When Jennifer Keller, Communications Manager for the American Red Cross, contacted verb [ICT] about doing a story on giving blood, I didn’t exactly jump at the chance to participate. Like many people, I have my own reasons for not donating. Until today, the most significant reason was that I have tiny veins and I’m hard to get blood from. Even my sister, who happens to be a phlebotomist at the American Red Cross, couldn’t convince me. Like many people, I just didn’t have all the facts.
Because the Red Cross adheres to strict standards regarding who can give, …

Having spent my K-12 years in Wichita, I am ashamed to say that I never went ghost hunting. Kansas is bursting with creepy legends and haunted sites: there’s the alleged gateway to hell in Stull, the ghosts of General Custer and his wife in the barracks of Fort Riley, and the plethora of spooks and spirits in Atchison. Closer to home is the Hutchinson Public Library, where the ghost of former librarian Ida Day Holzapfel is said to reside, and the mysterious little girl at Robinson Middle School who bangs on the lockers after dark. Despite these opportunities for adventure, however, I was always too wimpy to get acquainted with the spectral citizens of the ICT. So, to make up for my lost years (and to benefit future seekers of the supernatural), I took an abbreviated journey around the area’s most famous haunts

A family just watched their home burn down from the bumper of a fire truck. Thanks to more than 600 motorcyclists, the family will be supplied with food, shelter and hope that everything will be OK.
On Saturday, June 19, the sixth annual Ride for the Red will take place at  the American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter, 1900 E. Douglas. As the largest event of its kind in Wichita, Ride for the Red annually raises more than $60,000 that directly benefits the greater Wichita area served by the Midway-Kansas Chapter. From …

As I ambled down the road that led from Clueless Consumer to Totally Eco Savvy I was inspired to try organic cooking, energy efficient light bulbs, locally grown groceries and (of course) recycling. These are pretty standard “Green” enterprises that can be practiced without your friends thinking you’ve gone crazy. My last project, not so much. My friends are giving me funny looks because my new pursuit sounds like something totally out of place in the city, but I don’t care. I’ve seen it work magic in my life, and …

When the bell rang on the last day of school, my third-grader announced, “Let the 3-month Wii marathon begin!” If he had his way, this is exactly how the summer would be spent: endless hours playing video games in his underwear with short breaks to eat Cheetos and nap between levels. As a parent, I know my job is to break up the monotony of summer, so I’ll give him a few days to hang out in his PJs, but then it’s time to wipe the Cheeto dust …