Special events

Spaghetti, Soup & Silent Auction

Fundraiser

A group of local young men from Maple Valley is raising funds to finance a trip to Africa to deliver soccer equipment, run soccer camps, and work with two orphanages and amputee camps in Sierra Leone. You can help them reach their goal!

Join us for a fun evening of community and fundraising featuring a wonderful traditional spaghetti or stroganoff soup dinner with garlic bread, Caesar salad and dessert on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 5:45 pm to 8:00 pm in the main hall at the Greater Maple Valley Community Center. A raffle and silent auction will also help raise funds for this special trip. Cost is $5.00 per person or $20.00 per family.

For more information please contact Trish.

King County Options for Voters with Disabilities

Cast a private and independent ballot

King County now votes entirely by mail and it’s important that voters who need assistance know their options.

King County operates three accessible voting centers designed for voters who need assistance casting their ballot.

Each center is operated by trained staff and offers equipment to make voting accessible for everyone.   The touch screen accessible voting unit has lap paddle and sip-and-puff devices, an audio option, and large and high contrast font features to aid voters.  

How do you plan to cast your ballot?  If you are interested in using an accessible voting unit, plan your trip now.  King County’s accessible voting centers are located at the Elections office in Tukwila, Union Station in Seattle and Bellevue City Hall.  Locations are accessible by public transportation and parking is available.

For more information on accessible voting or the November 3 general election, please call 206-296-VOTE (8683) or visit www.kingcounty.gov/elections.

Make A Difference Day

Many hands coming together can truly make a difference

"Make A Difference Day" is the largest national day of helping others. Everyone can participate - young and old, individual or groups. Anyone can carry out a volunteer project. It might be as ambitious as collecting truckloads of food for our local food bank or participating in beautification projects for our local trails and parks. Or it might be as personal as spending an afternoon helping an elderly neighbor or relative.

Saturday, October 24, 2009 will mark Maple Valley's eighth year participating in "Make A Difference Day." Co-sponsored by the Maple Valley Rotary and the City of Maple Valley, the event will kick-off at 8 a.m. with a free breakfast at our Greater Maple Valley Community Center.

To sign-up as a volunteer or to suggest a work project, please contact Patti Davis. Additional information may be obtained at Make A Difference Day on the web.

For more information email Kelly or call the Community Center at 425-432-1272.

Diversity Forum

Tahoma Community

Tahoma schools reflect our increasingly diverse community. But are we doing all we can do to promote a sense of belonging and pride among our youth?

The Tahoma School District Diversity Committee is hosting a community Diversity Forum on Wednesday, October 23 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at Tahoma Junior High. The forum's purpose is to gain insight and gather information for students and other participants about how to work collaboratively to address ethnic, racial, religious, socio-economic and other diversity issues in our schoools and community.

There will be information sharing and small-group discussion of diversity issues in and beyond the greater Maple Valley area. Students, parents and community members are invited to come together with the goal of having broad discussion about how to strengthen a sense of belonging and to promote success for all youth in our community.

Free childcare for younger children will be provided during the forum.

For more information please contact the Tahoma School District.

Cedar River Salmon Journey

Follow the salmon

Take part in the “Cedar River Salmon Journey” this fall -- and bring the kids!  See spawning salmon and learn about them and the Cedar River. Volunteer naturalists will be stationed from 11 to 4 on October 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 and November 1 at Renton Library, Cedar River Park, Riverview Park, Cavanaugh Pond and Landsburg Park. Carpool if you can – these sites have limited parking.

For a flyer with directions or to get more information, call 206.245.0143 or visit www.cedarriver.org.

The Cedar River Salmon Journey is sponsored by Brown Bear Car Wash, City of Renton, Forum for Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed, King Conservation District, Friends of the Cedar River Watershed, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Public Utilities, Wal-Mart Foundation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Maple Valley Days 2009

Community Breakfasts

Gather together with friends and neighbors in our community for a delicious breakfast cooked by Cindy Gregory and her talented chefs from the Cedar Grill. Breakfast will be served from 8 am to noon on both Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14, at the Maple Valley Community Center during Maple Valley Days. Cost is $7/adult OR $6 w/food bank donation, $6/kids under 10 OR $5 w/food bank donation. Proceeds go to the Maple Valley Food Bank.

Menu

• Hotcakes
• Ham & Eggs
• Coffee & Juice

For more information visit the Maple Valley Days website or call 206-290-6635.

Hair Drive 2009

Make the kindest cut of all

Have your hair cut by a professional hair stylist and donate your locks to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to make wigs for cancer patients. Refreshments will be served. Elementary school ages to adults - everyone is welcome!

