By Kelsie Mhoon Luke McGuff had three simple rules for the volunteers at North Beach Park: “Be safe. Have fun. Get some work done.” The volunteers. McGuff on the far […]
Tag: volunteer
Volunteers want to help neighbors this Sunday
Volunteers with Ballard Church are looking for neighborhood projects. This Sunday, a couple dozen people will roll up their sleeves from 1 to 5 p.m. and will do anything – […]
Volunteer training for Seal Sitters this Saturday
When a seal or sea lion makes its way to one of our beaches, Seal Sitters is one of the first to be called. With pupping season in full swing, […]
Volunteers looking for Sunday projects
Volunteers through the new Ballard Church are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. This Sunday, about 20 people are available from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. […]
37th annual SeafoodFest looking for volunteers
Reposted: With SeafoodFest a little more than two weeks away, organizers are still in need of volunteers. This year’s weekend event will be held July 9th & 10th. The crowd […]
Seattle Public Library seeking volunteer gardeners
Interested in weeding gardens, raking leaves and picking up litter, all for a good cause and all in your own neighborhood? The Seattle Public Library is recruiting volunteers to help […]
Ballardite talks about volunteering in South Africa
Ballard High School grad Chris Kaimmer spent the past year in Mtubatuba, South Africa volunteering with Grassroots Soccer, a non-profit that uses soccer-based activities to teach South African kids about […]
SeafoodFest July 11 & 10
You read the headline correctly, the Ballard SeafoodFest will be held on July 11th & 10th. We reported earlier that the dates for the annual festival were changing for the […]
Ballardite finds new use for old gear in South Africa
Before 2005 Ballard High School grad Chris Kaimmer arrived in Mtubatuba, South Africa, young soccer players in the little town in the KwaZulu-Natal province didn’t have the right gear for the game.
A Mtuba soccer player in a borrowed green jersey.
Kaimmer is a volunteer with Grassroot Soccer, a non-profit that uses soccer-based activities to teach South African kids about HIV/AIDS. He also volunteers as a coach with the U-10 team at the Mtbua Football Academy. Kaimmer, a soccer player himself, started playing here in north Seattle, played varsity for BHS and went on to play at Yale before graduating last spring.
“When I first started coaching at the academy, I noticed they really lacked even basic equipment, especially for the level of soccer these kids are playing at (true talent out here and committed coaches),” Kaimmer says. The eight and nine-year-olds he coaches wore often unwashed green jerseys lent to them on game days by the primary school. “Although this was a fantastic situation for any of the Sounders fans among the MFA U-10 squad,” Kaimmer says, “it was actually really embarrassing for the boys because the official team colors are Red, Royal and White and they were the only team in the Academy that didn’t have the right gear.”
Kaimmer contacted his soccer friends back home in Ballard and the response was overwhelming. “Gear that’s old or unwanted back home can get so many more seasons’ mileage over here,” he says. We “ended up getting a huge amount of viking ship-emblazoned Ballard Youth Soccer Club jerseys, goalie jerseys, gloves and soccer boots donated to the cause and dropped at my folks’ house. Then one of my old coaches from the BHS soccer team, Dan Shiels, did a fundraiser to raise money to ship all that stuff down here to South Africa.”
SeafoodFest 2010 seeking volunteers
The annual Ballard SeafoodFest is just around the corner and organizers are looking for volunteers. The crowd at SeafoodFest 2009 “We are looking for help with set-up and tear-down, selling […]
‘BURP’ – a new community event on May 1
On May 1, Ballard Commons Park will be home to “BURP” a new day-long community event sponsored by the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. BURP is short for Ballard Urban Picnic. […]
Volunteers help with Salmon Bay Natural Area
A group of volunteers helped Groundswell NW spruce up and plant new vegetation at the Salmon Bay Natural Area over the weekend, through several bouts of heavy rain. Liz emailed […]
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