May 2017

Give Big is your chance to support local non-profits (and others) in an annual event that really makes a difference. GiveBIG Seattle is a one-day online giving event to raise funds for nonprofit organizations serving Greater Seattle. It runs from Wednesday, May 10 from 12:00am Pacific Time to 11:59pm Pacific Time. GiveBIG is a crowdfunding event, using online donations of all sizes to raise funds for nonprofit organizations. Many of the non-profits participating have arrangements to get matching donations so your donation can have double the impact.

Ballard
Ballard Civic Orchestra/WIWS
Ballard Food Bank
Ballard High School Foundation

Give Big is your chance to support local non-profits (and others) in an annual event that really makes a difference. GiveBIG Seattle presented by the Seattle Foundation is a one-day online giving event to raise funds for nonprofit organizations serving Greater Seattle. It runs from Wednesday, May 10 from 12:00am Pacific Time to 11:59pm Pacific Time. GiveBIG is a crowdfunding event, using online donations of all sizes to raise funds for nonprofit organizations. Many of the non-profits participating have arrangements to get matching donations so your donation can have double the impact.

Ballard
Ballard Civic Orchestra/WIWS
Ballard Food Bank
Ballard High School Foundation

By Amanda Knox

Approaching Century Link Field in a throng of green-and-blue people, flanked by an ecstatic marching band, I couldn’t help but think about the Roman Colosseum, and how sporting events have been experienced by humans in the exact same way for as long as civilization has existed. The same spirit of adrenaline-spiked tribalism that motivates Seattlites to show up in droves to watch grown men skillfully kick a ball around motivated the Romans to show up in droves to observe the clashing of gladiator against gladiator, Christian slave against starved lion.

We are the same. As Tim Urban wrote recently on Wait But Why, if you were to swap a newborn from a Medieval farming village with a newborn New Yorker today, no one would know the difference. That’s because the modern human brain hasn’t evolved in over 10,000 years. Some evolutionary psychologists think our brains are the same as those belonging to humans from as far back as 50,000 years. For context, that’s the stone age, around about the time humans invented the needle.

SW Roxbury Street Clean-Up
World Mission Society Church of God

Who: The World Mission Society Church of God
When: Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 | 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Where: SW Roxbury St, White Center
It is estimated that 2.3 million pieces of litter are dropped each day. Even the most miniscule of items can take up to 5 years to decompose. For this reason, The World Mission Society Church of God will be participating in a street clean up in the area of SW Roxbury Street in White Center on Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017. Over 80 volunteers are dedicating their evening to
cleaning their community. We believe if we all do a little it can help a lot.
The World Mission Society Church of God hosts various volunteer events throughout the state of Washington and take the lead in sharing love with our neighbors through caring for our communities. The World Mission Society Church of God participated in numerous clean up activities in 2016, both locally and around the world. They have been previously awarded the The Presidential Service Award from President Obama, and most recently, the Queen’s Award in England for their continued passion in serving their communities.

Coming up May 4 is the the Find It, Fix It Community Walk team planning meeting for the Highland Park neighborhood with Mayor Murray. The meeting will be held at the Highland Park Elementary School Library from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Find It, Fix It Community Walks are a series of Mayor-led walks that help to improve neighborhoods one block at a time. During these walks, neighbors, police, and City officials walk together to identify physical elements in the neighborhood that make it feel unsafe or poorly maintained.

The Community Walk Action Team (CWAT) is a collection of community members, non-profit leaders, and business owners who live or work in a Find It, Fix It Community Walk neighborhood.

CWAT members help to:

• Inform City officials about neighborhood needs
• Plan the walk route
• Recruit neighbors, friends, and family to join the community walk
• Find additional outreach opportunities like neighborhood events and meetings

Join Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's staff at an office meet-up on May 23 in West Seattle from 9 to 10am.

Her outreach staff will be available to answer questions, provide an overview of the office's work and functions, and update you on her legislative activities. Because space is limited at each meet-up location, they ask that you RSVP in advance.

Once you RSVP, staff will send you location information.

Becky was the 3rd of 9 children born to Frank and Dana Clement, and the most colorful - hair, clothes, nails, accessories, shoes, ideas, lifestyle.  Any amount of time spent with her was a guaranteed adventure.
 
Becky grew up in Des Moines, WA and loved her large extended family, her husband Larry Huff, best friend Terri, her goddaughter Frankie, cities (Paris especially), good kitchenware, water, beaches, forests, and Mt. Rainier.
 
Pneumonia cut her life short on October 4, 2016.  Becky's energy, love, and spirit live on in those lucky enough to have known and loved her.
 
Becky's family and friends are invited to join a celebration of her colorful life on Sunday, May 14, 2017 from 1-4 pm in the Amphitheater Area at Volunteer Park, Seattle, WA.  Visit Flintofts.com to view a full obituary, memorial donation information, map and directions to Becky’s celebration.

Deborah Kay Bennedsen passed from our world on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at her home in Middleton, Wis., after living with lymphoma and its treatments for a year and a half.  Deb was a tenderhearted nurturer who cared for all manner of living things, including her husband, the love of her life, children and stepchildren, her grandchildren and the countless four-legged creatures fortunate enough to find their way into her care. She befriended and cared for patients and colleagues alike during her 30 years as a cardiac nurse at Meriter Hospital--a truly natural calling for her. Deb meditated by creating beauty from chaos. Her incredible garden, knitting, and paintings will serve as a lasting reminder of her love to family, friends and neighbors. Debbie, we miss you more than we can say!
Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. A direct link to her obituary may be found at http://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/

information from Plant Amnesty

In celebration of Arbor Day, local arborists certified by Plant Amnesty took to the trees of The Arboretum at South Seattle College last week, providing some much needed expert pruning services.

“I am so happy that this work is getting done,” says Mark Pollock, Arboretum Coordinator. “The value of these services is somewhere between $12,000 and $15,000. It’s a tremendous gift to us and we are very thankful.”

Plant Amnesty describes itself as “a 1000-member mock-militant nonprofit organization whose mission is to end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs caused by mal-pruning.” Established in 1987 by the late Cass Turnbull, the organization is devoted to educating the public about the proper way to care for trees and shrubs and to providing referrals to qualified arborists and landscape gardeners.

Every year in celebration of Arbor Day, Plant Amnesty arborists volunteer their time to prune trees for a good cause. This is the second year that they have chosen The Arboretum at South Seattle College for this benefit.

It’s part of the human experience to have a kind of knowing without conscious reasoning. We call it intuition and for many people it has saved them money, saved their lives, or led to a life changing event.

Is that some kind of special ability possible for only a few rare people? Marc Lainhart will tell you otherwise. He believes everyone can access a sense beyond the five we all agree on but the occasional awareness, flash of insight, or just knowing is something that can be trained, refined and highly focused.