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Community Stories: Eduardo Mendonca 11/16/2009
A native of Bahia, Brazil, Eduardo Mendonca is a teaching artist for Arts Corps and director of Show Brazil! As a performer and educator, Mendonca shares his passion for Brazilian culture while promoting respect for other cultures via the arts. |
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Community Stories: Perche No -- Why Not? 11/9/2009
David and Lily Kong are ethnic Chinese restaurateurs with Italian souls, and Perche No Pasta and Vino is a gastronomic love story. After 17 years, the Kongs continue to win fans with their authentic Italian cuisine and warm hospitality. Well, why not? |
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Community Stories: Women Firefighters 10/26/2009
Barbara (Bonnie) Beers became the first woman firefighter for the Seattle Fire Department in 1977. As the very first woman firefighter, Beers paved the way for subsequent generations of women, like the young women who participate in the annual Camp Blaze firecamp, to consider careers in fire. Now retired, Battalion Chief Beers reflects on her thirty year career while other women firefighters, including Seattle Fire Department Assistant Chief Susan Rosenthal, firefighter Melissa Woolsey, also discuss their careers in fire, how the competitiveness and perceptions of women in fire have changed, and how the next generation will achieve their goals.
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Community Stories: Seattle Quake Rugby Team 10/19/2009
Seattle Quake Rugby Football Club became the first gay rugby team in Seattle in 2002. With its mission to bring the sport of rugby to gay men and men of color, the Quake competes in Division III of the Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union and provides a fostering and competitive environment to communities that have traditionally been unrepresented in this "hooligan`s sport, played by gentlemen." |
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Community Stories: Mayor`s Scholars 10/12/2009
Every school year students who excel in the classroom and on the sports fields are honored for their good grades and athletic ability. But what about the student who excels in generosity? The Mayor`s Scholars Award does just that. Each year, middle school students who offer their free time, helpful spirit and love to those around them are honored by City Leaders. This year the program enters its tenth year of encouraging volunteerism among young people. Meet some of the current winners and past recipients to see what drives them to give back to their community. |
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Community Stories: C.A.S.T. for Kids 10/5/2009
Special needs children do not get many recreational opportunities, but C.A.S.T. for Kids is helping to change that. This local organization hosts fishing events to give disabled kids a memorable way to enjoy nature and experience the great outdoors! |
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Community Stories: Medical Interpreters -- A Bridge to Care 9/28/2009
Navigating the health care system can be daunting, especially if there are cultural and language barriers. Medical interpreters, who often draw from their own experiences and histories, work with patients and providers to bridge those gaps. |
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Community Stories: Hassan Maalim Guyo -- A Warrior's Journey 9/21/2009
As the first person from his remote Kenyan village to attend college in the U.S., Hassan Maalim Guyo never forgot where he came from. Now Guyo has created a non-profit foundation that builds schools and runs a mobile medical clinic near his birthplace. |
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Community Stories: Somaythia 4/13/2009
Somaythia Airhart and her mother Phon Thach are survivors of the Cambodian Killing Fields and longtime Seattle residents. Somaythia shares her memories of growing up during a time of war and being a refugee, and how her bond with her mother, as well as her experience as a first generation immigrant, shaped who she is today. |
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Community Stories: Seattle's Somali Community
3/27/2009
Somali Americans are one of the fastest growing populations in Seattle. That growth has led to economic, political and religious successes as well as challenges. In this episode of Community Stories, a community leader, an educator, a business owner and an advocate discuss how their community is balancing their traditional culture and the demands of a new society. In essence how they are making Seattle and America their home. |
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Community Stories: Hidmo Means Home 3/20/2009
