Lots of us find ourselves getting stoked to give back to local causes we’re passionate about — but sometimes we’re not quite sure how we’ll fit it into our busy schedules or limited budgets. We want to help you learn how to make giving back less daunting and work for you, wherever you’re at.

So we’ve enlisted three local giving experts (⬆️) to give a couple of you a personalized Seattle giving audit.

What’s that? It’s a way for rad people like you who want to give back to our region to take stock of what they want to support then figure out how best to  donate their dollars or volunteer hours to support it. Whether you’re already giving back locally or you want to challenge yourself to start, and even if you have limited time or money to give, we want to help you make the most of giving back to Seattle.

Now, let’s meet the giving auditors who’ll be helping us out…

• Ben Reuler, executive director of Seattle Works, an awesome org that connects folks to local volunteer opportunities.
• Burke Stansbury, development director at Social Justice Fund NW, which helps support justice-focused orgs across the region. He helped develop SJF’s personalized giving plan workshops.
• Frank Nam, Seattle Foundation, a hub for local philanthropy where he’s currently running a project looking at the roots of inequity.

They’ll be answering your questions on all things giving and help you find the 🕑 or 💰 you want to give toward something local you care about. Maybe it’s a need you see. A cause. Or a set of organizations you want to support because they’re doing work you’re into.

We’ll be sharing back what you learn with your fellow Evergrey readers so they can find where giving back locally fits in their lives, too.

Have some Seattle giving goals you want to meet? Great! We’re hoping to join up with two or three of you on this audit experiment. To participate, you must be ready to…

• Talk about the kinds of local needs, causes, or communities you want to support
• Discuss with our auditors how much time or money you could give
• Tell us three specific things you want to do to give back — big or small — after your audit
• Let us share what you learn from your audit with other Evergrey readers

Sound like something you’re up for? Available to meet with auditors between November 26 and 28? Great. » Apply to be part of our Seattle giving audit by filling out this quick form by 4 p.m. on Monday, November 19. We’ll let you know if you were picked by end of day Tuesday, November 20.

Two hundred thirty-four. That’s the number of hate crimes committed in Seattle in 2017 — nearly double those committed in 2016. Three big findings: 1) The majority of race-based hate crimes were against black people, 2) religious bias crimes quadrupled from last year and were mostly against Jewish and Muslim locals, and 3) public schools are seeing an uptick in vandalism targeting Jewish students and teachers. After last month’s shooting at a Pittsburgh mosque, this stuff feels especially concerning. (Crosscut)

‘I’ll get to keep these for life!’ About 100 Garfield High students just took a field trip they’ll remember for a while. English teacher Adam Gish organized a trip to Elliott Bay Books in Capitol Hill where thanks to an anonymous donor — each student got $50 (plus a store discount) to buy books. This was a big deal because some of the kids had never been in a bookstore, and others had never owned their own book. “A new book is a novelty, a hardcover novel almost unheard of,” one student wrote in an essay to participate in the trip. One title that flew from the shelves: Angie Thomas’ young adult novel, The Hate U Give. 📚 (The Seattle Times)

Pandamonium. Get ready to go 😍 because the Woodland Park Zoo’s gearing up to (publicly) welcome two new members into their critter family: red panda twins Zeya and Ila. They were born here in June and they’re the first red pandas to be born at the zoo in 30 years. See ‘em in person when their exhibit opens next Friday. Can’t wait? Swipe through this adorable gallery of their photos to tide you over. 🐼 (KING 5)

12s, assemble. Want to get outta the house watch the Seahawks face off against the Panthers next Sunday? The Infatuation has some ideas for ya. Several options to get that brainstorm going: Go classic and grab beers at Sluggers or Elysian Fields in SoDo, have a quieter evening (or peruse books if things go south) at Raconteur in Seward Park, or watch over slices of pizza at The Masonry in Fremont or Supreme in West Seattle. Even more suggestions here. ➡️ (The Infatuation)

MEET (AND FIND!) THE NEWEST MEMBER OF OUR TEAM

He’s a little scruffy, but he’s kind of a legend. In fact, he’s so cool and elusive that he never comes to the office. He prefers to be out romping around the city — and we need your help to find him. His name? Bigfoot. (Or maybe it’s Sasquatch, according to our fun Facebook poll.)

Whatever you call him, tune in to our Facebook page at 2:30 p.m. He’ll be streaming live from somewhere in Seattle, and we’ll need your help to figure out where he is. 😉

Catch ya then, Seattle. — The Evergrey