The Salvation Army in Kansas City announced this morning that it raised $7.7 million during its 2009 Christmas Campaign.

The $7.7 million figure exceeded the organization's goal of $7.5 million. The campaign began Nov. 1 and concluded the last day of January.

“We are so grateful to everyone who dropped money into our Red Kettles at Christmas, wrote a check or volunteered their time,” said Major Jeffrey Smith, divisional commander of The Salvation Army in Kansas City. “Even with the struggling economy, the people of Kansas City continue to demonstrate their generosity and compassion for their neighbors in need.”

The funds raised during the campaign benefits the Salvation Mary's programs and services. Over 10,000 children were provided toys and meals in the Kansas City area last Christmas season.

There's still room to celebrate Christmas at the Strawberry Hill Ethnic Museum & Cultural Center, located at 720 N. 4th Street, in Kansas City, Kan. 

In “Keeping Christ in Christmas,” the Museum will have an exhibit of 32 donated Nativity sets that have been displayed throughout the Chapel.
 
The Christmas exhibits are decorated with customs from Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, African-American, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and Mexico.  

Share in the traditions of yesteryear that continue with families of today.
 
The Christmas exhibits opened on Nov. 21, 2009, and will remain open every Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m., through Sunday, January 31, 2010.

Take a tour of the beautiful Museum. 

The cost for a tour is $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-12.  Children age 5 and under are free. Visit the gift shop and stop by the Tea Room for some special desserts.  Tea Room hours are Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. throughout the holiday.
 
The Victorian Mansion was built in 1887 for John Scroggs, a prominent attorney in Wyandotte County for his wife Margaret Cruise-Scroggs. In 1919 it became St. John's Orphanage.

In 1988 the house became the Strawberry Hill Ethnic Museum and Cultural Center dedicated to preserving the ethnic heritage of the surrounding areas.
          
If you are interested in booking a group tour of 15 or more please call the Strawberry Hill Museum at (913) 371-3264 or (913) 371-0081 to make a reservation. 

All contributions preserve the Kansas City, Kan., landmark.

The correct answer is "It's a Wonderful Life," for what it's worth.

Driving on Leavenworth Road earlier this week, a house covered with Christmas lights stood out in one block.

Here are a few shots of the house:

In August, 1954 Mr. Collins who had the rights to the Kansas City Star route in the neighborhood where I lived stopped me on the street one afternoon to talk. I was then a newspaper boy for the Kansan and we would often greet each other when out delivering our newspapers.  I then delivered the Kansan – a once a day publication. 

He was thinking of expanding his newspaper area and would like for me to consider working for him.  I told him that I appreciated him thinking of me.  I was flattered that he would think I could handle carrying around the much larger and heavier Kansas City Star newspaper. He then had 2 teen age boys who threw newspapers off the back of his pick up truck. They were both older and physically bigger than I was. 

Mr. Collins wanted me to take care of not only residences, but the many businesses and apartments around Central Avenue.  These were customers where it was necessary to have a paper boy walking on foot to deliver the newspaper twice a day.

In September of 1954 I had started my freshman year at Bishop Ward High School.  The first 2 weeks there were a bit stressful.  I had never been around so many students. Most were older than me and I only saw a few familiar faces. For the previous 2 years, I had walked to Holy Family grade school, but that summer I would wait for a school bus at the corner of 7th Street and Ohio Avenue. The school had the doors opened at 8 a.m., but students arriving early could wait in the gymnasium until then enter at 8.  I believe that school was out at about 2:10 p.m... I would then walk home. I could not wait on the bus. I had to rush home for a snack and then deliver my Kansan newspapers.

That start of the school year was very different for me, but I was adapting to my new surroundings.  I was able to get a good nights sleep then, but that was about to change. On the third week of September, Mr. Collins knocked on the door. 

He was now in an emergency situation. He needed me as soon as possible to deliver newspapers for him. Since I would be waking up at 3 a.m. to deliver newspapers – then going back to bed after that, I would have time to get another hour of sleep, before going to my classes at high school.  I had to ask permission from my parents before accepting.

In retrospect, I probably should have turned down the offer.  I had no idea what sleep deprivation would do to me and also how my grades at school would suffer.  I accepted the new position of delivering newspapers twice a day and once on Sunday. In my odd way of reasoning then, I took this as a challenge.  I would be earning 15 dollars per week, but just as important to me, I would be doing something difficult.

(CLICK READ MORE)

Here are some additional pictures from a previous post.

All photos are from ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor.

Beginning in just under a half hour, the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office, 710 N. 7th Street, will host a Toys for Tots event.

Presents and food items will be presented to families in need. The event begins at 9 a.m. and concludes whenever all the items are given out.

If you're using a live Christmas tree this holiday season, the Bonner Springs Parks and Recreation Department will have a use for it.

The city is working with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks on developing a fish habitat in the Bonner Springs North Park Lake. Christmas trees will serve as "fish beds" and will be placed on the bottom of the lake.

The trees also help the fish grow in size and increase the population of the fish in the lake.

All decorations must be removed before they are recycled. Also, trees with "paint" or "fake snow" will not be recycled.

Residents can drop off their trees at 1200 S. 134th Street in Bonner Springs. Once you enter the park, signs should lead the way to appropriate location.