Rahwa and Asmeret Habtes Central District restaurant Hidmo is more than just an Eritrean restaurant. Despite initial resistance from the changing neighborhood, the restaurant has grown into a space that serves as a venue for a diverse group of musicians, writers, artists and patrons who agree that Hidmo Restaurant and Lounge is a home where community flourishes. |
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Community Stories: Men of the Mountain 3/9/2009
Meet Rusty Purnell and Romaine Jackson: Two African American men who add a brilliance of color to the snow cap mountains of the Pacific Northwest. They share their story and their love of skiing with us and how they give back to their community in an inspiring story called Men of the Mountain. |
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Community Stories: Cosmetology 3/2/2009
In 2005, Gwendolyn Chambliss launched her own distinctive beauty school, the GP Institute of Cosmetology, in the Rainier Valley. What sets this school apart is its emphasis on "life" skills -- listening and communicating with people -- that are beyond the basic training required for certification in Cosmetology. Gwendolyn's focus on her students' success as well as serving her community (free haircuts for the homeless) has earned her business an excellent reputation, flourishing on word-of-mouth promotion. The economic down turn is threatening this unique Seattle business, but she continues to stay true to her mission. As Gwendolyn says: "We can be our own stimulus package." |
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Community Stories: Seattle in the Age of AIDS 2/13/2009
A time of panic and fear, this recount looks back into the early '80's during the onset of the AIDS epidemic in Seattle. The stories are told through the words of a handful of people who lived and worked on the front lines in the community. |
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Community Stories: Helping Link 2/6/2009
Founded in 1993, Helping Links mission is to empower Vietnamese-Americans social adjustment, family stability and self-sufficiency while nurturing community service and youth leaders. Director Minh-Duc Nguyen recalls what inspired her and her colleagues to launch the organization while being an inspiration to the next generation of Helping Links volunteers. |
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Community Stories: Lucy Lopez 2/2/2009
Lucy Lopez is the grandmother of Mexican food in Seattle. When she moved here from Cuautla, Mexico over 40 years ago, there were very few Mexican restaurants in the Northwest. Thanks to her business acumen and hard work, she has helped bring us the flavors – and the people - of her hometown, and in the process, made it possible for over 400 local Mexican restaurants to flourish. |
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Community Stories: Marra Farms 1/26/2009
One of the last two remaining pieces of original agricultural land in Seattle, Marra Farm, located on a 4 acre preserve in South Park, strives to address community food security needs, provide a space for sustainable agriculture education, and engage community members. |
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Community Stories: Pacific NW African American Fine Arts 1/19/2009
NAAFA (Northwest African American Fine Arts) is an organization of artists who have a group show in the Seattle area once a year. Inspired by a visit to an African American arts festival in Baltimore, NAAFA aims to showcase the diverse talents and creative vision of African American artists in the Pacific Northwest. |
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Community Stories: Charlene Curtiss 11/19/2007
World-renown wheelchair dancer Charlene Curtiss breaks ground in the field of dance as she and her dance partner Joanne Petroff work towards integrating the discipline of wheelchair dance into the mainstream. |
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Community Stories: Millie Russell 11/14/2007
On this episode of the Seattle Channel series Community Stories, meet Dr. Millie Russell. Dr. Russell is an African American civil rights activist and educator who recently retired from her daily duties at the University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs and Department of Biology. She shares her story of growing up in Seattle; breaking ground in the field of science; taking part in the civil rights movement; and why she can never really retire. |
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Community Stories: Jack Straw Productions 11/5/2007
Every summer, Jack Straw Productions invites visually impaired kids to their studios to learn about audio production. The Blind Youth Audio Program with Jack Straw staff, visiting artists and blind musician/engineer/producer Todd Houghton, workshops radio dramas, soundscapes and learn interview, music and radio recording.
