After years of charity fundraising, Margaret Schwender saw an opportunity to show Kirkland what good works can look like.

Thanks to the efforts of Schwender and others, children ages 6-10 took part in a free art class and had a chance to hang their masterpieces in the foyer of the Kirkland Public Library last week under the theme, “World of Art.” Several local charities banded together to give eight boys and girls the chance to learn and enjoy art at the KTUB.

Sketching drawings with pastels, crayons and colored pencils, the art class at the Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB) May 21 bubbled with excitement.

“It’s a frog!” the children shouted, “It’s an army man!”

Calmly guiding students through the lessons, art teacher Gail Baker gave step-by-step instructions on drawing a crab on construction paper.

“Name the shapes,” Baker said. “I want the names of the shapes, you guys.”

The art show and the six-week class is a collaboration between local nonprofits and organizations the Kirkland Interfaith Network, Hopelink, the Kirkland Teen Union Building, the Kirkland Arts Center and the Kirkland Library. Bringing them all together for the project was the brainchild of KIN fundraiser Margaret Schwender. The “World of Art” program in its fifth year.

“Some of these classes were being cut in elementary schools,” said Schwender of the motivation for starting the program. “There was an unmet need at the educational level.”

An energetic and spunky member of the Kirkland Congregational church, Schwender, 60, saw an opportunity to give children a chance to experience the pleasures of art they might have otherwise missed.

“These kids, they’ve got too much time on their hands,” she said.

When the class walked over to see the artwork at the library, Schwender asked one of the students, Jasmine Wright, 10, why she liked the class.

“You have the opportunity to have your art in the library,” she said.

Other children wanted to take their artwork home right away.

“It’s really hard to get the kids to leave their work,” Myra Kaha of the Kirkland Arts Center said. “They usually want to take it home right away.”

Instead, it was back to the KTUB for a slice of ice cream cake.

Children were selected to take part in the program by Hopelink, an Eastside-based aid organization that runs a local food bank and emergency center. The agency has built relationships with local families with children deemed “in need.”

“The big barrier is often transport,” Hopelink manager Jessica Ivey said. “But Margaret found volunteers to get the kids from here to their homes and back … Combining efforts to make something so cool happen, that’s what I love about it.”

Schwender, now retired, draws on her experience in social work and grant writing to run the fundraising for the nonprofit. The program is in its fifth year, and Schwender said she plans to run it as long as the children enjoy it.

“(The class) was really exciting, said 10-year-old Bryan Toro. “I get to see people I don’t see every day.”

KIN, an ecumenical group to serve the needs of the poor, hosts a number of volunteer community service programs and provides recreational opportunities for kids of low-income families throughout the year. Last year the nonprofit raised money and gathered donations for Thanksgiving food baskets, school supplies, children’s books and food drives for area families in need. Schwender said 1,048 children in the area were able to join a recreational group for free with KIN’s assistance. It reportedly received $11,000 in grants in 2007.

The Kirkland Library (at 308 Kirkland Avenue) will display the children’s art work for the next week.