Windermere Real Estate offices, including the Greenwood office at 311 N. 85th St., are collecting sneakers for low-income youth. “Kicks for Kids” runs through this Friday. The new or gently used sneakers in sizes 1-9 will be distributed to King County Boys and Girls Clubs and Mary’s Place. You can also bring them to the Windermere Summer Splash event on Saturday at Green Lake. (Summer Splash is a free day-long event with live entertainment, kid-friendly activities, food booths, free giveaways, and the opportunity to try out rowing, canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding.)
Gail says two houses on NW 75th Street between 1st and 3rd avenues were broken into on July 31.
The alley gate was found open at a third home in the morning. Entry was gained through ground floor French doors in one home and by busting a screen window at the other. One neighbor reported seeing a small, thin, dark-haired man loading something into his car near one of the homes that had been entered; he quickly jumped into a dark-colored Subaru when he realized he’d been seen.
826 Seattle is accepting applications for its tutoring program for grades 1-12. (Click here for a PDF of the application.)
Personal cheffing company Kitchen Surfing has just expanded to Seattle, and includes Greenwood resident Meredith Abbott.
Northwest Girlchoir is holding auditions from 12-6 p.m. on Aug. 20 and Aug. 25 for girls from 1st through 12th grades.
The city’s Small Sparks Fund is open to applications for communities to organize back-to-school projects or events.
This fund provides matching dollars of up to $1000 for neighborhood-initiated projects that promote community engagement. Project ideas might include Walking School Bus outreach, a back-to-school barbeque, youth-organizing, an autumn festival, PTA recruitment…and more!
Cancer Lifeline, tucked into the east side of Phinney Ridge at 6522 Fremont Ave. N., is hosting a Flea Market Fundraiser Aug. 22-24 to raise money for support services for patients and caregivers. Donations can be dropped off from 2-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday by appointment (call Jeanne at 206-832-1273 to schedule an appointment). They’re looking for antiques and collectibles, arts and crafts, books, children’s clothing and shoes, electronics, furniture, garden supplies, home furnishings, jewelry and accessories, kitchen appliances, sports equipment, tools, toys and games.
A number of organizations are collecting school supplies for needy kids. Umbrella Tree is hoping to collect 45 backpacks and supplies for Northwest Center’s kids program. (NW Center is in the process of moving from Queen Anne to Greenwood.) Sign-up to adopt a new, or donate a “like-new” backpack, and they’ll send you a child’s specific school supply needs.  Backpacks can be dropped off at Eat Local and Twirl Cafe in Queen through this Friday. Bartell Drugs is collecting school supplies through Aug. 30 at all of its locations, including in Greenwood on North 85th St. Supplies will go to World Vision’s Teacher Resource Center in Fife, where teachers in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties can shop for free for students in need. Basic need items include #2 pencils, scissors, crayons, one-inch binders, lined paper, and pens.
The Greenwood Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave. N., will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 24, for an in-service day. The Broadview, Green Lake and Wallingford branches also will be closed that day. Each branch of The Seattle Public Library will close for one day in late September or early October for in-service days so staff members can review the Library’s strategic plan and service priorities and goals. This new system replaces the former single in-service day where all branches were closed the same day.
Three neighborhood organizations have been award grants from the Neighborhood Matching Fund. The Greenwood Arts Council was awarded $17,500 to fund the holiday lighting of the old air raid tower at the Phinney Center at 67th & Phinney Avenue, plus 150 LED-lighted metal-frame monkeys that will hang from area businesses and trees between Thanksgiving and New Year’s (more info coming on that soon). Local magician/entertainer Evan Reynolds was awarded $22,732 to continue his family variety shows at the Phinney Center. (Reynolds was chronicled in a recent Seattle Times story about how tough it is to make a living as a magician.) Viewlands Elementary School in north Greenwood was awarded $25,000 to produce design development and construction documents to revitalize school play areas on school grounds.
If you’re heading north on I-5, Washington State Department of Transportation is replacing more than 300 concrete panels between Northgate and Shoreline. The $12.2 million project began this week and includes grinding four miles of southbound I-5 and more than three miles northbound to remove shallow cracks and bumps. The panel replacement work is scheduled to end in late October. The grinding work and paving of ramps will be finished in late spring.