By ALAN HOSKINS, Kansan Contributor

Kansas City Kansas’ biggest feel-good story of the holiday season played out at Kansas City Kansas Community College Wednesday night when a record 345 families turned out for the 11th annual “Christmas in the City.”

An estimated 1,175 kids, parents and grandparents lined college halls for more than two hours waiting their opportunity to select from a wide array of toys, games, bicycles and tricycles and assorted other gifts including turkey dinners, bed spreads, back packs, goody bags and stocking stuffers.

“It was a great evening,” said Stacy Tucker, Director of KCKCC Honors Education. “We had a lot of happy kids and gave away all the bicycles and tricycles and most everything else.”

A joint venture of the AFL-CIO Tri-County Labor Council, the KCK Housing Authority, Board of Public Utilties and KCKCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honors Chapter, the event was open to children 13 years and younger living in Section 8 and Public Housing in KCK. KCKCC students, faculty and staff began working on the event at 9 a.m. in preparation for the record 375 families who had pre-registered.

“Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) does this every year but it really touches a lot of people in the community,” said Tucker, who coordinated the event with Paula Draves, Director of Section 8 for the KCK Housing Authority, and Judy Gifford, the AFL-CIO Community Service Liaison with the Tri-Labor Council and United Way of Wyandotte County.

Members of the PTK Chapter made up nearly half of the 75-80 volunteers assisting in the mammoth project.

“The students really enjoy it. We have some who come back to help year after year after they’ve graduated,” said Tucker.

“This is a big part of Christmas for the majority of families who attend,” said Draves, “The families are very appreciative of what everyone in the community does for them. It could not be done without the collaboration of our partners.”

“I thought it was awesome,” said Sandi Becker, a professional assistant in the KCKCC Honors Program helping with the event for the first time. The kids all had fun, especially the younger ones. Just to see the look on their faces when they got a look at all those toys was a blast.

“The kids were just adorable. I helped one little boy about 18 months old and he picked up the first thing he saw. I told him that he could have anything he wanted so when he got to the tractors and Tonka trucks, he put the other toy back and got what he really wanted. It’s a lot of work but oh my gosh, it’s so much fun.”

No Christmas would be complete without Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus and each child had the opportunity to confide their Christmas wishes to the world’s most popular couple. In addition, there was face painting, story tellers and a bit of magic.   

Groups of approximately 10-15 families at a time were ushered into two levels of the Jewell Center where each child had a volunteer assist in picking out a toy, bicycle or tricycle.

Toys – an estimated 1,200 – were donated by the U.S. Marines “Toys for Tots” program while the KCK Board of Public Utilities provided the older children gift certificates and a choice of electronic games, MP3 players, footballs, basketballs and other older age toys.

Turkey dinners were provided 100 families by the Shrine Koran Temple 33 and Motorcyle Club along with goody bags containing microwave popcorn, granola bars, Rice Krispie treats, fruit snacks and candy.  

Each family also received a new bedspread or a backpack of school supplies from the AFL-CIO Tri-County Labor Council, which also provided 180 new bicycles and tricycles.

Unions making them available included Plumbers Local 8, Pipefitters 533, Roofers Local 20, Sprinkler Fitters, Steel Workers Local 13, Greater Kansas City Building Trades Teamsters 541, Laborers 1290, UAW Locals 249 (Ford Claycomo plant) and Local 31 (GM Fairfax plant) and private donors.

Also partnering in the giant undertaking were the Wyandotte County Juvenile Court, Office of the Inspector General, Unicare and Children’s Mercy Family Health Partners.

PHOTO: Santa and Mrs. Claus were on hand to listen to the Christmas wishes of countless children at the 11th annual “Christmas in the City” at KCKCC Dec. 16. (KCKCC Photo by Alan Hoskins)

NOTE: More photos from Alan Hoskins will be posted soon.

On my way home from tonight's Piper Board of Education meeting, I snapped some shots of area homes decorated with Christmas lights.

More photos after the jump. More on the meeting later.

Melissa Bynum, friend of The Kansan and member of a local Kiwanis chapter, sent in the following information and photos:

Members of the Kansas City Kansas West Kiwanis club enjoyed an old fashioned Christmas party Saturday night at the Grinter House.

Kiwanis members Kerry Green and Marc Potter created paper chains with which to decorate the tree in the historic house.

More than 23 gifts were also collected for the youth at KVC (formerly Kaw Valley Center).

The Wyandotte County Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold its "Holiday Mail for Heroes" program again this year.

The chapter expects to deliver well over 2,000 pieces of mails to area service men and women during the holiday.

“It’s an honor for our community to help make the holidays special for American heroes,” said Jason Williby, Executive Director, Wyandotte County Chapter.  “The American Red Cross serves and supports members of the military, veterans, and their families by providing emergency communications, comfort and assistance each day. The Holiday Mail for Heroes program continues the Red Cross tradition of service to the armed forces.” 

The Red Cross is seeking volunteers to help out on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. to help sort out box cards. The location of the event is 1600 Washington Blvd.

For more information, contact (913)321-6314 or email Jennifer Tarwater, Disaster Director, at tarwaterj@usa.redcross.org.

PHOTO: Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) wrote a letter that will be used in the program.