Kitsap Great Give aims to raise millions
Kitsap Great Give is April 19, but people actually can start donating to their favorite nonprofit April 1.
More than 350 nonprofits are participating, hoping to raise millions of dollars.
Donations go to whichever nonprofits you pick, but if you give during this drive, donations are increased by bonus funds. Go to your favorite organization’s website to donate.
Shred event
People can get their sensitive papers torn to shreds at the annual Bainbridge Island Kiwanis Club shred event April 23.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Columbia Bank on High School Road. The club rents a giant shredder to do the job.
“We do it right after tax season,” club member Keaton said, adding they often have a line waiting at the start, but then it’s a steady stream all day.
Donations are accepted. Funds help raise 10 $3,000 college scholarships for Bainbridge High School graduates each year.
$3,000 grant
A $3,000 grant has been awarded to Bainbridge Community Foundation through the Seattle Kraken Light of Lamp sponsorship program.
The foundation, in partnership with Bainbridge Schools Foundation, Bainbridge Youth Services and Helpline House, created the Youth Experience Support Fund to provide financial assistance to local youth in order to participate in sports or other in-school or extracurricular activities.
Puget Sound Energy announced a multiyear partnership with Climate Pledge Arena and the Kraken NHL team to promote energy efficiency and sustainability across the region.
“When a young person is facing hardship and reaches out for help, saying ‘yes’ not only meets their need, but it builds their future resiliency,” said Jim Hopper, the foundations’s executive director.
The YES Fund makes financial assistance available to young people through a quick and confidential process, creating opportunities for students who may not otherwise have the resources to meet basic needs, to achieve academic success, or to pursue extracurricular activities.
Poetry month
Poems will be displayed in 33 Winslow business windows in April as a part of Poetry Month.
Poetry Corners, started in 1999, continues its tradition of posting local poems downtown as a public exhibit. “I have always known that more people write poetry than they let on,” said Tamarah Rockwood, local artist, poet and curator. “It is such a joy finding these poets and reading their work, and immortalizing their craft in a journal. This is the purpose of art, is to bring the artists together.”
Also, there will be a live reading May 1 at 6 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Library. A map of poems’ locations can be found at poetrycorners.com.
More BIMA events
Personal narratives from those who experienced Japanese American concentration camps and their aftermath will be told April 2 at 2 p.m. at Frank Buxton Auditorium at Bainbridge Island Museum of Arts.
Live readings will be presented by descendants of internees and others. Images sharing the history and legacy of the camps also will be shown.
At the same time and place, but on April 30, activist, writer and filmmaker Frank Abe will present the history and inspiration for his graphic novel “We Hearby Refuse,” and his documentary film “Conscience and the Constitution.” His projects give voice to the Japanese American wartime resisters.
On April 1 at the Beacon Gallery at BIMA, a free drop-in community bookmaking event is taking place. Hands-on projects for all ages can participate.
Art exhibition
A “No sales tax” art exhibition will take place at Roby King Gallery on Winslow April 1-30.
To celebrate tax day, if such a thing can be celebrated, the gallery pays the sales tax. Works of over 30 artists and sculptors will be on display. Opening reception is April 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday noon to 5 p.m., closing an hour earlier on Sunday. Large Works will be the theme in May.
Fresco demo
Demonstrations of Frescotennis, a game invented on Bainbridge Island, will take place at the Bainbridge Rec Center April 11. Youth demos will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and adult demos from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. They will be indoors at Court 4.
A similar event will take place May 2, said Julie Miller, recreation program administrator. The game is a combination of tennis, racquetball and ping pong. Depending on your ability, it can be played fast or slow, depending all which ball is used.
Local author
Steph Jagger of Bainbridge Island will be having an in-person book event at Eagle Harbor Books at 6:30 p.m. April 28.
Jagger’s book, “Everything Left to Remember,” is about her traveling to the Rocky Mountains with her mother, whom she is losing to dementia. Jagger unearths the story of her mother’s life as she reexamines her own. A defying act of self-expression from a mother and daughter taught to repress themselves, the book is a love letter to motherhood, womanhood, and the magic that can happen under the stars.
Sixty years prior, Jagger’s mother gave her first child up for adoption. Knowing only parts of her mother’s life, Jagger makes a promise to write her mother’s story. But with dementia, her clear moments are fewer and farther in between. Packing their bags, Jagger and her mother embark on a trip to Montana for two weeks of hiking, horseback riding and camping. With her mother fully in her care for the first time, Jagger struggles with their new role reversal. Yet, among the calming wilderness, Jagger watches pieces of her mother come out in clear, bright bursts, allowing the two to truly see each other for what may be the first time. Jagger’s first book, “Unbound, “was published in 2017.
Helping Ukraine
Three local practitioners were among a dozen nationwide who recently participated in online wellness workshops to raise funds for the people of Ukraine.
Locals leading workshops included:
• Pamela Malo, MHS, RD, an expert at understanding the dynamic relationship people have with food. She is a master’s level registered dietitian, coach and certified yoga Kripalu instructor. She leads workshops across the country about mind-body nourishment and is the creator of Yoga & Peaceful Eating and Pajama Yoga.
• Chris Wurden, also of Bainbridge, is an accomplished breathwork facilitator, mindfulness coach and musician. Trained in techniques of Buteyko, Oxygen Advantage, The Wim Hof Method, as well as Gong Yoga Nidra, Wurden will create space for you to access the deepest and most powerful parts of yourself.
• Ashley Hagen of Poulsbo is a yoga teacher, YTT lead trainer, studio owner, online course creator, entrepreneur and media communications expert.
For details go to worldwidewellbeingcollective.podia.com.
Local scholars
Bainbridge: Tyler Stewart, Dean’s List, Loyola University Maryland.