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Community Stories: Salima Restaurant 10/29/2007
Opening about a year ago behind the roar of the new Sound Transit light rail on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Rainier Valley, Salima Restaurant is the first 100% Halal Muslim restaurant serving Vietnamese, Malaysian and Cham cuisine in the region. Owners Salima and Asari Mohamath not only serve the best peanut sauce in town, but also aspire to share their culture to their neighborhood and community through cuisine. |
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Community Stories: Babes Network 10/15/2007
The BABES Network-YWCA, a support group for women living with HIV and AIDS, started in the 1980s as a potluck gathering. Today, it has grown into a non-profit organization partnered with the YWCA, and finds ways to support its members as their needs evolve. Here, the Babes share their stories through a workshop and theater performance, called Positive Dreams: Weaving Stories of Our Sisterhood. |
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Community Stories: Sustaining the Faith 10/8/2007
Environmental activism is not a term normally associated with religious groups. But in Seattle, a group of faith-based community leaders is on a mission to change that. Not only do they believe that religion can help save the environment; they believe the environmental movement may help save the religious community. To learn more about faith-based efforts to promote social and environmental sustainability visit Earth Ministry at www.earthministry.org. To get involved in helping to restore green spaces through the Seattle Green Partnership Program, visit www.greenseattle.org |
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Community Stories: Lost and Found 10/1/2007
On this episode of Community Stories, meet Veta Hernadez, a single mom who found her calling through a job placement training program that reunites travelers with their items lost at SeaTac Airport. |
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Community Stories: Partners in MS 9/24/2007
Filmmaker John Jeffcoat (director Outsourced, (2007)) takes a personal look at living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The Pacific Northwest has one of the highest MS rates in the nation. Jeffcoat speaks with his wife, Deryn, who was diagnosed with MS in 1990; one of Seattle's leading MS doctors; and a colleague whose partner has MS; to explore the emotional landscape that people and families face with this chronic disease. |
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Community Stories: The Royal Esquire Club 1/28/2007
A local fixture since 1948, the Royal Esquire Club was initially founded in post-World War II Seattle as a place where African American men could gather for group events and have fun. In the nearly sixty years since, the club continues to operate out of Columbia City as a gathering place for members, but it also contributes as a community resource with its scholarship fund and charitable giving. The Royal Esquire Club's combined legacy of social activity and community outreach is what keeps it going strong after all these years. |
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Community Stories: Hari Kondabolu 12/17/2006
Can civil rights activism and stand up comedy mix? Hari Kondabolu, a staff member of the organization Hate Free Zone, has told jokes on stage since high school, and his humor has evolved in step with his awareness and activity with race and social justice issues. "What I do on stage and what I do at work...there are definitely similarities," says Hari. To him, communicating through activism and laughter can be one and the same. |
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Community Stories: To Give and Receive 10/29/2006
When Zapotec artist Fulgencio Lazo moved from Oaxaca, Mexico in 1990, he wanted to bring his generation's affirmation of art and culture via the Fiesta de Santa Rosa de Lima to the growing Oaxacan community in Seattle. He met up with Seattle resident Bill Clifford, who helped to form the musical group La Banda Gozona, a multi-ethnic group of musicians playing the traditional music of Oaxaca. Part cultural exchange and part culturally sensitive preservation of Oaxacan music, La Banda Gozona celebrates the struggles and triumphs of the Oaxacan community both here and in Mexico through music and dance year round. |
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Community Stories: Ballard Eagles Drill Team 10/8/2006
The Ballard Eagles Drill Team is a Seattle institution in turquoise, gold and black. Originating in 1961, BEDT began as an activity for youth via the Fraternal Order of Eagles Ballard Eagles Aerie No. 172. A fixture on the summer parade circuit, BEDT has promoted pride, good sportsmanship and created generations of volunteers and life long friendships for countless number of young women in Ballard and beyond. |
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Community Stories: West Seattle Story Pole 9/3/2006
There is a new historic totem pole standing at the crest of Admiral Way Point in West Seattle. Duwamish wood carver Michael Halady made this 65 foot “story pole” that tells the story of the Duwamish tribe, Seattle’s indigenous peoples, and the first pioneers who landed at Alki Point in 1855. Halady, a fifth generation descendant of Chief Seattle, and members of the Admiral Community Council, who worked many years on replacing the current pole, hopes this first Duwamish made pole keeps alive the continuity of West Seattle and the Duwamish as well as celebrates the history of our city’s first community. |
