Last Saturday the "New to Seattle" team lent a
hand with Volunteer Chore Services. On a drizzly morning we showed up at home
in Beacon Hill ready to dust, weed and rake. Besides just the yard work...we
met a piece or work! The resident was filled with stories!
- Kathleen D'Amato
Seattle Works is focusing on "Healthy Spaces" this month, which means that Team Works volunteers spent this past Saturday at organizations that focus on issues like health care, adequate food, shelter, safety, civil rights and animal welfare.
Sixteen teams rolled up their sleeves at Camp Fire, Compass Center, Eastside Baby Corner, Food Lifeline, Lettuce Link, Neighborhood House, Ronald McDonald House, ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, The Wintonia, Transitional Resources, University District Youth Center and Volunteer Chore Services. Nice work!
Teams "Friends You Haven't Met Yet", "Twenties and Early Thirties", "Single Folks in their Twenties" and "Thirties Global Coolers" sort donations at Food Lifeline.
Who doesn't love a hairnet?
Team "Boeing LDE A" brightens things up at Transitional Resources.
Hey guys,
Treehouse Learning Center Coordinator
Posted by a volunteer who participated in our January volunteer trip in New Orleans.
I’ve been down in New Orleans this past week with 15 other Seattle Works folks (Patrick, Noelle, Susanna, Megan, Chris, Blake, Nora, Erin, Beth, Trisha, Kelsey, Michelle, Kristin, Laura and Gillian – with all of whom I feel I now share a special bond), and have joked several times “I just volunteer for the t-shirts.” While this has usually been my attempt at levity to try and keep the group loose and in good spirits, I now feel there is actual meaning to my statement.
I’m not one that always boasts about my volunteer activities; those close to me know I volunteer with Seattle Works regularly, that I am happy to discuss what we do, and I have even recruited some people to come join Team Works. However, I typically only wear my Seattle Works t-shirts on project days, or as lounge-around-the-house-wear; somewhat intentionally, as I have viewed my volunteerism as the very personal relationship between helping people in need and the feeling of satisfaction that I garner by helping to build a better community.
I guess what I didn’t expect from my New Orleans trip was the profound spiritual and emotional impact it would have on me. For all the city has been through, I am amazed at how resilient and friendly the local population has been: waiters and bar tenders, the principal of the elementary school in which we were working, the residents of the damaged homes still living in FEMA trailers, the congregation of a neighboring gospel church, and just passers-by on the street. Southern hospitality is not a myth, at least not in New Orleans.
Perhaps the most enlightening experience was when Shelton “Shakes” Alexander, a national poet who lived through Katrina (and is interviewed in When the Levies Broke) came to the volunteer house, shared his experience, recited several of his poems, and answered questions about the city’s recovery. Erin asked him pointedly “what more can we do to help?” Shelton answered simply “exactly what you are doing, being here.” Shelton then said it wasn’t so much the tasks we were performing; painting in schools, helping rebuilding homes, caring for animals in a shelter, etc., but rather the spirit that volunteers bring, that someone cares and is willing to help. Erin then asked “what can we do when we get back home?” Shelton responded, “Tell people about your experiences here, the destruction that is still evident, and how much more needs to be done. Hopefully, more volunteers will keep coming.”
The next day, I ventured off on my only solo excursion of the entire trip to the National World War II (D-Day) Museum. New Orleans was the production center of the Higgins boats, the beach landing craft like those seen in the movie Saving Private Ryan; of the 14,000 vessels in the U.S. Navy during the war, 8,800 were built in New Orleans, thus a good site for the museum. After viewing the exhibits, which were amazing, I ventured into the gift shop to buy, ironically, a t-shirt. The shop keeper asked “what is Seattle Works?” and I realized I was wearing my Team Works shirt, probably since it was the only thing clean on our last day! After explaining it was a volunteer community involvement organization, I mentioned that 16 of us were down here doing work to help with the Katrina recovery, and the shop keeper was really impressed and thankful for our group.
As my new friend Blake has mentioned several times during the trip, “I like interesting t-shirts, they are great conversation starters.” I couldn’t agree more. I plan on wearing my new purple Hands On New Orleans t-shirt with pride, and on collecting more volunteer t-shirts in hopes that they will all be great conversation starters and I can better pass along the kind of work being done by volunteers and how much more work is out there to be done for ours and other communities.
I really did do it all for a t-shirt.
