Here are a few of our favorite things we did in 2018 to help you plug in to this place we call home:

We thought of new ways to give back to our city.
We just wrapped up our project on all the ways — big and small — that we can give back to Seattle. We hid guerrilla compliments around the city and shared your stories on how to be kind to a city full of strangers. We rounded up local places where small gifts can make a big impact. We got us all out to volunteer at places like FareStart and the Low Income Housing Institute — and gave you tips on how to assemble a group of your own friends to volunteer out in the city. And we worked with a group of “giving auditors” who helped three Seattleites figure out how to best donate their time or money to local causes they care about.

We learned more about homelessness. More than 12,000 Seattleites are living without a home in King County — one of the worst homelessness crises in the country. That’s why we asked you to tell us what questions you had about one of the toughest challenges our city faces. And you stepped up. After partnering with seven other local media organizations, we got 400 questions from curious folks around the city. We answered your question on what the unhoused think we should do to address our housing challenges and whether people are coming to Seattle for our homeless services, and our partners took on nine more of your questions — including how much it costs the city when folks are homeless, and what other cities are doing that works.

We coped with our very grey weather, together. More than 500 of you joined us in trying to take on Seattle’s greyest time of year with intention in our Embrace the Grey Facebook group. The best advice we got to help fight the winter gloom? Make plans. So we shared our favorite local reads, our warmest and coziest spots in town, how to hygge-ify your home, and how to learn a new skill with local classes and our best winter fashion tips. Plus, we created a new holiday to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. (Only about 80 more days to go…)

We got out and explored our city. It’s nice to read about Seattle. It’s a lot more fun to experience it. That’s why we sent some of you to a haunted house and a not-so-creepy dating event; asked Molly Moon to show us how she makes her ice cream; put a Bigfoot figurine in random spots for you to locate around the city, “toured” the new Amazon spheres; and carefully curated a mix of standout events to check out every single week. Hungry for more? Just wait.

SEE YOU TOMORROW

Have a great weekend, Seattle.

– The Evergrey