DAKOTA HOMESTEAD: Community campaign to buy ex-substation rekindling

Post courtesy of West Seattle Blog.

We haven’t heard much about the Dakota Homestead campaign, raising money to buy the ex-substation at 50th/Dakota (across from Genesee Hill Elementary), but it’s still alive, supporters say, and they’re inviting you to an informational event next week. It’s been three and a half years since the campaign launched; along the way, organizers have amassed some donations as well as grant money, but they have further to go to achieve their dream of buying the site to turn it into a neighborhood preserve and gathering space, a hub for urban gardening and environmental education. Board members of the Urban Homestead Foundation will host an informal meeting and Q&A session 6-7 pm Wednesday (December 18th) at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 2306 42nd SW. Board member Rich Sheibley tells WSB, “We are also using this time to ask for volunteers to help us on this project, and provide an overview of where we plan to go from here.”

BE A HERO IN THE HOME STRETCH

The Pig Roast Fundraiser event on September 16th, taken by Principal Kischner from the 3rd floor of Genesee Hill Elementary School.

The Urban Homestead Foundation has generated overwhelming community support for the purchase of the Dakota Homestead land. Our base of support continues to grow as we reach out to the community through events and media, and we gain further support from our local leaders who wish to see this kind of community outreach - a ‘modern barnraising’ -  succeed. People are inspired to get involved as soon as they hear what we have planned and are asked to participate in the vision of what this space could be.

Since establishing the Urban Homestead Foundation as a nonprofit less than two years ago, we have grown to a nine member Board of Directors, brought in over 25 active volunteers and more than 200 individual supporters, while establishing partnerships with numerous local environmental groups and a Community Partnership agreement with Genesee Hill Elementary across the street. Our volunteers have written grants, hosted house parties, worked festival booths, met with local officials, started letter writing campaigns, canvassed the neighborhood, and planned fundraisers.
 

PIG ROAST FUNDRAISER RECAP!

Our largest fundraiser this fall, a Pig Roast Fundraiser Dinner with a live band on the property, was a huge success in bringing neighbors together. With over 100 people from the community in attendance, and more from the neighborhood walking by to donate money when they found out what we’re doing, we witnessed the possibility of creating an urban hub where residents can gather in green space. This one fundraiser raised almost $10,000 through ticket sales, raffle tickets, donations and drink purchases. It was a blast! 

The developing relationships between neighbors is inspiring – there were many stories from the pig roast dinner of neighbors who had not yet been introduced, some living only a block away. Thank you to our community sponsors that made this event possible with donations of food, money and raffle items, thank you to Board member Becca Bay and her team of volunteers for months of planning, coordination and execution, to Josh Schramm and Westerly for amazing music and the pig crew of Nicole Ott, The Swinery and Genesee Hill PTA President Christine Kraynek and family for roasting the pig! Thank you to Kristen and Slade Bedford for the awesome cornhole boards that were raffled off, and to Christie Kinskey for the professional pictures. The biggest thank you to the community for coming together, supporting this project, showing up and making it a great event!

The partnerships we are building and plan to build are numerous. From the already mentioned Genesee Hill Elementary School, to other local schools in the area, and resources like Seattle Farm School, Seattle Tilth, AlleyCat Acres, the Beacon Hill Food Forest and Bradner Gardens. In addition, we are actively establishing relationships with local farms and farmers, small businesses and restaurants who want to be a part of a movement of individuals and families interested in urban gardening, environmental education, and sustainable food systems. 

This kind of community growth and strengthening can continue....but only if the land is saved in time. There are developers waiting at the door for us to fail and turn it into more housing. We have until the end of this year to raise the remaining funds needed to save the land forever. We've already cut the purchase price in half thanks to a matching grant that will match $325,000 and we have raised over $30,000 of individual donations from generous people like you.

We need $300,000 to save it. Now is the time to activate - ask your philanthropic friends, coworkers, your rich aunt, corporate community donation funders, dig into your own pockets....it's do or die time folks. Once lost, it can never be recovered. Save this land for yourself and your community this year!

