Gold Star
February 8, 2011
Lacrosse team lights up hospital
Issaquah High School boys lacrosse team
The Issaquah High School boys lacrosse team lit up Seattle Children’s with strings of holiday lights Dec. 11.
The team members regularly volunteer together, and have already leant their services to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, Mountains to Sound Greenway, Issaquah Schools Foundation’s Calling for Kids, tree planting in the Issaquah Highlands and mentoring the Issaquah Youth Lacrosse teams.
Their season opens at 7:30 p.m. March 11, with a game against Couer d’ Alene, Idaho at Issaquah High School Stadium, 700 Second Ave. S.E.
Issaquah High School graduate ‘Santa Al’ brings Christmas joy to ailing children
December 21, 2010
Al Krush, a.k.a. Santa Claus
Santa Claus faced a daunting task just before Thanksgiving.
Clad in street clothes, the holiday figure hurried to Seattle Children’s on a mission. Santa Claus had been summoned to the bedside of a cancer-stricken boy to celebrate Christmas early. Doctors said the boy seemed unlikely to survive until the holiday.
So, the plainclothes Santa Claus retired to a nearby hospital room and transformed into the familiar figure — all red and green, fur and velvet.
(The hospital has strict rules regarding costumed characters on campus due to security concerns and infection-control procedures. Hence, the need for Santa Claus to change inside the hospital.)
Discovery Elementary students finish marathon in months
November 30, 2010
Discovery Elementary School students Kiley Prutzman (left) and Anjai Bhuthpur run laps around the school baseball diamond during lunch recess. By Katie McDorman
A total of 30 students laced their shoes, stretched their legs and — during a two-month period — ran a marathon.
Discovery Elementary School first-grade teacher Reyna Yamamoto started the running club in late September, teaching her students how to warm up and cheering them on as they ran laps around the school’s baseball diamonds during lunch recess and early morning Thursday practices.
Just as in walkathon, students carried cards marking their progress. Every six laps around the diamonds equals one mile, and the students tried to run at least three miles per week, gaining endurance and confidence for the Nov. 27 Seattle Marathon.
For those who had accrued enough miles, the 1.2-mile Seattle Children’s Kids Marathon pushed the Discovery students to reach the 26.2-mile mark. Read more
Event of the Month
November 23, 2010
Jingle Bell Bash
Dec. 4 at the WaMu Theater, Seattle — The popular concert that marks the true advent of winter festivities returns, featuring 3OH!3, the Maine, All Time Low, A Rocket to the Moon and many others, including a surprise guest. Ticket prices range from $45 to $300 and sell out fast. One dollar from each ticket sale goes to supporting the Seattle Children’s Radiothon. Visit Kiss 106.1 FM’s website for more information.
Eastside Baby Corner hosts its first-ever fundraiser
November 9, 2010
Karen Rubin, an Eastside Baby Corner volunteer, stacks a donated shipment of new child car seats. In 2009, an average of 25 car seats were distributed each week. Contributed
For the first time in its 20-year history, Eastside Baby Corner is having a fundraiser for itself.
Karen Ridlon, a pediatric nurse, founded the nonprofit organization in 1990, using her house as a donation bank. The baby clothes, toys, shoes and bikes soon overtook her kitchen and dining room. Rowley Properties helped her acquire a facility, and the community has kept her awash in donations for children up to age 12 in the 20 years since.
But some donations were harder to come by, like car seats, cribs, beds, diapers, baby formula and baby food. When the Eastside Baby Corner board approved its three-year plan in 2008, it determined that the organization needed to find adequate and sustainable funding sources to buy the supplies that were in constant demand.
Through much planning, the board decided to start an annual luncheon to raise money and awareness for Eastside Baby Corner.
The free luncheon and fundraiser will feature Bill Grace, a social justice activist and traveling teacher who founded the Center for Ethical Leadership in Seattle. Grace directs Common Good Works and speaks at seminars across the world.
The nonprofit has set a goal of raising $50,000, director of development and community relations Helen Banks Routon said.
She thanked the luncheon’s four sponsors: Swedish Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center and Clark Nuber, a Bellevue accounting and consulting business.
Last year, Eastside Baby Corner distributed more than 40,000 items amounting to almost $3 million worth of goods.
Every week, “about 500 kids are positively impacted,” Routon said.