Bryan Fiedor
Last Wednesday evening, the Seattle Works “men’s group” gathered at Treehouse for what promised to be an interesting evening of cooking and career discussion with the “boys group.” This was our third formal activity with the boys, or “dudes” as we prefer to call them, and was probably the most interactive yet (we previously went to a baseball game and visited the UW planetarium, and a smaller group of us had the chance to go shopping for holiday presents with Deion Branch of the Seahawks).
The men outnumbered the boys almost two-to-one, so there was plenty of quality time with each of the boys. We spent the early part of the evening preparing a Mexican feast of tacos and nachos. We split the boys into two groups – one for cooking duty in the Treehouse kitchen (cooking the taco meat, warming the tortillas, melting cheese over the nachos, etc.) and the rest of us chopped lettuce, grated cheese, and made guacamole. The kitchen crew emerged with a large skillet full of browned and seasoned taco meat. Meanwhile, several of us “mentored” the boys with our gourmet chopping and grating skills. There were no knife accidents while chopping lettuce and tomatoes or bloody knuckles while grating the cheese, so the preparations were a success. While all of this was happening, we all had the chance to talk casually with the boys about school, sports, etc.
After sitting down to a hearty feast of tacos, nachos, chips and guacamole, we had a lively conversation about careers. The men each wrote down on cards what their current occupation is and we asked the boys to each draw a card and guess which of the men that card represented. It was fun watching the kids guess which one of us was a banker, a political staffer, business consultant, etc. Next, we asked each of the boys what kinds of careers they are interested in pursuing after high school. The answers were fascinating! The answers included an artist/animator, architect, carpenter, scientist, and even an anesthesiologist!! Who knew that boys ranging in age from12-17 had such cool and creative career ambitions??
We are all having fun getting to know these boys and it is very rewarding to know that we are providing them with positive adult male role models, all in a fun and casual atmosphere. Originally we were only getting together with the boys every two months, but there seems to be consensus among us that we would all be willing to plan monthly activities for the rest of the school year. In February, we may try to do something fun like take them bowling. Stay tuned for our further adventures!
- John Hoey
… to help me resolve the emotion pull I was feeling when reflecting on our day at West Seattle Elementary and Pat’s post on his team’s project at a school in New Orleans (both below). West Seattle Elementary School's students and families face the challenges of poverty - 88% qualify for free or reduced school lunch - and, in many cases, the challenges of acclimating to life in a new country. They deserve better access to art, better access to play and a vibrant and welcoming school facility – all the things our project was about. But I can guarantee you that, despite its need of enhancements, no WSE student at any time would ever refer to their school as a “prison”. Compared to a group of trailers surrounded by fencing, the formerly institutional-looking hallways at WSE don’t seem quite so bad.
Then I remembered something that both Governor Gregoire and Representative McDermott shared at our project kick-off from Dr. King:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
All children deserve to go to school in a facility that is warm, welcoming and safe. And when it comes time to solve problems, you help where you can with the resources you’ve got. You see an injustice that you have the ability to impact and you do something about it. This weekend we had two amazing groups of volunteers enhancing schools each doing their parts, in their own ways, to build thriving communities.
-- Tara
A big hip hip and a hooray to all the volunteers who joined
us at West Seattle Elementary School for "a day on, not a day off".
Thanks to a grant from Hands
On Schools, an innovative new national program that aims to
reestablish schools as the focal points of communities, Seattle Works partnered
with West Seattle Elementary School community and our friends at CityYear to
create a more welcoming school community. Over the course of two projects - 1)
a group from Home Depot who did all the painting prep and construction-related
tasks on Thursday and 2) a group of community volunteers and Starbucks
employees on Monday we accomplished the following projects:
- Painted 23 classrooms, administrative offices and the library
- Added accent walls to the oh-so-dreay-and-white hallways.
- Painted six murals, adding more life and color
- Created benches and planters outside the school entrance for parents coming
to pick up their kids
- Added much-needed storage to the school's art room and stage to make more
room for students to perform and display their work
- Freshened up outdoor landscaping
- Cleared the way for a new playground for the school's special needs
preschool. Signage is complete and the site is now prepped for the equipment to
go in this spring.
West Seattle Elementary is a product of the Seattle School District's
consolidation process, a newly merged school community with students from
Fairmount Park and High Point Elementary coming together in the High Point El
building. As WSE Principal (and Seattle Works hero) Gayle Everly shared with
the group yesterday, "As we merged, I had this vision of the community
wrapping its arms around our school and our families, and this is that happening."