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Community Stories: Evolving Identities 7/9/2006
Kathie and Kaitlin are two lesbians from diverse backgrounds. Kathie has been active in the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender and people of color communities for over twenty years and has witnessed the changes from the pre-Civil Rights era through today while Kaitlin, a regular participant at Lambert House, a drop-in center for LGBT and questioning youth, is active in Seattle's LGBT youth community at the age of 19. While Kathie and Kaitlin represent the "then and now" of the lesbian activist community, their stories of coming out and volunteering are much the same. |
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Community Stories: Hilda Magana 6/18/2006
Hilda Magana left her rural Mexican home at 19, in search of a better life. With her small son Alex in tow, she endured a harrowing journey across the border, and arrived in Seattle feeling lost and homesick. Through El Centro de la Raza, the 33-year-old locus for Seattle’s Latino community, Hilda was able integrate her identity as an immigrant and is currently the director of the nationally recognized bilingual Jose Marti Child Development Center. Hilda now feels pride and love for both of the cultures in her life: Mexican and American. |
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Community Stories: Kids Tame the Flame 5/28/2006
Not long after a small group of middle school kids, on their way to play basketball, stopped to watch glass making at nearby Pratt Fine Arts Center, something very special happened. The boys, with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, were invited to make glass beads and sculptures with Pratt instructor Stacy Frost. Despite their troubles in school, the kids excel in the glass studio, a place where they have developed confidence and self-respect. See how the transformative power of art has changed these kids lives. |
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Community Stories: Sister Schools 5/14/2006
Terry McGill made his first trip to Uganda in 1988. Although he traveled there for a soccer match, he noticed the incredible hardships that Ugandans were facing after 20 years of civil war and a devastating AIDS epidemic. He returned to Seattle and embarked on a creating a program that paired Seattle school children with Ugandan youth, a program that has since sent over 200,000 pounds of gifted supplies to kids in need. Through his work, Terry teaches the importance of giving and charity, and fosters international understanding in children locally and abroad. |
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Community Stories: Aquarium Kids 4/16/2006
Every Sunday on Pier 59, three high schoolers come to the Seattle Aquarium to help clean the exhibit tanks and feed the animals, all to prepare for the thousands of visitors who come to aquarium each week. Interns Sam, Shun, and Savy all come from families with roots in Asia, but their unique personalities and life histories illustrate the diversity within the Asian American community, a diversity that in turn enriches the lives of the aquarium's staff and visitors. |
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Community Stories: Cats and Dogs 4/2/2006
Folks with pets often label themselves as either cat people or dog people. But one thing they can agree on is that animals enrich and enhance our lives, and taking good care of them reflects our capacity for good stewardship. Nina Pruneda and Nancy Burke, two volunteers for PAWS Seattle and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue respectively, have taken it one step further by dedicating their time to homeless cats and dogs and finding them new families. By caring for these critters, Nina and Nancy demonstrate a compassion and respect for living things that can carry out to the community at large. |
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Community Stories: From Yoomee to Deborah 3/19/2006
Deborah Jean Yoomee Ko Miller Warren was born out of wedlock in Korea and adopted at the age of six by Queen Anne couple Michael and Linda Warren. They had a biological son of their own as well as another adopted Korean son, and they created a nurturing and loving family. Deborah became an achieving student and easygoing friend, but she still had a lot of exploring to do about her own identity. Like her name, Deborah is a combination of many things; a mix of heritages and histories that has inspired her to help other international adoptees on their own journeys. |
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Community Stories: Tap Dancing 3/5/2006
Melba Ayco assumed responsibility for TTAAPP (Talent, Tap, Acting, Arts, Performance and Production) Central after its founder, Darrlyn Cook-Smith, passed away in 2002. For Melba Ayco, a twenty year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, TTAAPP Central is more than just a tap dance studio reintroducing a traditional African American art form. She also instructs the students, ages 4 and up, in the importance of commitment, and how wrong choices can lead to unpleasant consequences. TTAAPP Central is one big family for Ayco, a self described Louisiana country girl. |
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Community Stories: Uncle Jimmy 2/19/2006
