Seattle Seafarers Center
An Affiliate of The Mission to Seafarers and Stella Maris
SEATTLE SEAFARERS CENTER NEWSLETTER
April 2024
Deacon Joey and Rich lead a Communion service on the MV Sea Bird per the crew's request
Spring is an exciting season at the Seattle Seafarers Center! We are gearing up for our GiveBIG fundraising campaign in May, preparing for the start of the cruise ship season, recruiting a summer intern, and of course keeping busy on ship visits. Read more to hear what's happening and how you can get involved...
Girls Day Out
Women make up less than 2% of seafarers worldwide, and even a smaller percentage of the crew of cargo ships. In the past, it has been rare for us to meet any women onboard, but this is changing! Over the past few months, we have visited several ships with 3-4 female crew. Swire and Maersk are two shipping companies in particular which are making a great effort to employ more women.
I had the pleasure this week of taking a group of 4 women from the MV Changsha downtown to go sightseeing. They were excited to see Pike Place, visit the Aquarium, and just explore. We had a great conversation in the car, and it was especially nice to have an opportunity in private to provide them with women's health products and ask if there was anything else they needed.
I got to give rides again to two of these women the next day, and they proudly told me about another ship in their company where half of the crew are women, including the captain. The female third officer had sailed with this captain before on a previous contract.
Times are changing, and we cheer these women on for their courage, strength and hard work as they enter and claim their place in such a male-dominated workforce.
It's Almost Time for GiveBIG 2024!
On May 7-8, the Seattle Seafarers Center will be participating in this annual fundraising campaign for nonprofits in the State of Washington.
Early giving opens on April 23! It is our goal to raise $6,000 to support our ship visiting program, and the first $3,000 of donations will be fully matched. Click the button below to view our organization page and make a donation.
Cruise Season Approaching - Volunteers Needed!
The 2024 cruise ship season begins at the end of April! We are looking for volunteers to help run our daily shuttle service which transports crewmembers from Pier 91 to downtown Seattle. There are two volunteer opportunities:
1. Cruise Shuttle Driver: This involves driving crewmembers downtown in a 15-passenger van. Shifts are from 8am - 2:30pm every day there is a ship in port (typically every day of the week except for Wednesdays). You can drive as often as twice a week, or just once a month as your schedule allows. Training and orientation are provided. To sign up as a 2024 volunteer driver, please fill out the following form:
2. Lot Coordinator: we are offering a new volunteer position this year. The Lot Coordinator will be stationed in the parking lot at Pier 91, and will welcome crewmembers and communicate with them about when the next shuttle is arriving. Please reach out to office@mts-seattle.org if you are interested in serving in this role!
Training is provided for both positions. Contact office@mts-seattle.org or call (206) 935-3439 to learn more.
Summer Internship Opportunity
With generous funding from the ITF Seafarers’ Trust and coordination from the North American Maritime Ministry Association, we are pleased to announce a seafarers’ welfare internship in Summer 2024. Support will be for full-time work over 9-12 weeks (June – August, or July – September).
This is a great opportunity for young adults interested in nonprofit and/or maritime ministry work. Know anyone who may be interested? Please share our job posting below!
Questions? Email julia@mts-seattle.org