Donation Guidelines

• Hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long.
• Hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes, but cannot be bleached, permanently colored, or chemically treated.
• Hair cannot be more than 5 percent gray.
• Hair should be clean and dry without any styling products.

This event is sponsored by Tahoma High School senior, Jessica Hyde, and Pantene Beautiful Lengths. For more information visit the Hair Drive 2009 Blog or call 206-290-6635.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Young Drunks

Alcoholism is a rough word to deal with.Yet nobody is too young (or
too old) to have trouble with booze. That’s because alcoholism is an illness. It can hit anyone. And it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been drinking or what you’ve been drinking. It’s what drinking does to you that counts.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) offers a local support group designed especially for teens with drinking problems. At AA, help from peers with similar problems is available on a confidential, free basis.

For more information email Kelly or call the Community Center at 425-432-1272.

Camp Mariposa

A two-day camp for Children who are Affected Others (COAs)

Camp Mariposa is designed for children grades 3-6, with the overall goal of developing participants’ understanding of drug and alcohol issues, to raise their awareness of resources available to help them, and to reduce their sense of isolation. Camp Mariposa will aim to help children understand and cope with an addicted or co-dependant family member.  It will be a traditional, fun, multi-day camp that will provide counseling and emotional support, as well as teach children a variety of problem solving and self-care strategies, and help to build a positive self-esteem.  Carefully designed games, activities and recreation will give children a chance to laugh, play, explore and learn, as well as to create friendships with other children that relate to them. 

The camp is FREE for all approved participants. Approval is subject to an intake process by performed by YES staff. Contact the Intake Office at Youth Eastside Services or call 425-747-4937. For more information, please download the Camp Mariposa information flyer (PDF 78 KB).

Cyber-Bullying Information Night

Protect your child from the dangers of the Internet

Online bullying, called cyber-bullying, happens when teens use the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Cyber-bullying is a problem that affects almost half of all American teens.

Learn how we can protect our children from the dangers of cyber-bullying in this special community information session sponsored by Maple Valley Communities That Care and led by Captain Michelle Bennett from the King County Sherriff's Office.

For more information email Megan Ornburn or call the Community Center at 425-432-1272.

To learn more about cyber-bullying, visit TEAM TAHOMA.

Emergency Preparedness Fair

Are you ready for emergencies?

Emergencies can happen at any time, so why not take time now to prepare? A free preparedness event will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 10 am to 3 pm at Rock Creek Elementary School. The school is at 25700 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road SE.

Informational displays, emergency preparedness demonstations, and expert speakers will be available from emergency agencies and local governments. The King County Sheriff's Office will display its emergency command vehicle and helicopter, Guardian One. The American Red Cross, Puget Sound Energy, Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety, local water districts, and the City of Maple Valley will also have representatives and provide information at the fair.

Sponsored by the City of Maple Valley, Tahoma School District, King County Sherriff's Office, and Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety.

For more information email Kelly or call the Community Center at 425-432-1272.

United Way Day of Caring

Microsoft employees make a difference at GMVCC

Exchanging computers for shovels and chain saws, a volunteer crew of 12 Microsoft employees area chopped and dug their way through the overgrown foliage at the Greater Maple Valley Community Center as part of the 2008 United Way Day of Caring on September 12th. Pictured is the team led by Microsoft employee and GMVCC Board Member Sean Stewart.

Thank you to Ryan Light, Basu Nagarahalli, Shawn Vita, Lynsey Compton-Drake, Shelley Wells-Frank, Daniel Burleigh, Roslyn Mainz, Dean Jaegerman, Shyamala Kuppusamy, Shelley Way, Jeffrey Snelling and Sean Stewart.

The crew first gathered with GMVCC Facilities Coordinator Kelly Travis and Executive Director Lynn Roberts for a kick-off breakfast meeting in the Community Center Hall before breaking into groups to clear 28 rhododendrons that had been flagged for removal by the Lake Wilderness Arboretum. Once the work was finished, the crew used hoes, rakes and brooms to clear the site of debris. It was uplifting to see how much brighter, accessible and welcoming the Community Center could be.

In expressing her thanks, Executive Director Lynn Roberts noted that GMVCC is a non-proft organization and it is volunteers who make it possible for the small staff of the Community Center to offer the wide variety of programs and services it does. "The Community Center does not have a budget for grounds maintenance that would allow us to perform this type of work. We deeply appreciate the efforts of Sean Stewart and his team of community volunteers from Microsoft."

United Way's Day of Caring is the largest single day activation of volunteers in King County. To learn how you can volunteer at GMVCC email Kelly or call 425-432-1272.