ICAN, a Chandler-based youth program, is introducing a new initiative to ensure that kids returning to school do so with shoes that are not worn and torn. Throughout the month of June, ICAN will be seeking donations for its Kicks for Kids shoe drive, including shoes and socks.

In three weeks Ahwatukee Kiwanis was able to pull the community together and provide Christmas gifts to 47 boys in six group foster homes across the Valley in 2012. 

Though she’s going to miss seeing her students grow in their love of books, Kyrene Monte Vista Elementary librarian Sue Race said it’s time for her to move on.

Bethany Christian School (BCS) in Tempe, students and families participated in an Outreach Project to help and support homeless children from Children’s First Academy.

The road to Florence isn’t long when country music stars are in town. People flock from the East Valley to the Country Thunder music festival, spurring the question: What else is there to see in Florence? It didn’t take long to find an answer — alpacas.

In recent years, there have been some really good Oscar hosts like Hugh Jackman, some acceptable hosts like John Stewart, some disappointing hosts like Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin, and some flat-out horrendous hosts like James Franco & Anne Hathaway. Despite the best efforts of some, none have come close to capturing the same wit, timing, and showmanship of reoccurring hosts like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal. At the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony however, Seth MacFarlane of “Ted” and “Family Guy” emerged as the single most entertaining first-time Oscar host of the 21st century.

In recent years, there have been some really good Oscar hosts like Hugh Jackman, some acceptable hosts like John Stewart, some disappointing hosts like Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, and some flat-out horrendous hosts like James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Despite the best efforts of some, none have come close to capturing the same wit, timing, and showmanship of reoccurring hosts like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal. At the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony however, Seth MacFarlane of “Ted” and “Family Guy” emerged as the single most entertaining first-time Oscar host of the 21st century.

Sheila Coonen from Connecting to Serve and Andi Pettyjohn decided to help foster youth this holiday season. Many churches and the Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee helped with collection boxes to aid in their efforts. With help from the Camelback Kiwanis Club, Friendship Village, Pecos Senior Center and other Ahwatukee Foothills residents the result was 47 troubled boys, ages 8 to 17, receiving a Christmas celebration.

The Ahwatukee Retirement Center Support the Troops volunteers were at it again. The ARC retirees prepared 108 care boxes filled with snacks, socks, cards, candy canes, and other items for the U.S. servicemen and servicewomen stationed in the Middle East this holiday season. In the four years since this programs inception, 900 care boxes have successfully been shipped to our servicemen as part of the ARC Support Our Troops program.

Have you ever said “thank you” through clenched teeth? The gift in that nicely wrapped box was so not what you wanted: comfy clothes instead of designer duds, or a kitchen gadget instead of a shiny piece of jewelry.

The advent calendar, which eases anxiety by counting down those pesky 24 days until Christmas Eve, is as much a holiday tradition for my family as the tree.

When nighttime temperatures drop and days cool down, many of the community’s homeless end up on the streets without blankets, clothing and other necessities to keep them warm.

During lunch recess at Kyrene de la Colina in Ahwatukee this week, elementary school students roamed the playgrounds with orange pinky fingers or string tied to their shoes.

Parents of special needs kids in Ahwatukee and surrounding communities are invited to have their special athletes take part in a new PONY baseball league.

Think clotheslines are a relic of a bygone era, a time when our grandmothers slaved over their dainties with stiff birch-wood pins?

At its best, getting kids out the door for school each morning is an exercise in herding cats. At its worst, well, here’s a wall, some Jello, and a nail. Have at it.

Five hospitals sit within an easy drive of my Indianapolis home. It’s comforting to know, considering that my wife will deliver our second child in late August.