As West Seattle experiences exponential residential growth, the purchase of the Dakota land mitigates this rapid density by preserving a piece of green space and creating an active community hub for children and adults. Beyond the environmental and educational benefits of preserving this open space across from Genesee Hill Elementary, this land acquisition allows residents to engage with each other in the development of something unique to Seattle. The question of what the land should be used for, from serving local food banks to partnering with social justice organizations and developing food sustainability curriculum, is an opportunity to come together in community conversations and develop an actionable plan that preserves the best and highest purpose of this space.

The fact that the land sits directly across from Genesee Hill Elementary, the largest elementary school in Seattle, is an asset. The students and staff will immediately gain the ability to develop a ‘living laboratory’ for student groups and adults to experiment with edible gardening and nature-based art, science and math. The preservation of this land connects the school to the neighborhood and the neighborhood to an active green space and experience which educates and inspires.

It’s rare that a community has the chance to deliberately invest in its own future. The Dakota Homestead presents an opportunity for people of all ages - kids, adults, and seniors - to have a spot right in their neighborhood to gather and be exposed to knowledge lost to the generations, about nature, about food, and about working together to make a better tomorrow. Preserving this land from development will reverberate through our community for generations to come.

SAVING THE SUBSTATION: Urban Homestead Foundation benefit dinner Saturday

Post courtesy of West Seattle Blog.

The Urban Homestead Foundation, raising money to buy the former City Light substation property on Genesee Hill, is sending out a last call for tickets to this Saturday’s pig-roast fundraising dinner. UHF’s Katie Stemp says it’s happening at the site, 50th/Dakota, 5-9 pm Saturday (September 16th): “Tickets are $75 and include a sit-down dinner, a drink, live music and dancing, and outdoor games! It’s going to be a blast and hopefully raise a lot of money to match the King Conservation Futures Fund grant we received! If there are local businesses that would like to be promoted by helping sponsor part of the event, they can contact Becca Bay at beccabayaway@gmail.com.” (We reported on the grant back in June.) You can buy your ticket(s) online right now – if you can’t commit until the last minute, Katie says they expect “a limited amount” available at the event.

West Seattle Blog: Urban Homestead Foundation building momentum; three events ahead

Originally published on February 28, 2017

Major milestone for the Urban Homestead Foundation, community volunteers pursuing a dream for the former City Light substation on Genesee Hill. And you have three chances in the next eight days to stop by, find out more, and have fun, starting tomorrow morning.

First, the milestone: Katie Stemp from the UHF says the organization has finally been granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status “after a year of working on the application and waiting to hear from the IRS! Now we are qualified to apply for several more grants than before! It’s a big step and we are very excited!”

Now, the backstory, since we haven’t mentioned the UHF in a while (here’s what we wrote about it last year) – it’s a community effort that first needs to raise money to buy the vacant city-owned land across from Genesee Hill Elementary, a former Seattle City Light substation, to turn it “into a valuable community asset for West Seattle and beyond.”

Next, the events

Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and March 7th, you’ll see a coffee cart at the site, where you’re invited to enjoy a cup of coffee (donated by Admiral Bird tomorrow, C & P Coffee Company [WSB sponsor] on March 7th) and find out more about getting involved with the project, including “a sneak peek at the future and hopeful home of the Dakota Homestead – a place for the community to gather, learn, play and grow together!” Look for the canopy at the corner of SW Dakota and 50th SW. Coffee’s free; donations will be accepted.

And next Sunday – March 5th – the Urban Homestead Foundation is hosting a Block Party on SW Dakota between 49th and 50th SW, 2-3:30 pm, “bringing neighbors together to celebrate the potential of what this vacant piece of land could be for our community. All are welcome! We’ve gotten a street permit along Dakota and we’re working on getting donated food and beer.”

Aside from events, the UHF team is working not only to seek grants but also to “connect with people from the area who are interested in helping fund or connect funders to the project, who are excited about positively impacting thousands of students through workshops that teach life skills (kitchen skills, growing food, finance, etiquette, etc.) and the opportunity to create a model, organic food garden for the community that all can enjoy. When we, as a community of invested adults, are able to influence youth in a positive way that builds self-confidence and resiliency, it changes the path their lives take and impacts the people they come into contact with. The ripple effect of helping youth is exponential and we want to bring that positive guidance into their lives.”

If you can’t make it to any of the events, connect with the UHF via its website.