Seattle, WA. In pre-Covid days, the Latino community supported one another by gathering, like the picture above. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Latino Community Fund (LCF) has been reaching out online, or by using best practices in person, spreading awareness on how to stay safe. The LCF has been keeping updates on its website, spreading the latest news on who individuals can call for assistance and collect resources during this pandemic. Now LCF has created its own COVID-19 Resiliency Fund. This to “provide immediate assistance for supporting families who are experiencing health and economic impacts due to COVID-19,” organizers say. The fund’s main focus is to make sure that resources are being presented to people who are in need of assistance. Administrators say, “As an organization, it is still our priority to advocate and support the Latino Community in Washington State.” LCF’s public health education program includes flyers and handouts.
Latino Community Fund Spreading Awareness for COVID-19.
The Latino Community Fund also has community outreach programs that have “Empowered over 20,000 community leaders to become civically engaged through community dialogues”. The programs they offer that are listed on their website are, Economic Empowerment Initiative, Latinos In Tech and Heathy Latino Family Resource. All of these programs are designed to help the Latino community from the ground up and give knowledge and awareness on many different types of subjects and issues. The next event that will be conducted online via Zoom will be the “Virtual Youth Leadership Summit, presented by the Latino Community Fund and the Alianza Leadership Program”. This event will go over topics such as the “Top issues affecting our Latino communities in Wa State, as well as how to communicate effectively with your policymakers”. All of this to help “unlock their leadership potential and bring change to their communities”. This event will be in August 2020 online via Zoom.
Alianza Youth Leadership Virtual Summit – August 2020.
For more information about volunteering and many other various questions their Seattle Office is located at 68 S. Washington St. Seattle Wa, 98104. Email : [email protected]. Para informacion en Espanol : 206-397-2440
Latino Community Fund of Washington Mission Statement:
Our vision is a vibrant and civically engaged Latino community in Washington. Latino Community Fund of Washington identifies, shares, and advocates for what is working in the Latino community. Healthy and educated Latino families build vibrant local communities and economies in Washington State.
Seattle, WA. Three Dollar Bill Cinema‘s video production and media literacy program, Reel Queer Youth, will be held online this summer from August 3rd through August 7th. During the program, LGBTQ+ youth and allies ages 13-18 will explore filmmaking and make documentaries using whatever tech and media they have available at home.
Three Dollar Bill Cinema launched Reel Queer Youth many years ago and the program has since reached more than 100 students. “This year will probably be a little different,” says Kathleen Mullen, Three Dollar Cinema’s interim executive director. Due to COVID-19, Three Dollar Bill Cinema is partnering with Northwest Film Forum to offer Reel Queer Youth virtually. The program will include daily Zoom meetings and opportunities for one on one mentorship. Participants will have the chance to explore what they want to say about themselves in the media and build connections with other LGBTQ+ and allied youth and filmmakers.
2019 Reel Queer Youth participants at Kaladi Brothers Coffee
According to Mullen, with the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic going on, “it’s a really important time to talk about media literacy.”
In a letter to Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s supporters, Mullen and Clay Warner, the president of Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s Board, wrote “Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s mission is to strengthen, connect, and reflect diverse communities through queer film and media. We will continue this work and do better to work towards a more equitable, pluralistic, and decolonization framework.” Reel Queer Youth plays a role in this mission by connecting a diverse group of LGBTQ+ youth and allies and arming them with the skills to decide how they want to represent themselves in media.
Last year, program participants worked with professional industry mentors to create documentaries about local LGBTQ+ non-profits
Carter and Dakota, ages 13 and 16, created Three Dollar Bill Cinema, a short film, included below, about Three Dollar Bill Cinema, and how it works to make LGBTQ+ lives visible through film and video.
Registration for Reel Queer Youth is still open to LGBTQ+ & Ally Youth, ages 13-18 who are interested in filmmaking.
From Three Dollar Bill Cinema:
We provide access to films by, for, and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ2+) people and their families, and a forum for LGBTQ2+ filmmakers to share and discuss their work with audiences. We curate themed screenings throughout the year and produce programs in partnership with other arts, cultural, and service delivery organizations in the Greater Seattle area.
