Today’s donation drive – for food and other essentials – at Alki UCC wasn’t even over yet, when volunteers took that photo of a roomful of what they’d received! The church’s outreach and social justice leader Cinda Stenger calls it “magical and wonderful … an unprecedented response,” more than any of their previous one-day drives. She adds, “Alki UCC thanks our wonderful neighbors for being so caring. We provide mutual aid with the Westside Interfaith Network, partner with the WS Clothesline, and enjoy being a conduit for West Seattle people to give to others in an easy and accessible way. We really appreciate your support … Together we are all doing good in the world!”

Proud mom Diana Piggee tells the story of a Junction incident just before 10 pm tonight:

My two daughters were on their way home when they saw someone banging from the inside of the post office. They stopped and one of my daughter’s ran to the door. The post-office worker had locked herself inside. The police then pulled up behind my other daughter who was driving and were questioning her since she abruptly stopped in the center lane and put her hazard lights. She then let the two police officers know that the postal worker was locked inside. My two daughters were allowed to leave and came told me the story.

My daughter Kaela Piggee was the one driving and noticed her pounding. My other daughter Daeja Piggee ran to her to assist.

Kaela works at Seattle Fish Company across the street, although she wasn’t working tonight. She knows the area pretty well.

I just thought they were some heroes and Kaela was paying attention to her surroundings.

Just yesterday, we were bemoaning a shortage of stories about people doing positive/interesting things. Though most news is inherently bad news, we usually have more stories of helping, gratitude, etc., to break it up, but right now we seem to be experiencing a shortage. So when Krystal Kelley‘s video landed in the WSB inbox late last night, it seemed fortuitous. That, in fact, is what her video’s about – a small action to try to chase off dome of the negativity that’s already spilled into the two-weeks-old new year. Krystal – who has been a small-business owner herself – visited some local businesses with a “Surprise Smudge.” She explains, “Smudging is traditionally a ceremony for purifying or cleansing the soul of negative thoughts of a person or place.” 2021 is off to a shaky start, so anything might help.

P.S. Krystal adds, “If you are out and about today, we will be playing meditative music in Lincoln Park down by the water from 1-2 or 3 … depends how long we stay warm. We started a band called Krystal Kelley and the Woo-Woo’s. We play soft, gentle music intended to heal.” She also says, “I want to declare 4/20/21 World Smudge Day to help with the healing of Mother Earth.”

Before 2020 is too much further back in the rear-view mirror, the West Seattle Food Bank is sharing these words of thanks:

We want to take a moment to celebrate you and all our neighbors who have supported us throughout 2020. Through your time, helpful words and actions, and donations, you have shown that the West Seattle community is here for one another.

While this past year has been one of the most challenging in our history, we have seen so many neighbors work together to find thoughtful and creative ways to get food and financial assistance into the community.

You have brought us so much joy this year and helped us stay hopeful through all the ups and downs. In 2020, over 3,000 neighbors gave their first-ever gift to the West Seattle Food Bank, joining our resilient network of supporters. We missed many longtime volunteers who were kept away by COVID-19 but have been fortunate enough to have roughly 240 new volunteers step in during this time. Nearly three times as many people donated in lieu of presents for birthdays or other holidays. We received gifts from as far as Germany and as close as the apartments upstairs, reminding us that our West Seattle community is more than a geographic location.

Together in 2020 we have:
-Expanded our Home Delivery program from 100 deliveries per week to 400 deliveries per week
-Increased our financial assistance program for rent and utilities by 200%
-Adapted our food distribution to an outdoor shopping model so neighbors can choose the groceries they need while staying safe and distanced
-Adjusted our Clothesline hours so neighbors have more flexibility to shop
-And, most importantly, helped our neighbors stay safe, fed, housed, and healthy.

As the late Mr. Rogers once shared, when looking to find comfort in scary times, his mother told him to “look for the helpers. You can always find people who are helping.” This past year has shown that West Seattle is a community of helpers. Seeing this commitment to helping others warms our hearts and bolsters our spirits as the work continues. We are grateful every day to be part of such a strong and caring community. Thank you all for your dedication to supporting your neighbors!

If you’re able to continue helping … or if you need help … all the info’s on the WSFB website.

(Photo courtesy The Diversity Center of Washington)

The Diversity Center of Washington has moved to West Seattle. We got the announcement from its founder and CEO, Jean Craciun. “We are activists for change,” Craciun explains. “Our focus has shifted to corporate Seattle,” a reason for moving north from Burien. The nonprofit’s work has included events meant “to highlight marginalized community members and advocate for action” – among them “10 Chefs and Causes” and the “1st annual Humanitarian Awards: They did something!” The center’s everyday work, Craciun says, is with “organizations & institutions that are seeking authentic change. Groups who truly desire change and want a more DEI (diversity equity inclusion) workplace.” (In the photo above, that’s Craciun at left, outside The Diversity Center’s Morgan Junction HQ, with musician Chamel Simmons; the decorations are by Shileah Corey from Ballyhoo Theatre.)

That photo is the inspiration for the newest signal-box portrait painted by West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen – this time, commissioned as a surprise for the couple in the photo.

