Quack Attack October 27, 2010

We’ve had a lot going on here at Seattle Works for the last few months.  All of us have been running at full tilt and as a result have had to bail on team fun a few times. 

To reward ourselves for a Swank well done and all of our other hard work this quarter, our staff fun this month was to Ride the Ducks! None of our team is from this area (although some have lived her for a long while), and touring Seattle by land and water is not something we’d likely do on our own.  Riding the ducks was educational, silly and quite the adventure.

See how much fun Kathleen and Randi are having?!

O Captain, our Captain was Clem Chowder, isn’t he sweet in his sailor hat?

This photo is upon entrance into Lake Union and he is showing us exactly how fast we’ll be going while in the water.  Yep, that speed fits on one hand.  Watch out people, duck on the loose.

And last but obviously not least, a group shot (minus Tyler and Andy).  Thank you all for the hard work and serious amounts of dedication that you put into Seattle Works each and every day.

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What date does your ballot need to be postmarked by? October 25, 2010

If you came to Election Trivia Night Thursday you would know the answer.  Then again, hopefully you know the answer anyway! 

The crowd was lively, our emcee was hilarious and everyone from political know-it-alls to first time voters learned something new about the upcoming election. 

     

Did you miss out on Elections Trivia?  Fear not, we have three more ways for your and your civically inclined self to get connected:

• Conversation on Public Trust – Tues 11/2, 6-7pm at Amber in Belltown (1st & Bell)
• Knowledge as Power Training – Tues 11/16, 6-8pm at Uptown Espresso (4th & Wall)
• Confused by the things that are on your ballot?  Check out the site below for some resources that help explain those tricky measures, candidates and specifics on voting in King County.

Both events are free and open to anyone who is interested, no matter your political knowledge or experience!  They’re great ways to test the waters.  Or, if you’re rather seasoned and knowledgeable then they’re great ways for you to share the wealth. 

Sign up and join us: http://www.seattleworks.org/AboutUs/index.php/elections/intro.html

Thank you to our partners that co-sponsored trivia with us: King County Young Democrats, King County Young Republicans, Knowledge As Power, The Municipal League, and Washington State Society Cascade.  Many thanks to Spitfire for hosting the event amidst several important sporting events. 

Of course the largest thanks goes to our incredible Election Committee volunteers – without whom we would not have had such wonderful trivia questions!  You are political rock stars: Megan Coppersmith, Tony Hutter, Katherine Fountain Mackinnon, Peter Graves, Calvin Lee and Neely Olsen.

Get your vote on.  Your ballot needs to be postmarked by Tues, 11/2!

October Board Meeting: what is our volunteer leadership up to? October 21, 2010

After last month’s MAKE BIG DECISIONS MARATHON (2011.2013 strat plan, 2011 officer slate, and executive director hiring decision all approved), October’s meeting brought time to debrief, reflect and look ahead.

– Swank debrief – how do we deliver a fun, spirited event that stays fresh, tells our story, and raises significant revenue for Seattle Works? And how do we ensure our generous guests know how awesome they are and why their gift matters?

– Year-end fundraising – we’re gearing up for our annual campaign and encouraging board members to fulfill their 2010 commitments to raise resources for Seattle Works from their personal networks.

– Q3 financials and program dashboard review – our metrics show we are in good health, financially and programmaticly. Woo!!

– Corporate Sponsored Project Values – companies can hire us to create custom service projects. We welcome and value this form of support, and also want to be sure that the projects we take on honor our volunteers and the needs of the organizations where they are serving.

– ED Search Debrief –  thumbs up on our hiring decision, and how did we do with managing the search/hiring process itself?  

Thumbs up board! From serving as spokesmodels at Saturday’s Swank to jumping back into action as strategic thinkers and financial stewards last night, you rock.

Operation Sack Lunch with the Beer View Mirrors October 13, 2010

Greetings from Beer View Mirrors!  Our group headed off to Compass Center Men’s Program in Pioneer Square, who hosts the kitchen to Operation Sack Lunch.  We had the opportunity to prepare a fantastic dinner for approximately 50 people. Sack Lunch currently serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days each week to the homeless children, women, and men, who call Seattle their home. They prepare 17,000 meals per month in numerous locations throughout Seattle, and with only a handful of staff at Compass and the help of volunteers like us.  Our team helped to prepare a meal from scratch, no recipes involved!  It was a great team building activity, that gave us the opportunity to make a delicious and unique meal that was one of a kind.  We broke out into groups of 2-3 to create our meal consisting of a chicken stir fry with a side of root vegetables, salad, savory rolls and strawberry short cake for dessert.  What makes Sack Lunch very unique is that they use all organic food to prepare healthy meals for Compass.  Everything is natural, with no artificial flavors.  Overall, it was a great day!

