(File photo courtesy A Cleaner Alki)
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
More than six months after learning a critical grant would not be renewed, community-cleanup group A Cleaner Alki is still working on new ways to keep their efforts around the peninsula and beyond going strong.
“We have to figure out how to make it sustainable,” says founder Erik Bell, who is continuing to support 4-6 cleanups a week, despite “burning my candle at both ends.” The funds from a 2-year Department of Ecology grant ran out in June.
Bell says the group is now counting on the continued support of some long-time monthly donors. Some others have employer matches to their donations and there is occasionally a corporate group who does cleanup as a public service, but he’s feeling the funding gap. He recently met with District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka to talk about potential new sources of funding, and is open to community input about grants that might be a good match for ACA. Donations are made through the non-profit Seattle Parks Foundation, which serves as its fiscal sponsor – that does not mean bankrolling the group, just helping it process donations.
This weekend ACA is getting a boost of community support from a Saturday night dinner at the West Seattle Eagles (4426 California Ave SW). This is the second fundraising dinner put on by Anne and Ron Weglin, who did the first in July. They’ll have teriyaki chicken with rice, marinated cucumbers, and key lime pie available from 5:30-7 pm. You don’t need to be a member to attend and a live band is scheduled to play after the dinner.
Bell will also be tabling at the upcoming Joiner Jamboree, a gathering of 40+ community groups and clubs on November 8 that West Seattleites can learn about and consider joining. The Jamboree takes inspiration from the documentary “Join or Die,” which is being shown the previous night, and explores the correlation between thriving democracies and how much citizens connect with each other by joining clubs and associations. “It speaks so much to what we’re doing and how people are feeling,” says Bell. When he started ACA several years ago, he had in his mind that the cleanup would be the main goal. But he was surprised to find that it’s turned out, “The cleanups are a byproduct of doing community-building and fellowship. We’ll get some stuff done, but you’re talking to the person next to you. It’s what’s missing in our society: Making connections, knowing your neighbors, feeling that your civic duty is to make your community better.”
For more information about A Cleaner Alki, including a link for donations, go to ACA’s website. “Join or Die” will be screened Friday, November 7, at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation (7141 California Ave SW) from 7-9 pm; doors open at at 6:45 pm with a discussion following the movie. The Joiner Jamboree will be Saturday, Nov. 8 at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California Ave SW) from 11 am-3 pm.
