bought an “I Love Burien” t-shirt the day before the fire at the Burien Strawberry Festival.
• 29-year old Moriah Marlin, originally from Philadelphia, will always love Burien. “I never, and I mean NEVER, get two days in a row off.” By utter coincidence, Moriah’s employers happened to give her June 28th and 29th off. She and her family spent the weekend visiting friends. “We returned home Sunday morning to nothing.” Moriah’s speech was the emotional highlight of the night, as it was told through tears of both the pain of loss and and the joy of receiving true B-Town generosity.
• According to one of the victims present, a man down the street shouted “You can all burn in hell!” to a resident of the Tara Apartments a few days before the fire. Police detained and released the man, who some said was in his mid-40s. Either this is a case of weird serendipity, or the dude knew something…
• Lindy Kunimoto usually blocked his bedroom door before going to bed. As the flames spread, people outside could see Lindy’s fingers on the window sill of his bedroom. People implored him to jump, a leap that would not have amounted to more than a six-foot fall to the ground below. Lindy (and it is not clear why) stayed put. The ceiling above him collapsed. Lindy Kunimoto was 49.
• Thanks to everyone who helped out on this, especially Patty Sader and Debra George of Discover Burien (along with their entire team, who did most of the real work) – it was truly a team effort and it was obvious from the selflessness that everyone had one goal in mind: to help the fire victims!