curated by Emerald Staff
The Emerald community has been creating ripples with its creativity and genius for 8 magnificent years! Those ripples are felt far beyond South Seattle — community, after all, is not a place but its people. And home can be a place, people, or both. The energy our people generate at home and beyond ignites sparks that prove perennially that even the tiniest of sparks illuminates dark places in all directions and can guide us to wherever we need to go.Please help us continue to serve our community by becoming a recurring donor during our 8th anniversary campaign, Ripples & Sparks at Home, April 20—28. Become a Rainmaker today by choosing the "recurring donor" option on our donation page! —The Emerald Team
Councilmember Tammy Morales hosted a delegation from Seattle's sister city Nantes, France, last week, including a swing through South Seattle's Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands, Beacon Food Forest, and El Centro de la Raza.
In an interview in Councilmember Morales' City Hall office, Nantes Deputy Mayor Pierre-Emmanuel Marais and Deputy Mayor Mahaut Bertu appreciated the nimbleness and diversity they saw in the South End and want to bring that ethos back to Nantes.
"What I have noticed in this area is the tendency and the desire to give value to origins, history, heritage," Bertu said. "We're working on bilingual schools, bilingual education, but what we saw there were schools with enormous diversity; diversity being the normal part of what goes on in schools."
Efforts to diversify are bogged down in politics and bureaucratic processes, Marais said. "We have to justify it, give reasons, present the project, wait for an answer," he said. "Here, it seems that we're going out to look for diversity, bring it in; here, the door is open. We want that as part of our systems."
The Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium is co-sponsoring a Health and Wellness Festival with Seattle Parks and Recreation and Public Health — Seattle & King County on April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rainier Beach Community Center.
The organizers are hoping to provide a one-stop shop for many of the routine screenings people may have missed out on during the pandemic. They'll be offering mammograms; COVID-19 vaccinations and testing kits; blood, glucose, and cholesterol screenings; and HIV testing.
In addition to screenings, there will be educational resources, like colorectal and breast cancer screening information and referrals, and an inflatable colon will be making an appearance.Food and door prizes will be available, as well as a special in-person highlight from "American History Traveling Museum: The Unspoken Truths."
On Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the first-ever One Seattle Day of Service citywide volunteer event. The One Seattle Day of Service will take place on May 21, with over 2,200 volunteer opportunities across more than 80 different activities throughout all seven City Council Districts.
One Seattle Day of Service events will kick off at 9 a.m. on May 21, with the last volunteer activity ending by 5 p.m. Most volunteer shifts are 2—3 hours, ranging from just a few volunteers to up to 100 per shift. Nearly half of activity opportunities are open to all ages, and more than one-third are open to all abilities. Volunteer shifts and opportunities will continue to be added closer to the event.
Seattleites can learn more about the event and sign up to participate here.
The City says volunteer events were organized with community groups, business associations, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Seattle Public Utilities, and are supported by local businesses, civic organizations, and Seattle's sports teams.
Applications to the 2022—2023 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate program, for youths ages 14—19, will be open through Monday, April 25. To apply, download an application.
From its website: "The Seattle Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program aims to identify young writers and leaders who are committed to poetry, performance, civic and community engagement, education, and equity across the Puget Sound Region.
"A group of esteemed judges chooses eight finalists from the application pool, and selects one teen to be honored with the title of Youth Poet Laureate and a runner-up Youth Poet Ambassador at the annual Commencement Performance.
"Along with the prestigious title of Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, the winning poet will also get a book deal from local publisher Poetry NW Editions to publish their first collection of poems."
King County and the City of Seattle are joining a nonpartisan effort in cities across the country to encourage permanent residents to become U.S. citizens.
Cities for Citizenship (C4C), the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), OneAmerica, the City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and the King County and Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) joined in a press conference Wednesday as part of the "Naturalize 2 Million by 2022!" campaign.
"Over nine million permanent residents are potentially eligible for citizenship nationwide," a press release said. "The state of Washington has over 190,000 permanent residents potentially eligible to naturalize, and more than 113,000 of them live in the Seattle metropolitan area. Newly naturalized citizens are a powerful voting bloc that could significantly impact the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections."
The campaign is part of a push later this year for "New American Voters 2022," a digital campaign that encourages millions of newly naturalized citizens to vote in the upcoming elections.
Join the Emerald for our 8th anniversary virtual event — 'Ripples & Sparks at Home' on April 28 at 7 p.m. with Ijeoma Oluo, Charles Johnson, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and our own Marcus Harrison Green — with the music of Shaina Shepherd and Intisaar, plus Emerald board member Lucas Draper will make a custom cocktail/mocktail with you to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. RSVP here!
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