Seattle, WA. Travel is a big part of adopting internationally, so travel bans due to COVID-19 have delayed the adoption process for many families. “I think it depends on where you are in the process,” says Joleigh Little-Bass, an author, and mother of two. She adopted from Bulgaria about ten years ago and just knows how it feels to be delayed while adopting. “The closer you are to travel either to meet your child or to pick her up, the harder the delays are!” Little-Bass explains. “I ate a lot of junk food and cried a lot,” she says, “I think earlier in the process it would be less frustrating. Maybe. It’s just hard to know that someone you love is on the other side of the world needing you, and you can’t get to them!”
Now that some European countries are loosening travel restrictions, more families adopting from abroad have been able to move forward. In the last week, multiple families partnering with Agape Adoptions have been able to travel to Bulgaria to meet or pick up their children.
Families adopting from Bulgaria must travel there twice. During their first trip to Bulgaria, families meet their child, and during their second trip, families pick their child up and bring them home. China, the largest country working with Agape Adoptions, remains closed to travel from the United States.
According to Myriam Avery, Agape’s executive director, Agape Adoptions did not experience delays in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, many families trying to use their increased free time positively began the adoption process in April and May.
Moreover, delays and complications are common in international adoptions, and most families are prepared for the adoption process to be challenging. “International adoptions are very complicated and complex,” says Avery, “this isn’t new to families.” In Avery’s experience, families tend to do well with delays for the first five or six months, but “we’re at that place where their patience is wearing thin.”
Newly adopted children walk with their father down a Bulgarian street.
During these trying times, Avery wishes to stress that “the need for a family will not go away because of COVID.” “These are the most vulnerable children in the world,” she says, “children don’t care about political things or COVID things.” According to Avery, the most important thing you can do to help Agape Adoptions, even more so than donations, is to spread the information that “This will go away. COVID will go away. But children will still need families.”
Adopted Child, Zahari. Current Photo
From Agape Adoptions:
Agape Adoptions is a licensed placement and home study agency located in Sumner, WA. We serve adoptive families across the U.S. and work in six countries globally. Agape Adoptions provides professional adoption services marked by personalized care and passionate advocacy.
Seattle, Wa. Dress for Success has a vision that leads to “A world where women do not live in poverty.” The organization accomplishes this vision by helping guide, give tools, and offer information to women who need help. This is done by providing business attire for job interviews as well as programs to help retain a newly acquired job. Due to COVID-19 typical one on one in-person interactions cannot happen, so Dress for Success has found a way to continue making an impact in the Seattle area.
The nonprofit has now moved all workshops and classes online for the foreseeable future. The newest workshop will be available on July 13th. These online video sessions consist of many skills needed in order to search and obtain a job in this time. These workshops take a look at LinkedIn as well as how to conduct yourself in online interviews. These classes are held on Zoom and anyone can sign up for these events on the Dress for Success online calendar. The classes vary in topics, from “Racism, Sexism and Mass Trauma”, a workshop discussing mental health to “Financial Strategies” a class wanting to give ” financial strategies that you can implement now”. All of these online resources are free and are available to anyone who wants to “stay motivated and optimistic”.
Dress For Success Goes Virtual. Helping Women Any Way They Can.
Leaders believe that “every woman has the right to realize her full potential and achieve financial independence in a more egalitarian world”. These resources derive from donations from others in our community. This allows women who come from many different backgrounds and circumstances to be able to start a new chapter in their lives looking professional and ready to go.
Dress For Success Financial Success Work Shop, Held on Zoom on July 15th at 11 AM.
If you would like to donate to Dress for Success there are a couple of extra steps that are in order due to COVID-19. “Clothing donation drop will now require an appointment: appointments begin, in late July”. Dress for Success Seattle is located at 1118 5th Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101 – Dress for Success phone number: 206-461-4472
Dress For Success Mission Statement:
Our purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty. Dress for Success is part of a global movement for empowering women to obtain safer and better futures.
Seattle, WA. Urban ArtWorks is continuing its mural apprentice program and public art projects while abiding by social distancing protocol. This summer, Urban ArtWorks will partner with South Park Arts, Seattle Neighborhood Group, and local young artists to create a mural on Ambakity restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle. Urban ArtWorks is also collaboratively creating public art that celebrates Black lives throughout the city.
