I forgot how much I like doing this

Today I drove about seven miles west out of Wichita -- and what felt like about 40 years back in time. My journey took me out past the west side's New Market Square shopping center (no, I didn't stop), past Eberly Farms, the site of a company picnic 10 years ago, past the Northwest YMCA, and then on further than I have ever gone, til I zoomed right past 183rd St.,where I was supposed to turn north. I wasn't expecting my turn to take me onto an unpaved road. I circled back, headed north, then west into the tiny but bucolic rural town of St. Mark's, where I'd been invited to speak to a group of students. There were four buses in the lot outside the church hall where a couple hundred 3rd through 8th graders were sitting criss-cross apple sauce, patiently waiting to hear me, a "real author," discuss where ideas come from. They came from four schools in the Renwick District, and this event -- my talk and perhaps more importantly, free pizza --was their reward for reading the William Allen White books. I spoke for about an hour, about the real cat that inspired my book, "Santa's Stray," but also the real life experiences that inspired the authors of books they had just read.

Bottom line? Look around, pay attention in life, wonder about things and why they are the way they are. What you observe will fuel your imagination. I wondered about this town and its beautiful children, all of them seemingly unspoiled by the troubles of the city, living lives I thought had faded away with my own childhood.

Outside, someone mowed the church lawn and the air hung with the scent of freshly cut grass. I flashed back to asking a group of south side Wichita 6th graders once, what their favorite outdoor smell was. They had looked at me confused, and answered uncertainly, "Gasoline?"

These country kids sat silently and listened for over an hour, without a single hush from a teacher. And then they lined up for pizza, for copies of my books and then, for my signature. My own slice of pizza grew cold as I asked each one their name, then wrote it and mine in their books. Its been nearly three years since I published a book; more than one year since my last book signing. By buying my books, these kids raised $430 for Wichita's Lord's Diner. In doing so they will provide food for hungry kids in the city several miles to the east, but whose lives are a whole world a way. To the children of Colwich, Garden Plain, Andale and St. Mark's on behalf of the children in Wichita, thank you. (By the way, that's me in the pink jacket.)

AngelWorks to send kids to Wonder Camps

Wonderful things are happening in the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where visionary volunteers and a small paid staff are crafting a children's museum that once built could rival the nationally-reknowned Exploratorium in San Francisco. You can see drawings of the master plan at the museum's website, http://www.stillwaterchildrensmuseum.org/. What is further remarkable is the museum's strategy of not waiting for the bricks and mortor to begin the work of meeting the mission of stirring curiosity in children. The Stillwater Children's Museum began offering programming in 2006 under the moniker, Museum Without Walls. One such program is an up-coming series of Summer Wonder Camps, discovery-based camps that the museum is sponsoring in partnership with Oklahoma State University. In the same spirit that the Explore Kids program was created in Wichita, AngelWorks is pleased to provide scholarships for eight children from low-income families to attend the Stillwater Children's Museum's Wonder Camps.

Founder becomes fund-raiser for Food Bank

When AngelWorks was created, its first major donation was a $25,000 gift in 2003 to the Kansas Food Bank. AngelWorks Founder Polly Basore, previously employed as an editor at The Wichita Eagle, was moved by the plight of Wichitans in poverty following the downturn in aviation triggered by 9/11. Hundreds of Wichitans regularly showed up in line at local food pantries and the local soup kitchen, The Lord's Diner. The source of food for nearly all those feeding the poor was then, and continues to be, the Kansas Food Bank.

Through its association with America's Second Harvest, the Kansas Food Bank is able to buy $10 worth of food for $1. "I have yet to find a better investment of a charitable dollar than that," Basore said.

AngelWorks made a second major gift of $18,000 to the Food Bank in 2003 when it began the Food 4 Kids program, supplying backpacks of non-perishable food to feed kids in need over the weekend. Basore wanted to help grow the program, which was being piloted in just three schools at that time. Thousands of children in hundreds of schools are now served by Food 4 Kids.

No longer actively running AngelWorks, the organization's founder is pleased to announce she will begin working full-time raising money for the Kansas Food Bank as its new development director. Basore officially begins in this new role on May 1, 2009. But if you want to make a donation now to feed Kansas' hungry, you may do so here.

Real Men, Real Heroes gets own 501(c)3 status

The Real Men, Real Heroes Project began in January 2007 as an effort to aquaint Wichita children with positive African American male role models. The program was created and implemented by AngelWorks founder Polly Basore with initial financial support from Wichita philanthropist Barry Downing. It was an immediate success, with its 32 Heroes quickly becoming familiar to Wichita kids through their appearance on Hero trading cards, billboards, bus signs and television ads. Heroes followed up with numerous visits to schools, where they spoke to students about life choices and responsible manhood. In May 2008, the program was recognized by President George Bush during a visit to Wichita where the president recognized Hero Buddy Shannon with the Presidential Volunteer Award. In June 2008, the Heroes took over operation of the progam with administrative support from the City of Wichita. Since then, Real Men, Real Heroes Inc. has expanded its efforts to include mentoring programs, recruitment of additional Heroes and adoption of a new program to develop Teen Heroes. Key to its future success as a self-sustaining organization, Real Men, Real Heroes in March became incorporated and achieved as 501(c)3 status as a public chartity. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact me (Polly), who is helping them raise money: pollybasore@msn.com.