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Organizers of the first ever St. Patrick's Day parade in Independence have had a few days to take some deep breaths and tally up the money raised for charity.
Parade founder Les Wight said the event raised $2,500 for Sunshine Center, a school serving 120 children and youth with disabilities. The center is also a pre-school for typically-developing children. Wight, a local attorney with Stewart Cook Constance Stewart Minton & Wight, delivered the donations to the school on Tuesday. "And there are still a few checks in the mail," he said. Wight got the idea on a whim, and saw it through to fruition, much to the delight of the Sunshine Center children and staff at the facility, 607 W. Lexington Ave. in Independence. "We were really pleased with the turnout and the amount of participants in the parade, especially for the first time," special educator Angie Ekberg said. She runs the stay-at-home program, which serves another 50 children, many of them high-risk. "We've already given our OK to start planning for next year," Ekberg said. Wight will stay on as parade chairman. Although the parade competed with the annual St. Patrick's Day festivities in Kansas City, one of the more involved parades in the nation, local businesses and fun seekers made a good showing in Independence. Drivers of 40 vehicles and several dozen walkers made donations to the school to get into the parade. Ekberg said her job is rewarding. "In my job I work intensely with families," she said. "Knowing that I might be helping lessen a case of abuse or neglect, or keeping a child from going into the foster system, is a reward." Betty Snapp started Sunshine Center in 1975, based on a need to serve families in Eastern Jackson County. Although retired, Snapp will certainly be one of the guests of honor at the school's 30th anniversary reunion and graduation, June 4 at the center. To reach David Tanner e-mail david.tanner@examiner.net or call (816) 350-6324. |