I'm really excited this morning.
I'm I'm I'm a little silly this morning because
I'm sitting this morning
because I'm excited about May 18th, our one day of service.
And I was going to tell you a little short story.
I'm going to get it off my chest now that I'm sort of embarrassed,
tell you the story, but I'm going to tell you anyway.
And that is
my wife
took our grandchildren to the movie Barbie
a couple of months ago.
That's not what I'm embarrassed about.
They actually went twice and
I was on a flight recently and I'm scrolling
through the movie
section, and I hadn't seen the movie, so I'm embarrassed to say that I watched it
and there's this song on there by Billie Eilish called What Was I Made For?
And what I'm embarrassed about is I actually added that to my playlist.
Now, it didn't replace My Earth, Wind and Fire and my
other good music, but it occurred to me, I tell you that story
because in listening to those lyrics,
when we think what we're made for and why we are made
is because to do this kind of work that you do it.
I believe in service and I saw that story for our May 18th day of service
that what we try to do once again is we try to build community feed people.
We know that hunger and food insecurity is rising in this country.
17 million families
in this country are food insecure.
The the numbers are startling.
13% of households.
So this work, what we're doing as a community is so important
here at the Byrd Barr Center
and when I think about what we're trying to do here in our city,
we still have a lot of room to go on our Day of Service.
As you many of you know, we still have 2500 open
volunteer opportunities, 120 ten events that we scheduled.
And this has taken off like wildfire in terms
of what we're trying to do here in Seattle.
We're still trying to show the world that when you bring together
70 public, private and community groups, including the Seattle
Seahawks, the Sounders, the Seattle Reign, Amazon, Patagonia,
SODO BIA, Chinatown International,
BIA, Mary's Place, Food Lifeline, First A.M.E.
Church, and of course, Birdbath Place.
You bring these great organizations together.
In addition to the other ones.
We are bringing out the best within ourselves.
And so when I surround myself around leaders and community gatherers,
this is the right thing to do,
particularly with respect to food insecurity.
We know that our own community, people that look like you and me,
are hurt the most.
Data from public health were found that black and Hispanic and Latinx households
are twice as likely to experience food insecurity than white households.
We believe that no one in Seattle should ever go hungry.
And food banks like this one atyrd Barr Place are providing
critical assistance to help everyone
in terms of city and in terms of access to nutritious meals.
So thank you.
Thank you.
I'm going to introduce Dr.
Griffin in a few minutes
and you'll hear from our esteemed Councilmember Joe Hollingsworth as well.
I'll close by saying one thing about the Byrd Barr
place is one reason why this is very special
is that when my parents were in their twenties and they had my brother
and I, they just lived like two blocks from here.
And my parents actually worked across the street.
As many of you know, Roberta
Roberta Byrd Barr
was Franklin and it was a vice vice principal at Franklin High School.
And I don't hold that against you.
And I did when I was a young kid.
But she was also the first principal at Lincoln High School.
There was a high school here in Seattle not to be confused with Lincoln of Tacoma
and the first African-American
principal, I believe, in the Seattle Public Schools.
In addition to being in an activist.
And, you know, I was a kid when she was really doing her thing.
She had a show, television show here called Face to Face.
And again, that's where minds like mine
and other people in my vintage were really formed in terms of the discussion
about social justice and about politics and about community gathering.
So it is indeed appropriate that we announce our May 18th
day of service
here at the Byrd Barr place.
And with that, I very pleased to share the podium in her house, Dr.
Angela Griffin, to share a few words with us.
Dr. Griffin.
Well, thank you.
It is a privilege to have everyone here, particularly Mayor Harrell
and Councilmember Hollingsworth, to launch this day of service,
particularly because it also marks a milestone in the journey for Byrd Barr place.
a journey that spans six decades of dedication,
resilience and transformation in the Seattle community.
We're founded in 1964 amidst the fervor of the civil rights movement
and Byrd Barr Place emerged as a beacon of hope and change.
Our mission was clear from the start.
It's to empower our community and to make sure our most vulnerable
are able to stand against the tides of injustice and to create a future
where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
And over the years, we've evolved.
But our core mission remains the same.
We've nourished bodies and minds through our food bank.
We've kept homes warm and lights on with our energy assistance program,
and we've paid pathways to financial stability through education and support.
And each service we provide is a thread in the larger
fabric of community well-being and prosperity.
But what truly makes Byrd Barr place special is not just the services we offer.
It's the spirit of the community, the collective resolve
that we have to uplift each other and this truly defines our legacy.
It's also the stories that we've had that help.
So many heard our mayor share stories like
that is what we get to see daily as we continue to help change lives
and break systemic barriers that cause challenges in our community.
Our community, particularly the central district, continues to experience
its challenges that are rooted to poverty, racism and many other disparities.
Yet I am filled with hope because I see the power
of our collective action, like our day of service,
the strength of our partnerships and the endless possibilities
of what we can achieve when we work together in this community.
So today, as we join Mayor Harrell in the kickoff of the day of Service,
we celebrate our past.
We also set our sights on the future, a future in which Byrd Barr
Place continues to be a pillar of strength,
a catalyst for change, and a partner in the journey
toward a more just and equitable society.
We look forward to seeing how the community comes together to clean,
beautify, build and ensure the resources provided through.
Many great organizations persist for generations to come.
So I thank you all for being a part of this day as it comes.
On May 18th.
Let's look forward to making even more of a difference in our community together.
And Councilmember Hollingsworth is going to come up to speak behind us.
Thank you, Dr.
Griffin. Very excited to be here.
I want to thank the mayor and Dr.
Griffin for this opportunity and especially in the central district
in our home.
This feels like home for me because I came from the food bank sector
and understanding that food costs have gone up 25% in the last three years.
And so we know that a lot of people are hurting, unfortunately.
But I'm excited about May Day.
And the reason why I'm excited about May 18th,
one day of service is because we've been receiving
a ton of emails in our office asking, Hey, Joy, how can we help?
What can we do to help serve our community?
And guess what we're pointing them to this day
and the projects that are in our community, because specifically
it's really about the people in our city that want to help, that want to build
community, that want to connect with folks, that
that want to understand, you know, how they can be of service
and I always tell people this, that you have a responsibility.
This is a call to action.
You have a responsibility in our city to make sure that this is our home.
This is not the city of Seattle.
This is our city of Seattle.
So making sure that we all participate on this day, I'm super excited
and I can't wait to wear my t shirt and pick one of the projects,
especially in our district, to make sure that we're building community.
So thank you all for being here. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Dr. Griffin.
Thank you, Councilmember.
And if there's one takeaway, I'm going to give it to you right now.
Prop, please.
Patty, come on up here, dear.
All right,
so this is the commercial.
You, too, can have a shirt like this if you come on.
May 18, to our day of service.
You, too, can smile like this.
We build our community because we love Seattle.
We're trying to build one Seattle.
So come join us on May 18th for our one day of service.
And we're also celebrating the 60th year anniversary
for the R yrd Barr Place, I believe.
So that's and that's that sort of epitomizes the best in Seattle
because we are making sure those that are hunger are being fed.
So come help us feed folks and we're going to do a little today, May
18th day of service.
Jamie, that I miss messed up on anything.
What's my grade? A
B-plus.
All right, I'll take that B-plus.
All right.
And if there's any if there's not any questions,
we're going to do some packing here.
Are there any questions that anyone has?
And we're pretty good.
I'm going to count us down 3 to 1. Seattle.
Thank you very much. All right.