At least 50% of each dinner bill will be donated to the Food Bank, and 66% of the cost of orders from a special menu will be donated.

“Our monetary goal for the evening is to raise $6,000,” Paul Yunker, Development Director at the University District Food Bank, said in an email sent to Food Bank supporters earlier today. “That’s essentially 50% of our food purchasing budget for the month of February.”

The Greenlake Bar & Grill is a My Green Lake advertiser.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2012.

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Post tags: food, fundraiser, local businesses, restaurants, udistrict

The 5K run/walk will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Race information is available here.

New and used shoes of any kind will be accepted at the FROGBOX booth beginning at 8 a.m. The booth, which will be on the west side of Green Lake, can be found by looking for stacks of big green boxes.

Redeeming Soles provides shoes to Seattle’s homeless and underprivileged. A video describing their mission can be viewed here:

Redeeming Soles will also be at Green Lake Park during SPU’s Falcons 5K Fun Run and Walk on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. And, they have a shoe drop-off center at Road Runner Sports (7020 Woodlawn Avenue NE).

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2012.

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Post tags: clothing, fundraiser, homeless, running

The event begins at 9:10 a.m. with a free Kids Dash, followed by a 5K run/walk at 9:30 a.m. The race course can be viewed here.

Runners will have the opportunity to “Burn the Turkeys” by racing against one male and one female running the event in turkey costumes. All the runners who finish the 5K before the turkey of their gender will automatically qualify to win a range of random prizes. There will also be a costume contest.

Eight contestants will compete in the Mashed Potato Munch Off. The competitive eating contest is four minutes long. The prize is “instant glory, some hard earned cash, a crown and a life-time entry into the 5K run/walk portion of the event.”

The 2009 Mashed Potato Munch Off can be viewed here:

Partial proceeds from the event, as well as canned food collected onsite, will be donated to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.

For more information, contact Promotion Events at info [at] promotionevents.com or (206) 729-9972.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: contest, food, fundraiser, running, thanksgiving, walking

Please join us and other Seattle online media at a benefit for Northwest Harvest on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Pies and Pints (1215 NE 65th St).

The event, organized by The SunBreak, is the fourth annual Blogsgiving. It is hosted by Roosiehood, Ravenna Blog, Wallyhood, My Green Lake and The SunBreak.

A suggested minimum donation of $5 to Northwest Harvest and/or two non-perishable food items will earn you one specialty drink, such as a Guinness with cider float.

Non-alcoholic beverages will also be available, as well as markers and paper for kids of all ages to make hand turkeys.

“All bloggers, readers, friends, enemies, and even frenemies are invited to attend,” Audrey Hendrickson of The SunBreak writes. “Blogsgiving is not just for hyperlocal newsies, but for anyone who might want to share a warm, social evening with people they know mainly through handles like @dawgs4ev. Come one, come all!”

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: building community, fundraiser, MyGreenLake.com, neighborhood blogging, roosevelt, thanksgiving

Kat is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory, an advanced reporting class in which students produce news stories and packages for local neighborhood and ethnic newspapers and online sites.

Peggy Snyder (left) and Elaine Mesh posing for a team photo before last year's Winter Pineapple Classic race. Photo courtesy Peggy Snyder.

Five years ago, way before she raised over $37,000 in total for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the Winter Pineapple Classic, Peggy Snyder never thought she’d have to fight the disease she was already helping others fight.

This Green Lake resident started participating in the Hawaiian-themed, obstacle-filled 5K race to support her friend and fellow Adobe co-worker, Eric Cox, the event’s founder.

Cox created the race in 2006, after his two-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia and his wife was told she had breast cancer. Luckily, both Cox’s son and his wife were able to pull through — they’re both currently in remission.

“We got to a place where, once we were through the hard parts, we wanted control back,” Cox said when talking about why he teamed up with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to create the event.

Joined by her co-worker and friend, Elaine Mesh, Snyder stepped in and became one of the event’s top fundraisers, likely using her experience working in sales with Adobe to help rack up the funds.

But in December 2009, the Winter Pineapple classic became much more personal for Snyder.

What she originally thought was a rash on her legs turned out to be Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma.

“My doctor said, ‘People who have this die, but not from [the lymphoma],’” Snyder said, modestly downplaying her cancer. “But [my diagnosis] made me more aware of how many can be impacted by leukemia and lymphoma.”

She saw a specialist from the University of Washington for diagnosis and treatment, and got her lymphoma under control. At the next Winter Pineapple Classic in 2010, Snyder raised $16,000 for The Lymphoma & Leukemia Society, the highest amount of money she’d ever raised in a year — she had an even more compelling story, after all.

“It gave me a whole different view of what was happening [at Pineapple] and by the people who are impacted,” Snyder said.

Mesh, who moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, still flies to Seattle every year to compete in the race as Snyder’s partner. Together, they climb over the obstacle course’s walls and through its tires.

“It’s a reminder that we’re all connected together,” Mesh said. “[The Winter Pineapple] does help people who are struggling with illness to have support.”

And Cox, whose family is doing well — he and his wife just had another child — is especially grateful to Peggy for the support she has given.

“Peggy is a special person, she’s so selfless,” Cox said. “She’s always there for people, the Pineapple — with the utmost grace, she takes it.”

