iHeart Media Seattle in the Community

We were watching TV the other day when we heard very alarming statistics... Safehome.org had just released a study in which they claimed that hate crime was rising in 30 American cities. And Seattle had one of the steepest increases in hate crimes, according to this study. We realize we need help understanding what's going on in our backyard, in the Puget Sound, so we invited Miri Cypers, Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League Pacific Northwest, and Elayne Wylie, Co-Executive Director for...

Motivated by the 9/11 attacks, Aaron Boyle joined the Army after high school following the legacy of his father and brothers who have all served. On Sept. 21, 2010, SGT Boyle was on patrol in the Arghandab River Valley in Afghanistan when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast resulted in the loss of his right arm, right leg, and severe damage to his left leg. To anyone else, this would mean never wanting to get out of bed ever again, but not to SGT Boyle. SGT Boyle is...

Recently, a group of iHeart Media employees got up early on a Saturday and drove to Tacoma to join Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity in a build. They had no idea what kind of work they would have to do, but they knew they were gonna have to work hard. How did they know? Because they have done this before. This was Luciana's 3rd build, and Pedro’s 2nd. To talk about the builds, and other cool ways you can help Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity, they invited Sherrana Kildun,...

The Salvation Army is taking hundreds of deserving kids Back to School Shopping! Each child will go shopping with a generous volunteer and select clothes and shoes for the new school year. For some of these children, this will be their first experience shopping for their own clothes, and YOU could be there to help them! To talk about the Salvation Army's Back to School Shopping, we recently invited Captain Anthony Barnes, one of the leaders of their White Center location. Listen to our talk...

Washington Outdoor Women, affectionately known as WOW, offers hands-on workshops dedicated to teaching women and girls traditional outdoor wilderness skills in relevant settings. Their instructors teach 20 different skills that have outdoor applications, from flyfishing to archery to map reading and so much more. To talk about Washington Outdoor Women and their upcoming Fall Weekend Workshop, we recently invited Jen Syrowitz, Executive Director of Washington Outdoor Women. Listen to our...

July is the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance's National Conference. TESARO, an oncology-focused business, recently partnered with The Moth, an organization that promotes the art and craft of storytelling, to host a special storytelling event. This event was the fifth in a series of "Our Way Forward" storytelling events (and the first in Seattle). The idea of these events is to enable us to better understand the realities of those living with ovarian cancer through the sharing of common...

As a black youth in the Seattle public school district over 15 years ago, Theresa Hardy was provided with a standardized curriculum that lacked the opportunity for her to explore her own strengths and creativity. She didn't feel embraced to believe that she could do more, be more, and ended up perpetuating racial biases, becoming another high school dropout. Through hard work and grit, she found her own path to success. She graduated from college and started a fulfilling career helping...

Over 25 million Americans aged 60+ are economically insecure in the US. These older adults struggle with rising housing and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings, and job loss. And unfortunately, we are living in a world where children are an investment, but seniors are looked upon as a burden. Paul Hogan is the President and Treasurer of the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation, which provides financial support to non-profit...

June is Pride month and iHeart Media Seattle will be celebrating at the Gay Pride Parade on June 30th. Now, while we celebrate Pride month on iHeart Media, discrimination against LGBT people is on the rise, and in 31 states it’s still legal to fire, evict, or deny services to LGBT people. While most Americans support equal treatment, they’re unware LGBT people lack these protections. To talk about Pride month and LGBTQ+ issues, we recently invited Katie Carter, Pride Foundation CEO, and...

The refugee crisis is the worst it's been since World War II, and it's not getting any better. And of course, with such a big issue worldwide, Washington State is no exception. There's an organization here that works with refugees arriving in Washington State. They are Refugees Northwest and we recently talked about their work. We invited Karen Danz, the Director of the Refugees Northwest Foster Care program, and Janette Garcia, their lead social worker. Listen to our talk right here...

The KD Hall Foundation has a free event coming up in June to provide girls of color with an uplifting experience to prepare them for life, leadership opportunities, and to provide the tools to develop the confidence and composure to lead personally and professionally. It's the Girls on the Rise 2.0 conference. To talk about this event, the wage gap, and another very important issue, the school to prison pipeline, we recently invited KD Hall, Co-Founder and President of the KD Hall...

Robert Smiley was homeless once. All he knew was drinking and drugs, he claims. But he got out; he got cleaned and founded The Hand Up Project, an advocacy group for the homeless and those who suffer from addiction. They are a resource facilitator for safe housing, detox, mental health support, addiction support, and community services. They were on the news a couple of weeks ago, cleaning up a homeless encampment in Lynnwood. And they recently joined us on the show. We had The Hand Up...

Do you know what the fastest product for sale in the world is? Oil? Coffee? Corn? None of them! It's humans! Human sex trafficking happens everywhere, including the United States, and including our own home, Washington State. This is the human rights issue of our time. The US Institute Against Human Trafficking estimates that the number of people who are currently trapped in the commercial sex trade could be close to one million. In 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited...

April is Stress Awareness Month, so we've invited best-selling author and wellness specialist, Erica Spiegelman, who just wrote The Rewired Life: Creating a Better Life through Self-Care and Emotional Awareness. In her book, Erica dives into several areas like effective self-care strategies including dealing with stress. Listen to our talk here...

Parents worry about a lot of things. They worry about their children's health, about their behavior and their social skills, about their safety, and they worry about whether they'll get the education and opportunities they need to reach their full potential. Naturally, one of the reasons for the latter is money. What if when my children are ready to go to college, I don't have the money to pay for it? We recently talked about "Washington College Savings Plans" AKA "WA529." WA529 helps...

Through outreach, advocacy, and independent living skills development, the Center for Independence is an organization that helps individuals with disabilities so that they can fully access and participate in the community. And they have a very important event coming up. To talk about living with disabilities, the Center for Independence, and their upcoming Youth Transition Summer Workshop, we recently invited Margaret Tangedahl, Youth Transition Coordinator at Center for Independence, and...

Raise your hand if you love firefighters! I know the ladies like those sassy calendars with pictures of very handsome firefighters, but that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about how they risk their lives for us, for our things and even get their own lives in danger to help. And sometimes, fire gets to their pockets too... Light my Fire Puget Sound was here represented by Diane Salz and Tera-Rose Layton. They explained to us what Light My Fire Puget Sound does in these cases...

In 2018, The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released the largest-of-its-kind survey ever of more than 12,000 LGBTQ teenagers across the nation, their LGBTQ Youth Report. According to this study, these teenagers are not only experiencing heartbreaking levels of stress, anxiety and rejection, but also overwhelmingly feel unsafe in their own school classrooms. LGBTQ young people who participated in the survey also made it crystal clear that supportive families and inclusive schools are key to...

Every year, non-profits go out to the streets in King County and count how many people are homeless. In January of 2018, more than 12,000 individuals were found to be experiencing homelessness in Seattle/King County. Fifty-two percent (52%) of homeless people were unsheltered, living on the street, or in parks, tents, vehicles, or other places not meant for human habitation. Homelessness had increased 4% since 2017, and the unsheltered population had increased by 15%! There’s another report...

If you think 26 miles is too long of a walk or run, maybe you'd want to go up instead! How about 788 FEET OF VERTICAL ELEVATION, 69 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS, OR 1,311 STEPS? That's what it takes TO REACH THE SKY VIEW OBSERVATORY of THE COLUMBIA CENTER IN DOWNTOWN SEATTLE, THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST! To talk about the Big Climb, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and one of the scariest cancers out there, we recently invited Kelly Fagan, Senior Campaign Manager for Big Climb. We...