News briefs

Hafen among University of Kansas fall 2013 candidates for degree

Megan Hafen of Boulder City is among nearly 1,350 candidates slated to receive a degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence this fall. She will receiver her doctor of philosophy in behavioral psychology.

Fall-degree candidates represent 52 Kansas counties, 36 other states and the District of Columbia, and 34 other countries, according to the university registrar.

Because the university conducts only one formal commencement ceremony each year, many fall graduates will return May 18 for the 142nd Commencement.

Kids for Peace donates $710 to St. Jude’s

The Las Vegas/Henderson chapter of the international organization Kids for Peace presented St. Jude’s Ranch for Children with a $710 donation Dec. 19. The funds were raised through the group’s Kindness Bracelet project.

For the past two months, Kids for Peace members up to the age of 12, have been keeping track of their acts of kindness and going out their way spread joy and peace. For each kind deed, they were given a bead.

Their kind acts ranged from handing out hot chocolate to crossing guards and donating gently used toys to everyday actions such as sharing, holding doors open and writing thank-you notes. These beads then became Kindness Bracelets that the children sold for donations.

With a contribution from Autism Care West, friends, family and community members, the children raised $710 in less than two months. Their goal was to help make Christmas a little brighter for the children at St. Jude’s Ranch.

The project was one of the ways that Kids for Peace members fulfilled a line from their Peace Pledge, “ I pledge to help others as I go throughout my day.”