The 2011 Winter Pineapple Classic will be at Mountain Meadows Farm in North Bend on Saturday, Nov. 12.

©UW News Lab for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fundraiser, health, running

Photo credit: McDonald Elementary School PTA

McDonald Elementary School is preparing for their biggest annual fundraiser.

On Friday, October 21, 2011 McDonald students will participate in the school’s second annual Move-a-Thon. The children – most in kindergarten or first grade – will walk or run laps at Wallingford Playfield to raise money for the school, while parents, friends, and neighbors cheer them on. This year, the Mariner Moose will also be on hand.

“This is our budding new school’s major fall fundraiser. We hope to be able to fund programs that will greatly enhance our children’s scholastic experience,” said Move-a-Thon organizer Jennifer Sill-Reichert in a press release from the school. “We are coming together as a community to make a difference. And the kids get to play a role in all this and have fun at the same time!”

McDonald Elementary, which opened just last year in the Lincoln High School building (4400 Interlake Ave N), has tripled in size this year to 190 students and serves children in grades K-5 from Wallingford, Green Lake, and the University District.

This year McDonald was designated an international school; its curriculum is modeled on that of nearby John Stanford International School.  The school will move to its permanent location at 114 NE 54th St in fall 2012, after renovation of the building is complete.

The McDonald PTA has a Move-a-Thon fundraising goal of $40,000, which will support programs that more-established schools already have, while keeping true to the values at McDonald: EDUCATION, TEAMWORK, HEALTH, COMMUNITY.

The PTA also is seeking local businesses to sponsor the Move-a-Thon. The many benefits for sponsors are listed on the McDonald PTA website.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fundraiser, kids, mcdonald school, running, schools, walking, wallingford

The MVP Challenge 5K will raise funds for Andrew Moritz, former University of Washington Men’s Basketball player and former Seattle Storm practice squad player. Andrew has a desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor.

“It is a very rare form of cancer,” reads the event’s website. “There are only two hospitals in the U.S. that staff specialists to treat this cancer. Funds raised via the event will support Andrew’s medical bills as well as the out of pocket travel expenses Andrew and his family incur.”

Andrew Moritz. Photo credit: Sid Hastings. Photo courtesy our news partner seattlepi.com.

The event starts and finishes near the Green Lake Community Center basketball courts (7201 E Green Lake Dr N).

DAY OF RACE SCHEDULE

8:30 am: Registration, bib and chip pick up
10:00 am: 5K Run & Walk Start
10:30 am: Start of the Post-race Celebration
10:45 am: Start of the Free Kids Dash
11:15 am: Awards Ceremony

According to the races’s registration page, “local celebrities including NBA legend Shawn Kemp and former WNBA world champion Storm player Adia Barnes” will be at the event.

The MVP Challenge 5K is hosted by the Adia Barnes Foundation and the Marvin Thomas Memorial Fund.

Thanks for the tip, Heidi!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: basketball, celebrities, fundraiser, running, walking

photo credit: USAG-Humphreys

The 4th annual Steps Against Domestic Violence-Seattle walk will be Sunday, October 30, 2011, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., at Green Lake Park.

An event’s goals are to raise awareness about domestic violence and to raise funds for New Beginnings. New Beginnings’ mission is “to provide shelter, advocacy and support for battered women and their children; and to change attitudes and social institutions that foster and perpetuate violence.”

Participants walk in memory of Marisa Peach, a native of Seattle who was murdered by her fiancé in 2007.

The walk begins at the Green Lake Community Center (7201 E Green Lake Dr N). Registration information is available here and sponsorship information is available here.

For more information about the walk, contact Arthur Peach at (206) 412.3198 or sadvArthurSeattle [at] comcast.net.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fundraiser, walking

Registration begins at 1 p.m. at the Green Lake United Methodist Church (6415 1st Ave NE).  At 1:30 p.m., walkers will leave the church and head down the street to the 2.8-mile Green Lake loop.

Green Lake United Methodist Church

photo credit: pixelgerm

A program of the Church World Service, CROP Hunger Walks “help children and families worldwide — and right here in the U.S. — to have food for today, while building for a better tomorrow.”

A portion of the funds raised in Seattle will benefit Northwest Harvest, North Helpline Food Bank, West Seattle Food Bank, and White Center Food Bank.

All are welcome to join the walk.

Thanks for the tip, Sheri!

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: fundraiser, spiritual, walking

More than 1,800 people are expected to attend.

The event begins at 9:10 a.m. with a free Kids Dash, followed by a 5K run/walk at 9:30 a.m. The race course can be viewed here.

Runners will have the opportunity to “Burn the Turkeys” by racing against one male and one female running the event in turkey costumes. All the runners who finish the 5K before the turkey of their gender will automatically qualify to win a range of random prizes. There will also be a costume contest.

Eight contestants will compete in the Mashed Potato Munch Off. The competitive eating contest is four minutes long. The prize is “instant glory, some hard earned cash, a crown and a life-time entry into the 5K run/walk portion of the event.”

The 2009 Mashed Potato Munch Off can be viewed here:

Partial proceeds from the event, as well as canned food collected onsite, will be donated to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.

For more information, contact Promotion Events at info [at] promotionevents.com or (206) 729-9972.

©Amy Duncan for My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog, 2011.

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Post tags: contest, food, fundraiser, running, thanksgiving, walking