Polly Basore was raised and educated in the college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where she received a B.S. degree in journalism from Oklahoma State University in 1989. Wanderlust took her to New York City, Moscow and Washington, D.C. to chase big-city dreams. While in NYC, she obtained a M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

A new job, motherhood, and affordable housing prices led her to adopt Wichita as her new hometown in 1998. She spent nearly 15 years as a journalist, covering Congress and the Clinton administration as a Washington correspondent), then working as an editor of nationally award-winning journalism at The Wichita Eagle.

In 2003, she left journalism to start AngelWorks, a philanthropy that partners with non-profits to ease human suffering. In addition, she founded AngelBooks, which has published four books, “Santa’s Stray,” “A Piano for Christmas,” “All Is Bright,” and “What Heaven Left Behind,” which together raised nearly $200,000 for charities. “The Secret of Pink,” benefiting a respected nonprofit breast cancer organization, is the latest work to be published by AngelBooks.

Basore’s books are all written with children in mind, though all are suitable for all ages. A passionate advocate on behalf of kids hurt by life’s circumstance, Basore has launched a number of programs to benefit children, including a mentoring program called Real Men, Real Heroes, a campaign to address local child hunger called No More Hungry Kids, and an incentive program that rewards children who work hard in school with free access to local museums called the “I Earned It! Pass” program.

For her contributions to the community, the Wichita Business Journal recognized her with a “40 Under 40″ Award in 2006. Her memoir, “What Heaven Left Behind,” was named Most Inspirational Book by the Kansas Professional Communicators in 2006.

Basore currently runs Idea Studio Communications, a strategic communications consulting practice out of her home, which she shares with her son Henry, 14, and three cats named Sunflower, Mr. Boots and Noel.