Small Beginning, But Big Results

In 1994,?Marilyn McGown, Kansas Beta Upsilon, was employed as a traveling counselor, splitting her time between elementary schools in two towns. She saw the needs in each community and wanted to meet those needs. She saw the altruistic spirit in each community and wanted to harness that spirit. But, that wasn’t as easy as it might seem. “I was often contacted by civic groups wanting to adopt a family for Christ-mas,” she said. “This put me in a difficult position, because I couldn’t give out the names of families who might need help. Yet, I knew there was a need.”??

McGown’s A?K sister Rebecca Hill taught a?Marilyn McGowan (left) and citizenship unit in her first Rebecca Hill (right) grade class. “It got little kids talking and thinking outside themselves,” Hill said. One of her especially enthusiastic students took the lesson to heart, and before long, a school-wide pop can drive began. The goal was to make some money and do some good.?The sisters joined forces to do just that. “We had trash bags full of pop cans everywhere - classrooms, my tiny office, the main office,” McGown said. Finding enough space wasn’t the only challenge. Sometimes critters, like ants and tiny mice, were hidden in the bags students brought to school.

Learning happened as well. The owner of an area recycling center brought his scale to school to demonstrate that 26 aluminum cans equal one pound. He promised the students that he would pay 30 cents per pound for their project. The drive yielded $200 and was matched by others inspired by the project. A fund was created at each elementary school to help those in need. McGown, the counselor, was given the responsibility of using the fund wisely. That was a beginning.

McGown knew that guidelines for such altruism were essential. She was adamant that both towns be included and that the dignity of folks receiving donations be protected. She partnered with Hill and a local minister to create the?Basehor-Linwood Assistance Services, abbreviated BLAS, but pronounced “blaze.” “We wanted to bring churches into the organizing of the group in order to reach the larger community,” she said. With McGown and Hill in the lead, volunteers came together. A Board of Directors was elected. Guidelines were determined. McGown’s husband used his accounting expertise to complete paperwork for non-profit status. The organization was officially afloat and ready to sail. Throughout this process, McGown and Hill kept their Beta Epsilon chapter members informed. A?K sisters stood ready to help.

The first major project of BLAS was an adopt-a-family event in December. Those in need communicated with McGown. Generous organizations, churches, and folks in both communities signed up to provide gifts, clothing, toys, and food. A?K sisters encouraged their classes to bring needed donations. As enthusiasm spread, the adopt-a-family project worked and became an annual undertaking.??

Not content with one annual project, BLAS expanded its services with a year-round food pantry. Churches stepped in to provide space. The post office collected food items on their delivery routes. A backpack program was established, providing meals and snacks for students to take home on weekends. Restaurants, chambers of commerce, agricultural organizations, banks and civic groups joined the efforts. “The help just pours in from everywhere,” Hill said. “They see the need in their local community and they are willing to help.”

Now in its 25th year, BLAS has continued its help for school and community with clothing items, educational sup-plies, emergency assistance with utilities and rent, and other needs. Kansas Beta Epsilon chapter and its members have been a significant part of BLAS’s success, donating regularly to the food pantry, volunteering to assist families at the pantry on distribution nights, helping set up for adopt-a-family pick-up, and providing gift cards for hard-to-buy-for teenagers each December, over $400 worth in 2020.??

It’s all volunteer with no paid employees or tax money used. What started with a lesson in citizenship,?enthusiastic first-graders, pop cans, and two dedicated Alpha Delta Kappa members with support from their A?K chapter has now become the primary social service agency in this large two-community district, a notable example of the power of altruism.