Get Involved With Our Efforts!
There are many ways you can join us in creating a community center at MLK School:
1. Contact the School Board
We think the School Board will vote early in 2010 on which proposal to support. The School Board needs to hear, loud and clear, that:
1. People of Madison Valley and
the Central Area want and need a Community Center of, for and by this community;
2. No matter how
well-intentioned, we have more than enough private schools in Madison Valley;
3. CCC@MLK has a viable vision
and plan;
4. They should not balance the
budget on the people’s backs: publicly-owned
property, such as Seattle schools, should be put to community use if sold or
leased; and
5. They should act in the best
interest of the community, not sell to the highest bidder, when deciding what
to do with MLKing Jr. School.
Please call the School Board at 206-252-0040 or email them by sending an email. Please cc Pamela Oakes (the senior administrative assistant to the School Board) and Ron English (who is overseeing the proposal process) and us when you send your letter.
2. Attend a School Board meeting
We need people to turn out to upcoming School Board meetings and voice their support for a community center at MLK. The next meeting we are asking folks to attend is their meeting on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 6 pm. Click here for the full School Board calendar. They meet at the John Sanford Center, 2445 3rd Ave. South (at Lander Street). Please email us if you can attend a meeting!
3. Write a Letter to the Editor
Let Seattle residents know that this issue is on the table! It is critical that we spread the word that the Board is considering the sale or lease of a publicly-owned building. Submit a letter of 200 words or less to The Seattle Times today!
4. Contact the Our City and State Leaders
Mayor McGinn, the Seattle City Council, and our state leaders need to hear that the community wants support of the M.L.King Jr. Community Center at the now-closed school.
In the past, the City of Seattle has allocated money to convert other closed schools into community centers (e.g., Phinney, U Heights). While they will not allocate money this cycle, our city leaders, including our new mayor, need to hear that this is a priority to support in the future. Call Mayor McGinn at 206-684-4000 or email him and voice your support.
The State Legislature has already allocated $1.1 million to turn MLK in to a community center--if the Board supports the idea. Contact state leaders to tell them to keep supporting funding for converting the school into a community center. Email Rep. Tomiko Santos, Rep. Pettigrew, Speaker Chopp and Sen. Kline.5. Volunteer
We are looking for volunteers to do regular projects like putting up posters, writing newsletter articles, and tabling at community events.
Distribute materials for us: Download a pdf of our poster or flyer and make some copies to distribute in the Central Area and greater Seattle. Let us know if you want buttons, bookmarks, or brochures to distribute and we can them to you.
To volunteer, contact info@mlkcommunitycenter.org.
We will be working to turn out neighbors to School Board meetings, and need help calling members of our group and generating visibility in the community!
6. Join our Steering Committee
Our core group of volunteers meets regularly each month. We are working to organize events to show public support for community ownership of the school, recruit additional partner groups, and generate letters and calls to the School Board. Please contact Kimberly Larson-Edwards if you would to become more involved in the steering committee: kimberlyvotes@gmail.com.
Other tasks include:
Fundraising/grant-writing subcommittee: if you have experience in grants or just want to help us raise funds, this is a great way to get involved.
Graphic design: help us design our logo, brochure and other materials.
Communications: help write newsletter articles (both for our newsletter and local neighborhood newsletters), outreach to the media, website updates.
Partner outreach: help with contacting possible partners to use space at the future community center.
Volunteer management and events: help organize lecture series, clean-ups, etc.
With your help we can keep the dream alive!