I stopped by this morning to see the kids coming in to their suped-up school
and it was an absolute delight. Because you can't go randomly taking photos of
children and putting them on the internet without parental permission, I offer
you my own elementary school-inspired interpretation:
We'll be posting our own from the event itself soon, but in the meantime, you
can check out some pics and coverage (including Governor Gregoire's welcome
speech) on the West Seattle
blog:
-- Tara
They
volunteer, they give both their time and their money, and every once in awhile
something really cool happens like shopping with Deion Branch. Read below!
“Travis
and I were there - it was really, really fun! Deion Branch was amazingly generous and stayed the entire time, even
helping some kids pick out stuff. He
stayed for an hour afterward, signing autographs and shaking hands. The kids were really into it. Deion did have one rule that each kids had to
get one jacket and one pair of shoes, but most kids were creative about getting
around that. =] One kid asked if he could save his card to
buy presents for other people, and Deion was so touched that he bought the kid
a PS2.”
- Jeff
Chen
“Friday,
December 21st, I had the pleasure of
joining "our fellas" for an evening with Super Bowl
MVP, Deion Branch. Deion and his family was gracious in sponsoring
a Christmas shopping spree at Fred Meyer's Department/grocery store in
Ballard. Sandwiched between a few previously scheduled events, I wondered if
I'd fulfill my promise to show up! Lucky for me, I bailed on a holiday social
only to arrive at Fred Meyer around 6:30pm. The kids were visibly excited,
but patient in waiting for Deion. Most were discussing planned purchases,
holiday plans, and their questions for Deion.
Deion
and family began by speaking and distributing $200 gift cards to each kid.
Their only ask was for each kid to purchase a coat and sweater
in preparation for a cool winter. This is when the fun began...Each chaperone
was tasked with helping one or two kids with their shopping. Though a few made
beelines to their items, some were visibly shaken by this new freedom
to purchase. I gathered a couple of the guys and asked if I they knew what they
wanted and if I could help. Both GLADLY welcomed me to join! At first, it
tickled me watching them happily grab everything without
checking a single price tag! I had to temper their
excitement with a quick math lesson on percentage discounts and the art of
comparison shopping. We spent the next hour and a half discussing holiday plans
and school, and trying on clothes.
Shopping
concluded around 8pm. Both guys came within $5 of their spending
limit! Amazing! I helped carried their big bags to
the conference room for food and conversation with Deion. Many of them
used their allowance to purchase gifts for family and girlfriends. I was truly
touched to hear of such kindness. As you can imagine, Deion fielded a
few funny questions, but he passed with flying
colors. Unfortunately, I had to leave ahead of everyone. I was late
for my next stop, but it was truly worth my time to be there and
witness the true meaning of Christmas. Deion and family did a wonderful
deed and should be commended. This was a wonderful gesture neither the kids nor
I will soon forget!”
- Travis
Commodore
Within two days, our project to respond to the flooding in Lewis County filled right up! We've got 20 folks going down on Sunday to help clear out flood-damaged homes, and more on the waiting list. Way to step up folks!
According to Governor Gregoire, the cleanup will take months to complete. Our 20 folks may not count for a whole lot in that big spectrum, but when it comes to disaster response you need the big dogs coming in and you also need the individual contributions of volunteers willing to come in early and help with tasks like carpet and drywall removal. Bravo to all the folks who are heading down on Sunday to DO SOMETHING.
You can read more about the flood-response and check out some photos at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343054_storm11.html
We're already planning for a second project. If you're interested in being notified when it's set up, contact Jan Zimmerly Burrell.
-Tara
p.s. an update: our efforts were noted in an article on the disaster response in this morning's PI - cool!
Eight members of Boeing Crew 2 and a
friend of Talia’s braved the cold and wet weather of last Saturday to support
EarthCorps in their efforts to improve Me-Kwa-Mooks Park in West Seattle. The
team planted young plants, removed invasive vegetation and led the bucket
brigade effort to cover the area in bark. The organizers were continually
telling the team to slow down as Boeing Crew 2 was at the start of the bucket line
and the bucket fillers.
Those that joined the post-project
networking event had $2 cold beverages and 14” slices of pizza while watching the Huskies on a 50” HDTV. It was also dry and
warm. Wish you could have made it.
- Kevin Cushman, Team Captain Extraordinaire