Youth apprentices meet with their teaching artists, Dovey Martinez and Felipe Perez, in the South Park mural program. Photo was taken by Dennis Diaz.
Executive director Amanda Hashagen says that Urban ArtWorks’ “longest-running program is the mural apprentice program.” The mural apprentice program is an eight-week program in which young artists learn basic art skills and work on one large mural or public art project either during the school year or summer. Following the mural apprentice program, youths can advance into a long-term six-month apprenticeship, in which aspiring artists can connect with a mentor who will assist them in building portfolios. People can get more information on how to become an apprentice or program volunteer on Urban ArtWorks’ website.
This summer, the mural apprentice program will primarily operate online. Apprentices will receive basic art lessons virtually and be given assignments to work on offline as well. A summer project that youth apprentices are currently working on is a mural for Ambakity restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle. During this project, young artists collaboratively plan and design the mural virtually and at a social distance. After the planning process is complete, half of the artists will meet to paint one day, and the other half will meet another day to follow social distancing guidelines. Another project apprentices will have the opportunity to work on is designing and painting a utility box in Seattle. Urban ArtWorks will provide participants with paints, brushes, supplies, and snacks to ensure that the artists can create their work to the best of their abilities.
An artist works on Urban ArtWorks’ mural on the Metropole building in Pioneer Square.
Urban ArtWorks’ goal as an organization extends past beautifying Seattle. Through their numerous programs, Urban ArtWorks strives to work with young people with barriers to employment and provide them with basic job training and professional life skills. Hashagen wishes to empower local youth at Urban ArtWorks by teaching them to “trust that their perspectives are valid to share with the community.”
Hashagen shares that quarantining has given Urban ArtWorks’ staff increased time to reflect on how to improve their organization. She shares that the Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle have especially “amplified what their priorities should be.” Specifically, Urban ArtWorks is working to make its team and programs racially equitable. Hashagen claims that Urban ArtWorks is a predominantly white-led organization, and board members are “actively trying to change that.”
Urban ArtWorks is also connecting with its community by creating public art related to the Black Lives Matter movement. In mid-June, Urban ArtWorks worked on a large mural on the Metropole building in Pioneer Square to commemorate Juneteenth, the celebration of the official end of slavery in 1865. Artists and neighbors in the public were invited to contribute to the mural while social distancing. Over twenty individuals stopped to add their own touches to the painting and “transform the heavily graffitied wall into a rotating gallery.”
Urban ArtWorks’ collaborative mural on the Metropole building in Pioneer Square.
Urban ArtWorks also partnered with the Downtown Seattle Association to create art amid the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter Protests that transpired following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Urban ArtWorks secured highly visible locations in the Westlake area for BIPOC artists to create murals. Ten murals were painted on the boarded-up windows of the Nordstrom building on 6th and Pine street. Hashagen shares that “Black lives are more important than any damage done to a building or object, and [Urban ArtWorks] didn’t want that message to get lost in the ‘repairs’ [artists] made with any murals created.” Pictured below are some of these murals.
Mural by artist @Dozfy on Instagram and photographed by Paul Nunn
Mural by @ccstencil on Instagram and photographed by Paul Nunn
Mural by @wolfdelux on Instagram and photographed by Paul Nunn
Above all, Urban ArtWorks wishes to continue “engaging youth and communities in the creation of public art that inspires connections and honors their voices.” Hashagen encourages the public to “open their eyes and see what beauty and transformation young people can bring to our community” and “give them the respect they deserve.” Through its community outreach and displays of public art, Urban ArtWorks strives to show Seattle that “young people are brilliant and beautiful.”
From Urban ArtWorks:
To support Urban ArtWorks, financial and supply donations are always welcome. The organization also looks for volunteers and people to assist with photography and administrative work. People can also follow Urban ArtWorks on Instagram @urbanartworks.
