 It’s amazing how little I know about some of our mailbox customers and how I am loving getting to know more of you each and every day through this “spotlight” process. Dirk Van Velzen has been a Ballard Sip and Ship mailbox customer for almost two and half years and he recently shared his story. The following story is true and none of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Dirk was a convicted criminal in 1999 and was sentenced to 15 years for commercial burglary. Being locked up was the last place he envisioned his life and in short order decided to make the most of his situation and elected to get an education. Online college degree programs were not yet a reality which meant Dirk was going to have to earn his degree with pen and paper, and through the use of the United States Postal Service. Over time, Dirk received his education through Penn State, and graduated in the top one percent of his class. In an effort to pay it forward, and share the power of knowledge with his fellow inmates, Dirk founded The Prison Scholarship Fund - watch more here. Dirk is exploring partnerships with Washington State University and Arizona State to develop a hybrid-online degree program that prisoners can complete, and aims to raise enough funds to change the life trajectories of 4500 students by the year 2020; a significant increase from 110 in 2015. “I do what I do because the people in prison are largely forgotten and I won’t leave my brothers and sisters behind.” Thank you Dirk for sharing your story with us and for allowing the SIp and Shipcommunity to be a part of your mission in creating positive change
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 It gives me great pride to introduce my grandmother Maw Maw’s Apple Cake into our Sip and Ship coffee houses. This holds significance to me in a number of ways. First, my Maw Maw was a strong woman that I thought resembled every ounce of Rosie the Riveter. After all, she was a product of the depression era.
From a young age, I can remember my family piling into a Honda Civic hatchback and driving 12 hours straight from Chicago to Virginia to visit her and my grandfather for vacation. Maw Maw would be waiting for us at the front door with a smile on her face, always happy to see us. A freshly baked apple cake was usually waiting in the kitchen. Secondly, Maw Maw could sew anything; drapes, dresses, trousers, even matching dresses for my sister and me. She not only made clothes for her family, but also matching dresses for my sister and me, and did a countless number of alterations for many others in her home town. She grew her own vegetables; corn, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes and peas, pioneering the farm-to-table concept cherished today. She mowed her own lawn and bagged her own leaves until very late in life, all while raising four children of her own. If that wasn’t enough, she also, lovingly cared for my grandfather (Paw Paw) who suffered, as long as I knew him, from Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). So when my family came to visit, it was all I could do but to stay out of her way. Every minute was accounted for: Maw Maw would rise at the crack of dawn, power back a strong cup of coffee and then begin her work. Like her coffee, she was strong, able to physically lift my grandfather in and out of bed, dress, bathe and feed him, and then gracefully wheel him to his den so he could sit for hours at his typewriter. And then, off she went to tend to the chores of the day, often whirling by me as I sat in awe of her. Mind you, she loved her life and never complained once. She did what had to be done and never asked for anything more, she always made the most of everything. This imprinted on me a strong work ethic, a determination to get the work done, and to be thankful for what I have. So, I have Maw Maw’s amazing cake to share with you. I hope you will enjoy it as much as my family has. Our promise to you is that it is delicious and that Sip and Ship will continue her tradition of making it from scratch. Our team looks forward to serving you! #familybusiness #strongwomen #legacybusiness #courage #hardwork #authenticity #gratitude #cakeboss #margretmoonbaking #applecake #scratchmade #madewithlove  It’s Sip and Ship’s birthday! 15 years ago, we opened our doors in what was once known as the sleepy Norwegian fisherman’s town of Ballard. Back then, all we had in our young, start-up minds was the following framework: Curiosity: would our concept work? Courage to make it happen, and the understanding that it would take collaboration on our part as a couple to figure out how to be happily married and work together. This would require developing a team to adopt the vision and mission of Sip and Ship, at that time which was to simply grow as fast as we could. We were excited to create and share the ripple effect of Sip and Ship with our crew and community. Without our team of hard working, committed, and dedicated individuals, the latter part of the vision would not have been possible because it takes all of us to work together to uphold our mission of being in service to others - making us active members in our community. We achieve this by embodying four core values: Courage, Hard Work, Authenticity and Gratitude. These values not only guide our motions at work, but often times impact the people around us, our customers, and especially those on the receiving end of all those packages, cards, gifts, cups of coffee, and conversation. Our team is known for extending our company core values well beyond our walls, creating a ripple effect around the community and globe.
We are so thankful to celebrate 15 years of service with you. We also understand we’re just graciously getting started and truly appreciate your support and encouragement over the years! "Offering an enjoyable alternative to the standard hellacious post office trip." Atlas Obscura10/12/2017  This post office/coffee shop takes all the stress out of mailing a package; simply bring in the item you need shipped and you can sit back and enjoy an organic latte while the accommodating staff takes care of the rest.
Sip and Ship offers expert packaging and even gift wrapping along with mail and dispatch services worldwide, all from a relaxed coffee house environment. The coffee is farm-direct and locally roasted, the baked goods are homemade in-house and recycled packaging can be used upon request. You can even arrange to have your personal packages delivered to Sip and Ship, they’ll send you an email to let you know as they arrive. There’s also a gift shop in-store offering custom-made local goods, baby plush toys, lotions and candles and wine so you can buy a present and have it wrapped and shipped to the other side of the world all while eating breakfast. It’s ingeniously painless and convenient, leaving you with extra time to sip your coffee and feel smug about how much smarter you are than the suckers still waiting in line at the post office.  The wheels are up this month as Sip and Ship takes flight inside the pages of Alaska Airlines Inflight Magazine. Our full page feature shares a story of the importance of creating and maintaining strong business partnerships. Any entrepreneur will tell you that your financial health is the key to build, grow and succeed in business.
Sip and Ship is a proud partner with HomeStreet Bank. As a small business owner, managing money has never been my strong suit. My motto has always been, “do what you know.” By hiring experts like bookkeepers, bankers, and financial advisors, we’ve created a financial dashboard. With this compass, we can better manage our business, make tough decisions, and plan for the future. |
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