The gang serving up our delicious creation.

Adding the final garnishes to the salad.

Cleaning up and cutting the veggie sides.  Keep it up!

Zach staying busy by stocking the fridge and pantry.

Quenching our thirst with a tasty glass of chocolate milk before we serve our dinner.

Clint and Liz working on the stir fry.  Looks great!

Celebrating a successful first BVM project.

Until next time!

Take Care,

Beer View Mirrors

Want to keep up with all that this team is doing? 

Check out their blog! http://seattleworks-beerviewmirrors.blogspot.com/

Like a good neighbor October 11, 2010

… Francesca was there.

Project Coordinator, Francesca, led a Hot Project at ElderHealth Northwest’s Gaffney House in Capitol Hill last month.  She learned about the Gaffney House, a supported living home offered by ElderHealth Northwest, an organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for frail elders and people with chronic or terminal illnesses and disabilities.

This month, while doing a load of laundry in her building, Francesca ran into an elderly neighbor of hers.  She was friends with these neighbors and knew that the woman had macular degeneration and was taking care of her husband who has been deteriorating with Alzheimer’s lately.  Francesca told her neighbor about the Gaffney House and all the wonderful programs ElderHealth Northwest offered thinking that maybe they could be of help to her neighbor.  At first her neighbor was dismissive and confident that she was having an easy time taking care of her husband while tending to her own health as well. 

Until … 

later that week, Francesca received a thank you letter slipped under her door. It was from the same elderly neighbor. The note explained that she had called The Gaffney House and is considering moving her husband there. She was very grateful to have a considerate neighbor who knew a thing or two about her community. The couple is happy to know that there is a place out there for them that is close by.

The Right Stuff October 8, 2010

At the 2008 Swank, I was with my husband, Baron, and Kara, my best friend from junior high and high school. I wasn’t particularly interested in any of the live auction items until I heard these magic words: New Kids on the Block.

I was a major “Blockhead” during my teenage years, and in fact the first concert I ever attended was to see the seminal boy band at the Puyallup Fair. And now NKOTB was touring again, and I had the chance to get VIP tickets to their reunion tour concert–and limo service.

I quickly consulted with Kara, and she said she would go in on the New Kids auction item with me. We agreed on a maximum dollar amount that we would be willing to spend. I didn’t think the bidding would go that high because even though I still love New Kids on the Block, I realize that I’m in a very small minority.

The bidding started, and I raised my bid number high and kept raising it because to my surprise, I was in a heated competition with another woman for the New Kids package! I bid several times and then realized that I had reached the maximum dollar amount Kara and I had agreed on earlier. It was just me and the other woman bidding on the package, and she had the highest bid. I looked at Kara in dismay. I guess there would be no reunion with Jordan, Jon, Joey, Danny and Donnie after all.

Then my husband snatched my bid card out of my hand and raised it high. The other woman didn’t respond with a counter bid which meant the New Kids tickets were mine!

A month later Kara and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert, and when Joey sang, “Please Don’t Go Girl,” I screamed so loud I probably punctured Kara’s ear drum. It was great to feel like I was 13 again. I was carefree, and thoughts of work, a mortgage and other obligations were far far away.

Whether it’s a great bottle of wine, sports memorabilia, spa treatments or a trip down memory lane, Swank is a great way to score great items and experiences. Thank you Seattle Works!

-Madeline Moy, amazing Seattle Works volunteer

A smile – brought to you by our volunteers October 7, 2010

After a team of our volunteers go out to a project, be it a Hot Project or a Team Works project, we ask them to tell us how it went.  We want to make sure that everyone has a positive volunteer experience and if there are ways to improve the projects we want to know about it!  Here is a response from one of our fantastic volunteers:

North Helpline was AWESOME. I think the whole team really enjoyed the experience, and I know our help was appreciated by Alecia and the rest of the volunteer team there.

We had 100% attendance, along with one of our old teammates joining us for the event.

Alecia did an excellent job getting us in the right places and explaining the importance of their services. I also think the sheer number of people coming through to get food made quite an impression on all of us, and made us realize how fortunate we all are, and how fragile our circumstances can be, especially in “these times.”

Again, another really valuable Seattle Works experience.

Thanks,

Mike

 “That’s What She Said” Team Captain