Month: June 2014

Community invited to travel to Cuba with KCKCC Jazz Band

by Kelly Rogge

The Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Band is getting ready for its once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cuba this December and is welcoming community members to join in.

The Havana Jazz tour 2014 is from Dec. 16 to 22. It will culminate in the KCKCC performance at the 30th annual Havana International Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba. Bill Yeazel, KCKCC Havana Jazz Tour 2014 Coordinator, said individuals who are interested in traveling to Cuba with the Jazz Band should confirm their intent to travel soon.

“It is essential to make a $300 deposit with the travel agent in Toronto, Authentic Cuba Travel, in order to secure plane seats, which are limited,” he said. “The agency will discuss payment and cancellation options with you at that time.”

Individuals, either from KCKCC or from the community are responsible to make their own travel arrangements. Contact information for Authentic Cuba Travel in Toronto: Authentic Cuba Travel, 108 Earl Pl, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 3B9 Canada, 1-877-280-2054.

Visit the tour website at kansascityjazz.org and selected the Havana Jazz Festival Tour link. This link shows the trip itinerary. The price for land tour inside Cuba is $1,769 per person. It includes hotel (double occupancy), most meals, daily activities with tour guides, buses and tours and an all access pass to the Havana International Jazz Festival. The pass is good for all admittance into Jazz Festival performances that week. For those who have additional interested beyond the itinerary, the Toronto travel agency can assist.

Individuals traveling with the KCKCC Jazz Band will also be responsible for booking their own airfare. At this time, U.S.-based airlines cannot sell tickets directly to Cuba. Instead, there will be two legs of the trip – Kansas City to Cancun and Cancun to Cuba. For more specifics on travel, contact Bill Yeazel at 816-665-0296.

Americans travel frequently and legally to Cuba for a variety of purposes but, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, a license is required. Ask Authentic Cuba Travel about the license as they are experts and can provide reliable information. There is an additional fee for community members to be licensed for legal travel to Cuba. A valid U.S. passport is also required for any international travel.

“Traveling with Kansas City jazz musicians to this festival will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Yeazel said. ‘I have been to Havana a couple of times, and it is truly a unique destination. The music scene at night is spectacular.”

For more information on the trip to Havana, Cuba with the KCKCC Jazz Band, contact Bill Yeazel at 816-665-0296 or by email at yeazel@kckcc.edu.

CHWC fundraiser planned June 28

Craig and Karen Gaffney

CHWC will hold a fundraiser for community redevelopment at 5 p.m. June 28 at Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.

At the event, the “Continue the Legacy” award will be presented to Craig and Karen Gaffney in honor of their dedication to Community Housing of Wyandotte County, and the Gaffneys’ philanthropic work in the community.

CHWC’s mission is to revitalize, stabilize and reinvest in Kansas City, Kan., neighborhoods through new and improved housing, homebuyer education and counseling, as well as community building and engagement initiatives.

Natives of Wyandotte County who now live in Bonner Springs, Craig Gaffney and Karen Sloan Gaffney both attended Bishop Ward High School, graduating in 1972. They have been involved with CHWC since its inception in 1997, when Craig was on the founding board. Gaffney was the first board chair of CHWC. CHWC has had a profound effect on the neighborhoods the Gaffneys grew up in.

The Gaffneys’ community efforts also include Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, Kansas City, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce and Bishop Ward High School.

Since CHWC’s founding through the merger of Catholic Housing of Wyandotte County and Neighborhood Housing Services of Kansas City, Kan., in 2002, CHWC has built or renovated about 300 homes with a capital investment of nearly $75 million in Kansas City, Kan., neighborhoods, according to a CHWC spokesman.

This year alone, thanks to strategic partnerships with others, CHWC played a vital role in building another 40-50 homes at an additional investment of more than $6.5 million, the spokesman said. These homes stabilize distressed neighborhoods and provide homeownership opportunities for Wyandotte County families seeking the American dream of homeownership.

However, CHWC doesn’t just build and renovate homes, it provides homebuyer education, housing counseling services, community building projects like renovating the once dilapidated and unsafe Waterway Park, in addition to art programs such as the Community Alley Renovation and Art on the Streets, thanks to CHWC’s Steve Curtis, who has coordinated these programs.

The investment in families through counseling, homebuyer education, as well as other community engagement initiatives, builds long-term sustainability to Kansas City, Kan., neighborhoods, the CHWC spokesman said. Drive through downtown neighborhoods and the lasting effect that CHWC has left on the community will be visible. New homes, renovated homes, minor home repair projects for existing homeowners, new streets, sidewalks, more than $200,000 investment in Waterway Park, EPIC Arts Studio on Strawberry Hill, the renovation of Historic Firestation No. 9, and the reuse of the former Donnelly College site at 12th and Sandusky.

On June 28, in addition to honoring the Gaffneys, the program will salute CHWC’s work during the past year.

The fundraiser begins at 5 p.m. June 28 with cocktails. Dinner, dancing, an auction and field activities will follow. Last year, the event raised nearly $100,000 for the organization. Individual tickets are $75, and table sponsorships start at $1,000. To register for the event, visit www.chwckck.org and click on the event button.

New diabetes statistics show rising tide of disease

The American epidemic of diabetes has leaped to historic heights in just two years according to information just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 29 million Americans now have the disease, up from 26 million, a 12 percent jump in the number of diabetes cases in just two years.

This is not surprising to Dr. David Robbins, director of the KU Diabetes Institute at The University of Kansas Hospital, who is seeing more and more diabetes, and pre-diabetes patients every day.

“It’s a sad and expensive statistic,” Dr. Robbins said. “Once one has diabetes, it not only shortens the life span, it as much as triples the cost of medical care. So it’s a very serious diagnosis.”

For more information on the clinical trial or to participate, call 913-588-0277.

To see a KU Hospital video about diabetes, increased cases at local hospitals and the clinical trial, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nrpyi7edKk.