MISSION TO SEAFARERS
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Mission Statement
The Mission to Seafareres - Seattle provides services for the over 50,000 visiting seafarers in the Port of Seattle each year. We offer communication support, transportation, humanitarian support, faith based services and companionship. We also operate the Seattle Seafarers Center which includes a lounge, computer lab, community garden, kitchen and chapel for visitors.
About This Cause
For the 1.5 million seafarers who ply their trade, and support their families, the sea represents both the starkest of fears, and the grandest of opportunities. But for these men and women, life at sea is a dangerous and lonely existence. Separated from families, working on contracts that may extend to 9 months or more, seafarers are alone, isolated, and vulnerable. Imagine being away for nearly every major family event. For more than 40 years, the Mission to Seafarers Seattle has offered support and a warm smile to tens of thousands travelers from scores of nationalities, ethnicities and faiths. They need to communicate—so we take WIFI on board for those who lack VISAS and cannot go ashore, and phone cards for those who wish to connect. They need a ride—so we take them to Ross Dress for Less, Best Buy, and Target, or downtown for a meal and a beer—anything to get a few moments on land. And they need simple and loving human contact—so we offer them a warm welcome. We give them directions, help them wire money home, pray with them, share their joys and their moments of sorrow. We try to reach out to each and every merchant seafarer and cruise ship employee who touch our shore…all 50,000 of them. And for the Cruise ship employees who arrive each summer at Pier 91, we offer a safe and inexpensive shuttle service to downtown Seattle—dropping them off near Macy’s, Target, and Ross. Each Christmas we provide a wonderful Holiday gift in the form of a “ditty bag”—a shoe bag-sized offering of toiletries, candy, a hand knitted stocking cap, and “God’s Love” to about 1500 seafarers who reach Seattle. But seafarers are just part of the story. We have one of the largest volunteer efforts in the World surrounding our Ministry. That “safe and inexpensive shuttle service” is largely operated by 25 or so selfless volunteer drivers. Last year 121 folks—including 25 kids and 30 newcomers--secured and packed ditty bags at St John the Baptist in West Seattle. More than 200 folks of all ages and skills supplied the contents. Knitting and sewing groups from around the Sound, and from places as far away as Nevada, Minnesota, and North Carolina offered the fruits of their labors and love. This outpouring is particularly heartwarming when you see the expressions of those recipients—away from family and friends, and alone, yearning for recognition—who are amazed at our generosity. We also operate a community garden, which, in its second year (2015) produced over 500lbs of produce that was donated to visiting seafarers and area food shelves. 2015 was another successful year in our work. More than 7,000 seafarers took advantage of our portable WIFI hotspots to communicate with their loved ones across the globe. We visited more than 330 ships, hosted a thousand seafarers at our center, and proved transport to more than 12,000 merchant seamen (yes most are men) and cruise ship crew (lots of women there—35 or 40%) from more than 100 nations.