Born and raised in Seattle, James Mar has spent many of his 91 years working out of his family’s store in the International District. The Yick Fung Co., established in 1910, is a restaurant supply store that also acted as an unofficial social service agency to new Chinese immigrants. 90 years later, James carries on the tradition of helping his community. As the only funeral director for the Chinese community, James, or “Uncle Jimmy” can be counted on to help the folks in need. Reflecting on his life and the International District, James Mar is living history and a neighborhood institution. |
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Community Stories: Hydroplane Racer Harold Mills 2/3/2006
Veteran hydroplane racer Harold Mills has won just about every honor a driver could receive. He has been a Region 10 High Point Champion,Western Divisional Champion and National Champion, and has also won both the Sportsman of the Year award and the George Babcock Award for Most Outstanding Driver. But speed isn't the only barrier Mills has broken; he's also made history as the sport's first African American driver. Mills is proud of his accomplishments as a driver, and is committed to bringing more diversity to the sport of hydroplane racing. |
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Community Stories: VA Volunteers 1/18/2006
The Seattle division of the Department of Veteran Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System on Beacon Hill is a special place, not just because provides world class medical care for America’s veterans, but also because of its large volunteer community. These volunteers, who are often veterans themselves, help out in nearly every aspect of support care for the patients. Profiles of some of the VA’s volunteers celebrate the time and attention these folks donate to the men and women who served our country. |
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Community Stories: Empowered by Biodiesel 1/6/2006
The burgeoning biodiesel community in Seattle is not just for hard core environmentalists anymore. Citizens choose to go biodiesel for a number of reasons - to have less impact on the environment and to be less reliant on fossil fuels are a couple of incentives -- but they also come together to share knowledge and support this growing industry. Biodiesel users like activist Aaron Kahn, business owner Rob Elam, and co-op member Ara Erickson share how folks create community at the fuel pump. |
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Community Stories: Masguda Queen of Tatar 12/5/2005
Masguda Shamsutdinova immigrated to Seattle from the district of Tatarstan, a sovereign state united to the Russian Federation. She gave up her career there as a successful folk modern composer to move to the U.S. for her family. Masguda’s approach to living in the U.S. is that of an artist in transition. She shares her inspirations and history, her struggles with learning English and the music she hears in her everyday life in Seattle and discusses the differences between her past and present life. The episode also features symphonies and works in progress by Masguda. |
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Community Stories: Salvadorean Bakery 11/18/2005
The Salvadorean Bakery in White Center serves not only as a popular dining spot but also as culinary gateway to El Salvador. Ana Castro and her sister Aminta Elgin opened the bakery in 1996 and it has since flourished as a successful restaurant/bakery and a cultural community center through its food. By sharing their pasteles (hand-shaped pastries), desayuno (breakfast fare) and food items like pollo encebollado, pupusas and yucca frita with others, Ana and Aminta give their bakery’s diverse clientele a little bit of El Salvadorean tradition while they keep alive their strong ties to their culture. |
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Community Stories: Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center 10/23/2005
When 11 year old Jordan Bolden signed up for the summer musical program at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, he knew he wanted to be a part of it since age four but he had no idea he was going to end up with the lead. A lot of kids who sign up for the summer musical don’t know what they are capable of until the show finally hits the Seattle Rep after 10 weeks of intense rehearsals. Much of that education and growth comes from the musical’s director, Isiah Anderson Jr., a 15 year vet of summer musicals for kids. |
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Community Stories: The Blue Scholars 10/6/2005
Emcee George "Geologic" Quibuyen and DJ Alexei "Sabzi" Saba Mohajerjasbi met over an interest in music, but they took it a step further when they formed the hip hop duo Blue Scholars, whose self released album in 2005 has been a critical and local hit. The duo's body of work is deeply influenced by their heritages and is also about issues that are local, national and global in scope. Though on the brink of national success, Blue Scholars continue to work in Seattle and are committed to making music about and contributing back to their communities. Special Note: This program was featured in the Northwest Asian American Film Festival Short Programs of the Northwest in January 2006. |
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Community Stories: Zewditu Aschenaki 9/25/2005
Zewditu Aschenaki is a true immigrant success story. She is an Ethiopian refugee who came to Seattle by way of Sudan and then Canada. Through determination, hard work and a strong community, Zed has managed to open a thriving salon in the heart of Columbia City, raise her small daughter and continue her own education. |