That’s Sue Turner, retired Sanislo Elementary School PE teacher, who worked at the school for more than 30 years. She “touched a lot of lives,” according to the group of Sanislo alumni who gathered Saturday morning to surprise her with the box, which is on 16th SW just north of SW Holden, just half a mile from Sanislo:

The portrait depicts Sue with her husband Bud Turner (who was not well enough to be there Saturday). He is a retired educator too and led the Seattle Public Schools PE department until the early 2000s. Together the Turners founded SCATS, a legendary program described this way by The Seattle Times in 2002:

… a child acrobatic team featuring the most skilled tumblers, jump-ropers, unicyclists, jugglers, and handwalkers at Seattle’s Sanislo and Dearborn Park elementary schools. You may have seen them at Sonics and Husky halftimes. Little kids juggling toilet plungers, zooming on unicycles tall as basketball backboards, leapfrogging through each other’s legs (upside-down) while jumping double-Dutch rope.

The Turners’ influence spread beyond Seattle, too – they wrote six well-regarded books for PE teachers.

Today is the 32nd annual National Coming Out Day – and the Human Rights Campaign is marking it with a nationwide campaign including the video you see above. One of your West Seattle neighbors, Gay Gabrilska, is among the people you see and hear in it. She emailed about it, saying, “Now more than ever, it is important for the lgbtq community to be seen and heard.” We asked how she got involved with the video; she said the co-producer, Alex Costello, is the daughter of a longtime friend, and has done other HRC work she admires and supports. “She reached out last Wednesday so it was a quick turnaround. Luckily my pals Wendy, Sydney, and Mike were able to help. It re-energized me to see so many wonderful lgbtq people in the video and reminded me that doing good is really what it’s all about.”

The pandemic-fueled economic crunch means too many are struggling to keep themselves and their families fed. Along with the organizations that fight hunger year-round, other community helpers are doing what they can – like the West Seattle Eagles, who have been receiving periodic deliveries of food to distribute. They’re doing it again tomorrow (Wednesday, October 7th), starting shortly after noon, which is when the distribution truck is scheduled to arrive. Coordinator Doris Goulet says, “The combo boxes will each have dairy, meat, fruit and veggies.” You can drive/ride/walk into the Eagles’ lot at 4426 California SW. (And if you don’t need food but are interested in helping by volunteering or donating, you can email Doris at topstamp (at) msn (dot) com.)

P.S. We also routinely mention distributions and donation drives in our nightly pandemic-news roundups, so check those out if you are looking for ways to help and/or get help.

It wasn’t just those helmets that saved Connie Wolf and her son after a spill on Saturday. She sent this as an open letter to thank everyone who came to their rescue:

On Saturday afternoon I completely wiped out on my bicycle in front of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal bus stop. It was a helmeted-head-hitting-the-concrete kind of fall.

My husband abandoned his own bike and came running to tend to me and our son, who was riding in the seat behind me.

Our only thoughts were for our 8-year-old and so we never got a chance to thank the beautiful people who supported us through what could have been a truly tragic accident. Thank you for stopping traffic for us, for staying with us until you knew we didn’t need an ambulance, and for just being there. We luckily escaped that scary experience with some aches and a few scabs.

Today I’m full of gratitude for all of the patient drivers and caring pedestrians at the scene who made sure we were okay. So many good people in the world, and West Seattle is especially blessed.

-Connie Wolf

12:42 PM: A reader mentioned that West Seattle activist/writer/comedian Georgie Bright Kunkel is about to turn 100 years old … and today, two days in advance of her milestone birthday, we happened onto her pandemic-style celebration! Driving through Westwood, we saw signs and a canopy, and pulled over for a photo. (Last year, we covered her 99th birthday gathering here.) Among Georgie’s many achievements, she was a “Rosie.” If you’d like to congratulate Georgie on becoming a centenarian, drive by the 3400 block of SW Trenton before 1:30 pm!

4:12 PM: Mark Jaroslaw sat down with Georgie a few years ago to talk about her work as a writer, and emailed the link today:

“Good neighbor!” That’s how Kay describes Brooke, who you see above in a photo taken after Kay spotted Brooke working to clean a vandalized mural. It’s on the south side of the NB 35th SW bus stop near Thistle, depicting the faces of President Barack Obama and Albert Einstein, shown below via Google Street View:

You might see Brooke back at the bus shelter tomorrow – Kay reports she was trying multiple solvents to try to find something that worked, and was planning on “going to the hardware store to ask their advice.”

Sixth-grader-to-be Ian Scharks has just finished a marathon, one mile at a time. This afternoon, supporters showed up at Hiawatha as Ian walked the final mile-plus of his inequality-fighting fundraiser for Black Lives Matter (as featured here Thursday).

One spectator brought special recognition for Ian – West Seattle Runner (WSB co-sponsor) co-proprietor Tim McConnell, below with Ian’s mom Genya Scharks, brought him a WSR hat and T-shirt, and plans to talk with the Seattle Marathon about a finisher’s medal for Ian, declaring “he deserves something for the effort.”

Ian’s BLM fundraiser (find it here) is well past his $10,000 goal, with more than $14,000 as of this writing.