The nonprofit does not work directly with families, but with 120 provider partners. Each week, the provider can request up to 20 items, which it can then give to local families. Eastside Baby Corner also works with food banks, including the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank.
Donations from the luncheon will pay for supplies.
“It’s a great way to mark our 20 years,” Routon said. “It’s a great way to build our resources so we can meet the needs of the children in our community.”
If you go
Eastside Baby Corner luncheon
- 11:30 a.m. Nov. 15
- Hilton Bellevue
- 300 112th Ave. S.E., Bellevue
- To register, e-mail events@babycorner.org or go to www.babycorner.org by Nov. 10. The website also accepts tax-deductible donations.
- To donate new or gently used items, go to Eastside Baby Corner, 1510 N.W. Maple St., from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays, 9-11 a.m. Thursdays or 9 – noon Saturdays.
Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 241, or lgeggel@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
Quizbowl competition benefits Seattle Children’s
November 9, 2010
Two Issaquah High School groups are inviting the community to watch and participate in their charity quizbowl and dance competition.
Master of the Mind is at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Pacific Cascade Middle School, 24635 S.E. Issaquah-Fall City Road. Tickets are $1 for students and $5 for adults. The IHS National Honor Society and Junior Statesmen of America are holding the fundraiser to benefit Seattle Children’s.
Follow frightfully simple tips for Halloween safety
October 29, 2010
NEW — 6 a.m. Oct. 29, 2010
Halloween is exciting for young revelers — but some of the scares can be real.
Halloween is a fun time for children, but the holiday is also time to be vigilant for possible safety hazards.
Before little ghouls and goblins set off into the night in search of candy, parents should talk to children about potential hazards of costumes or accessories, tainted candy and crossing the street unsupervised.
Drivers should also be vigilant for costumed children on Sunday night, as trick-or-treaters turned out in droves. Issaquah police plan extra patrols for Halloween weekend.
Family spearheads benefit to raise money for tumor research
October 26, 2010
The Lynch family — Kirstin, Hayden, Brendon and Charlotte — is working to organize a fundraiser that will support tumor research, and, in turn, their son Hayden, who has neurofibromatosis 1. By Lynette Huffman Johnson
In the delivery room, doctors noticed Hayden Lynch’s large birthmarks, called café au lait spots. Furrowing their brows, they told his parents, Kirstin and Brendon Lynch, that the spots could be a sign of neurofibromatosis type 1, called NF1.
In addition to the spots, the disease causes neurofibromas — tumors that can grow anywhere in the body, especially just under the skin, in the brain or on the spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. Usually, the tumors are benign, but they can put pressure on surrounding areas, causing pain or loss of function, such as blindness, deafness and cardiovascular problems. Still, many NF patients can lead full, productive lives, according to the Mayo Clinic. Read more
Lymphoma survivor takes a leading role in Seattle’s Light the Night Walk
October 12, 2010
In September 2009, Newcastle resident and Maywood Middle School sixth-grader Sara Flash got sick and just would not get better. Doctors tried a variety of antibiotics to treat what they thought to be an ear infection, and then pneumonia.
Honored patient Stacey Mertes (center) speaks to walkers at Seattle’s Light the Night Walk Sept. 28 while Sara Flash, of Newcastle (right), and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Executive Director Anne Gillinghamlisten look on. Contributed
Weeks after first becoming sick, Sara was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was at Seattle Children’s for chemotherapy. Read more
Bring the kids to festival’s Field of Fun
September 21, 2010
If you have children, plan to visit the Field of Fun this year at Salmon Days.
The playground of free and exciting activities is located on Veterans’ Memorial Field, behind the Issaquah Police Department and next to the Foods of the World. Catered toward the youngest festivalgoers, the Field of Fun has safe, fun, free and fishy activities for all ages.
For children who love to leap and tumble, try the Incredible Inflatables. Jump, climb and bounce around in these brightly colored, inflatable play toys. For more roly-poly fun, check out the giant hamster balls. Climb inside these giant inflatable balls and see what if feels like to be a hamster.
Who says there has to be snow for skis and snowboards? See extreme winter athletes demonstrate thrilling tricks on a 40-foot ramp. After the hair-raising exhibits, they’ll join the audience on spring-free trampolines to show how to have fun safely.
