ALPHA
BASE
NEWS MISSION REPORTS AND MORE
2016
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presentation at Seattle Children's Hospital.
2016 was a record breaking year for the annual Emerald City Comicon event. With Garrison Titan, Alpha Base, Jet City Saber Guild and SARLACC, working so very hard on new interactive sets, fundraising with various raffles, and donations given at the door to the "Star Wars Experience", our combine total raised was $20,000! It was an amazing 4 day event. Everyone worked so hard and did such an amazing job coming together to celebrate all things Star Wars and help out the Seattle Children's Hospital in the process...it doesn't get much better than that!
On Friday, December 6th 2013, Members of Alpha Base along with friends, Garrison Titan, had the distinct honor to attend and help the Marine Corps Reserve for a Toys For Tots toy drive at the Everett Mall. It has been many years since we have been able to help out for the Toys For Tots events and everyone involved had such a great time and it was a very rewarding experience.
Everyone from children to the excited adult and even some of the store employees got in on the fun of photos and donating money and some really awesome toys for kids in need.
While we were inside the mall, we managed to fill two of the donation bins, while the Marines were outside they had vans FULL of toys and even a moving van full of bicycles! It was a great site to see!
It was an honor to be able to spend a few hours helping these heroes gather toys, and we look forward to helping out again!
On August 13, 2011 Alpha Base member, Crystal, participated in an event called Make-A-Wish Walk For Wishes. It was a 5k walk around the Marymoor park in Redmond, Washington, benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She has always been familiar with the Make-A-Wish Foundation through other venues in her life and it kind of holds a special place her heart.
Crystal found out about this event through someone that her mother used to work with. The co-worker’s daughter, Sammy, was diagnosed with high risk Medulloblastoma, a form of pediatric brain cancer, in October 2009. Her mother wrote to Crystal explaining Sammy’s story, “After 10 months of treatment including surgery, chemo and radiation, Sammy is now cancer free. Her wonderful social worker at Seattle Children’s Hospital nominated her for a Wish. Sammy wished to be a Stage Manager on the Lion King on Broadway. Her wish was granted in April 2011. The Make A Wish Foundation did a wonderful job of making her wish come true. Sammy wanted to know how all of the animals come to life on stage. She learned that and so much more during her wish.”
Sammy is pictured here with Crystal in her Decoy Queen costume at a picnic where the two met. Earlier that day Crystal was doing some face painting, and Sammy, a Star Wars fan herself, requested a picture of Yoda.
When Crystal heard about the event, she knew she had to do it, and for Sammy, she wanted to do it in a Star Wars costume. Crystal’s most “comfortable” costume was Princess Leia, and in full Canon costume and makeup (minus the boots for walking comfort) she did the entire 5k! She finished in about 45 minutes, which for her, was GREAT!!! Being in costume made a lot of kids and parents smile. One of the comments overheard came from a passing group of cyclists…”Hey! That looks like Princess Leia!” as she turned around, their comment was “It is, hey she looks great, scary close….”
“I am proud of this and proud of my participation in this event. I loved seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces when they saw me and knew who I was. I even got to walk a bit with some of the “Wish Kids”, they were so full of energy, you’d never know what they are going through or had been through. Luckily I (Leia) was their favorite Star Wars character…that day anyway.” –
Crystal originally set a goal of $250 to raise donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation for her walk. She reached her goal just a short time after announcing her participation, and after the final numbers came in, she exceeded her goal with the help of some very generous people. She raised $405!!!
Way to go Leia! Alpha Base is very proud to have such a dedicated member as Crystal.
Alpha Base is so excited to be able to visit Seattle Children's Hospital. We visit along with our friends at Garrison Titan, about 4 times per year. This photo represents several Alpha Base members during our visit in October 2015. Bringing smiles to the kids is such a rewarding experience for all that are able to participate.
On Saturday, August 10, 2013, Members of Alpha Base along with members of Garrison Titan where honored to attend an event on the Jubilee Farm in Carnation, Washington that focuses on bringing fun into the lives of those touched by Autism. The event is simply called Autism Day.
The event, held on a real farm, started in 2001 and included hayrides, booths, a raffle, and activities for all to enjoy. This year was a first for us and we were a huge hit. Those that were comfortable approaching us really enjoyed the experience as much as we did.
This event was a wonderful way to help out our community and bring some joy into people's lives.
For more information about this event, check out this page. http://www.autismdaywa.com/
On Sunday, May 19 2013 Alpha Base teamed up with Garrison Titan to help present a little boy named Trevor with his wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Dressed as a Jedi and usually a fairly talkative young man, we made him a bit speechless by our presence. After a wonderful presentation by the Stormtrooper, he learned he will be headed to Disney World! Everyone had a wonderful time and we are sure he won't stop talking about this experience.
“Join Make-A-Wish for a surprise FLASH MOB on Friday, Feb. 10th as a part of Alex’s MISSION POSSIBLE: ROBOT PROTOCOL wish. 11-yr old Alex wants to bring peace to others and he believes robots will help us accomplish this. Part of his robot mission will take place in the BioRobitcs lab at UW and we are inviting YOU to help make this wish SPARKLE through the fun of a flash mob!”
This was the E-mail I got from the wonderful people at the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Little did I know what this would actually entail!
An 11-year-old boy named Alex, who told the Make-a-Wish Foundation he’d like to see robots in action helping humanity and even bringing about world peace. We were asked to help in this wish because Alex also has a love of Star Wars. With Stormtroopers, and peace keeping Rebels, we were a perfect fit!
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Meeting at the University of Washington’s Red Square, we were acting as a bit of a “distraction” as Alex, got out of his van, because behind us in Red Square, almost 1000 people were waiting to participate in a surprise Flash Mob just for Alex!
We escorted Alex from his van to the “Center” of it all so he could have a front row seat to see the “Mob” in action. We were able to stand behind him as the Flash Mob happened, we got to see the smile on his face, and I know personally, I was a bit misty-eyed at the magnitude of what was going on. Afterward, we were swarmed with dozens of cameras, and even our local news crew. Alex was the center of attention, as we stood behind him making sure of “keeping peace” in the area. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect the attention we drew even before and after Alex was there. We were even able to present him with a small gift bag, courtesy of Jedikai and AceSh007, filled with Star Wars “swag”.
