Building a better community

The Kansas Health Foundation and 12 community partners,including Wichita State University, are hosting "Our Town, Our Kids," an event to show ways to build better communities for children, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex. The free event is open to the public.

Speaker Peter Benson is a nationally recognized expert on children’s issues. He will share insights that have inspired change in communities nationwide.

Benson will introduce 40 building blocks, or developmental assets, that demonstrate the important roles that families, neighborhoods, schools, congregations, businesses and others play in shaping a young person’s life.

Benson, president of the Minneapolis-based Search Institute, is widely recognized as one of the leading contributors to the fields of child and adolescent development.

His research and writing have pioneered new thinking and action in hundreds of cities across the United States on how communities can mobilize and unite to raise healthy, successful, caring children and youth.

In 1991, Benson received the prestigious William James Award from the American Psychological Association for career contributions to psychology.

His work has been reported in Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, and he has appeared on more than 200 television and radio programs.

Music at the event will be provided by the Heights High School gospel choir and the North High School jazz band. Wichita’s Promise Youth Council also will make a special presentation.