Urban ArtWorks was developed in 1995 as a result of the SODO Business Association’s desire to clean up trash and graffiti along the busway in Seattle’s industrial zone. A plan was developed to enrich the surroundings and discourage graffiti by creating murals throughout the area now known as the SODO Urban Art Corridor. The collaboration of private and public partners facilitated the creation of an arts program for at-risk youth centered on the development of murals. Urban ArtWorks incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1998, and the scope of our work has expanded far beyond SODO and the corridor. Today, our organization works full time to promote the arts and produce new public artworks across the entirety of Seattle. Our youth programming continues to empower young people through professional opportunities in the arts. Our mission is to create public art that empowers young people and transforms communities
Seattle, WA. The Seattle Foundation has launched a fund in hopes of creating a collective hub for efforts to eradicate poverty, build generational wealth, preserve Black Culture, and celebrate the incredible resilience of the Black community. It aims to uplift the Black community across Washington through intentional investments in areas such as health, housing, education, art, criminal justice reform, and civic engagement. The purpose of the Black Future Co-op Fund is to acknowledge the harm that systemic racism has done to the Black community in our state.
Here’s information about the new fund:
On Tuesday, May 28, 2020, the video of a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes and 46 seconds was viewed across America. That image will forever be engrained in the soul of this nation along with the cries of slaves, lynched people, and others who have died at the hands of another human being, due to the color of their skin. We all heard Mr. Floyd’s cry.
George Floyd’s murder moved people of all races to raise their voices in solidarity calling for justice. The Black Future Co-op Fund was formed in recognition of this powerful moment and the opportunity for transformational change. Its architects are four Black women leaders with long histories working to support the Black community across Washington state: Michelle Merriweather (Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle), Andrea Caupain (Byrd Barr Place), Angela Jones (Washington STEM), and T’wina Nobles (Tacoma Urban League).
The Fund will also invest in technical assistance, “back-of-house” support, and administrative support to the under resourced nonprofit and community-based organizations that have worked for decades in support of the Black community, providing the infrastructure they need to sustain their critical efforts. It will invest in future generations of Black children born in Washington state—so that they may have an opportunity to not only survive but to thrive.
In the months ahead, the Fund’s leadership plans to visit and listen to Black communities around the state to understand their needs and craft the Fund’s grant making approach, supported by a $150,000 capacity grant from Seattle Foundation. The first grants will likely be made in early 2021. While the Black Future Co-op Fund came together in a specific moment of history, its architects intend for it to provide ongoing support statewide for years to come.
Support the Black Future Co-op Fund: By supporting the Black Future Co-op Fund, housed by Seattle Foundation, donors have the opportunity to invest in both the hope of the present and the promise of the future for the Black community in Washington state. Thanks to a partnership with the All In WA campaign and with generous support from Jeff Bezos, donations to the Black Future Co-op Fund are eligible to be matched dollar for dollar, up to $1 million per unique donation.
Initial Supporters & Donors: The Fund aims to raise $25 million, with over $2.5 million secured to date, including support from corporations and philanthropic institutions such as Microsoft Corporation, Seattle Seahawks Charitable Foundation, The Ballmer Group, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Puget Sound Energy, Zillow Group, The Starbucks Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Virginia Mason Health System, and Laird Norton Family Foundation.
There is an impressive and growing list of individual philanthropists who pledged their support as well, including (listed alphabetically): Robert W. Andrade Jr., Paula Boggs, Randee Fox and Jada Boggs, Adriane and Darryl Brown, Phyllis Campbell, Ray and Katie Conner, Garret and Nikki Daggett, Craig Dawson, Trish Dziko, Nick and Leslie Hanauer, Bruce & Joann Harrell, Latisha and Eric Hill, Shaunta and Al Hyde, Angela Jones, Mary Knell, Gary Locke, Regina Malveaux, Susan Mullaney and Shari Kauls, Gordon McHenry, Jr., Leslie Harper-Miles and Nate Miles, Julie and Erik Nordstrom, Roger Nyhus, Hyeok Kim and Michael Parham, Diana Birkett Rakow and Jeff Rakow, Constance and Norm Rice, Mary Pugh and Michael Scoggins, Jill and Rajeev Singh, Marilyn Strickland, Brad and Danielle Tilden, H.S. Wright III and Jessie Woolley-Wilson.
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