A Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser for the Puget Sound USO Sea-Tac Center will be held Tuesday night, Dec. 7th starting at 6pm at the Clarion Hotel in Sea-Tac.

The Clarion Hotel is located at 3000 S 176th Street in SeaTac (phone: 206-242-0200).

The Local Puget Sound USO Sea-Tac Center offers military members and their families “comforts of home” 24 hours a day, as well as travel assistance every day of the week. The Sea-Tac Center serves military members and their families with a full nursery, children’s games, books, and toys; sleeping facilities, showers, free snack bar, meals, and comprehensive travel information and assistance, and a lounge area that includes a big-screen TV, X-box games, Internet access, and library.

These USO services and programs make a mighty impact for our military members – in 2009, they served a record-breaking 439,972 people. USO Puget Sound Centers at Sea-Tac and McChord AFB reach about 36,664 military members and their families every month.

Please note that the organizers are still looking for donations for this event – if you have anything you’d like to donate, please click here for more information. The deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 1st.

Here are the event details:

WHAT: Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser for the Puget Sound USO Sea-Tac Center.

WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 7th starting at 6pm.

WHERE: Clarion Hotel, located at 3000 S 176th Street in SeaTac (phone: 206-242-0200).

INFO: From an email:

Today’s tough economic conditions make it difficult for The Puget Sound USO to meet their needs without help from people like you. I am writing to invite your business to donate an item or gift certificate for our biggest fundraising event of the year for The Clarion Seatac Hotel. The Puget Sound USO Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser that we our hosting on December 7th, 2010 at the Clarion Seatac Hotel.Benefits of supporting our Local Puget Sound USO is by making a donation to our Fundraiser or to the USO Puget Sound directly.  So please join us in expressing our gratitude toward America ’s military members and their families.  It is direct, in that our services impact the quality of life for soldiers and their families, and personal, because the work we do helps to boost morale and guarantees that every soldier knows how grateful Americans are for their service and sacrifice.

The Puget Sound USO is a private, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization; they do not receive federal funding, but rely solely on the generosity of individuals, businesses, and local veterans and civic organizations

Your Business & Donation will be acknowledged throughout the evening at our  Live Auction, and thru all our promotional Flyers, Electronic Mailings, Community leaders and attendees as well as listed on the Clarion Seatac Hotel Facebook page.

If you require additional information about our Local Puget Sound USO please contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may also visit our website @ www.clarionseattle.com you can also donate online. If you are sending your donation in the form of a check, please make checks payable to “USO Puget Sound Area”

The “Support Our  Troops / USO Puget  Sound Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser is December 7th, 2010 at The Clarion Seatac Hotel so if is at all possible, Please send us your donation by December 1st, 2010 to the Clarion Seatac Hotel Attn: Sales Department @ 3000 South 176 the Street Seattle, Washington 98188.

Thank you for your consideration, The Clarion Seatac Hotel & Local Puget Sound USO couldn’t do it without the generosity of donors like yourself. Please know that all contributions you make will positively impact The Puget Sound USO and the people they serve.

The Exchange Club of Highline is seeking Christmas-related items to put in “Goodie Boxes” to send to some of our troops overseas, and they need your help.

This is after a successful August campaign where they sent items to troops in Afghanistan (read our coverage here). At that time, they gathered donations and purchased items, then the “Goodie Boxes” were assembled and shipped.  These boxes were greatly appreciated by the receiving troops!

The Exchange Club then received a follow-up request from the Chaplain asking if they might send anything Christmas-related for troops to decorate with. They decided this was a project that they wanted to do, and they’re now seeking help from the community.

If you can help, some of the items requested include:

In August, The Exchange Club of Highline sent Goodie Boxes to troops in Afghanistan. Now, they're seeking your help to send Christmas-related items.

• Lights.
• Fake greenery that can be compacted.
• Garlands.
• Ornaments that wouldn’t break.
• Christmas candy such as candy canes.
• Any other Christmas decorations that would fit into the shipping box dimensions:
  • 12″ x 12″ x 5-1/2″
  • 14″ x 12″ x 3″
• They will also take monetary donations that they will use to purchase these items.

In order for the troops to receive these items in time to use them for decorating, The Exchange Club needs to get them shipped by Nov. 1st, which means they need to start gathering these items immediately.

If you have any of these items to donate OR would like to purchase any of these items to donate OR would like to donate money, you can do that by:

• Dropping off items or checks to Jordan Pomeroy at his office at Edward Jones in Burien: 645 SW 153rd Street.
• Mailing a check made out to the Exchange Club of Highline, P O Box 66532, Burien  98166.
• Contacting our president Brian Trautmann at (206) 246-1122.
• Sending them an email with how they can help you make a donation.

The Exchange Club adds:

Our troops are serving their country.  We need to let them know we support them.  Help us make their Christmas seem just a little bit more like home!Thank you for any donation you can make!

- The Exchange Club of Highline

For more information, check out the Exchange Club of Highline’s website here.

On Thursday (Aug. 5th), the Exchange Club of Highline put together 66 “Goodie Boxes” to send to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Club spent $3,000, and along with generous assistance from Evergreen Food Services, purchased items that troops have said they love to get – baby wipes, chapstick, peanuts, cookies, gum, trail mix, and beef jerky.

With help from Vicky Mohler of Support America’s Armed Forces, the Club had three different groups who received the Goodie Boxes. Members volunteered their time to assemble the boxes and get them to the post office for shipment.

Photos below show the boxes after being assembled by Club members:

According to their website:

Established in 1961, Exchange Club of Highline was formed with the goal of bringing business and community leaders together to support Youth, Americanism, Community Service, and the prevention of Child Abuse. By holding an annual fundraiser, the money generated is used to meet the ongoing needs of existing community organizations, and members volunteer their time to other community projects. As needs are brought to the club’s attention, members decide on the course of action allowing flexibility and responsiveness to the ever-changing needs of our Highline community.

Veteran’s Day is this coming Wednesday, Nov. 11th, and Brown Bear Car Wash will be honoring vets and current service military (as well as spouses) with free car washes all day.

The nearest location is the one in Des Moines, located at 22706 Marine View Drive; others are in Federal Way, Kent, Auburn and Renton (see list below).

As a way of saying “thanks” to our military, Brown Bear will be offering free “Bear Essential” car washes to all current or former members of the military, including spouses.

“Our organization is proud to honor veterans and service personnel,” said Brown Bear President and founder Vic Odermat, himself a Marine Corps veteran. “While the washes are free, we know that freedom is not. This is a way for us to show our support and gives us a unique opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to people who sacrifice so incredibly for our freedom.”

Odermat said the offer will operate on an honor system and no verification or documentation is required. Drivers should identify themselves as a current or former member of the military to the wash attendant.

Odermat started Brown Bear in Seattle in 1957 with one location. They now own and operates car washes throughout the Puget Sound area and Spokane.

Here’s a list of participating locations nearby:

• 22706 Marine View Dr., Des Moines
• 34017 Hoyt Rd. SW, Federal Way
• 814 Auburn Way S, Auburn
• 1202 W Meeker St., Kent
• 800 S Grady Way, Renton
• 621 Rainier Ave. S, Renton
• 77 Rainier Ave. S, Renton