Santa Claus needs to know what all the nice children want for Christmas. Thanks to an annual tradition, he’ll know what to bring to Kissimmee in his sleigh. The City of Kissimmee is now accepting requests for the “Santa Calling,” a city program that will occur on Dec. 6 between 5:30 p.m. at 8 p.m.
Parents interested in having Santa Claus call their children (note, this is a phone calling service, and not a gift-giving service) should send the following information via e-mail to santa@kissimmee.gov by Thursday, Nov. 30: Child’s name and pronunciation; age (10 or younger); English or Spanish speaker; Gender; Phone number; A list of what they want from Santa Claus; Names and ages of the siblings; School/ Grade/ teacher; what parents would like the child to improve on something positive; First-time call or returning call; the best time to call between 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Please remember the time and day selected; Santa will be calling many children, and will only call each child once.
Animal Services introduces holiday sleepover program for shelter dogs
Osceola County Animal Services has launched its Holiday Sleepover program, providing local families with the unique opportunity to host a shelter dog temporarily through Jan. 9. The initiative aims to offer a break from the shelter routine for adoptable pets and create meaningful connections with potential adopters during the holiday season.
Homes are based on the comfort of host and dog – with consideration of other pets, children, and individual needs. Dogs are chosen based on individual behavior and friendliness. All participating dogs undergo vetting for health and behavior. Only dogs with whom the shelter is familiar will be selected. The majority of available dogs are larger.
Applications will be reviewed, and potential participants will be contacted by phone. If both parties agree on the sleepover, a schedule will be developed, accommodating both the hosts’ needs and the shelter schedule. The shelter provides all necessary supplies, including food, toys, bedding, and any other essentials for the dog’s stay. Additional supplies are available upon request, and any special needs of the dog (such as food or medication) are discussed with the host family. For more information about the Holiday Sleepover program, please contact Osceola County Animal Services at 407-742-8000.
KUA earns APPA awards
Kissimmee Utility Authority earned three American Public Power Association awards at the recent Customer Connections Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
The Customer Satisfaction Award is the result of receiving high marks from customers in customer service, field personnel, communication, reliability, value, outage response, innovation, and overall satisfaction. KUA received a bronze level award.
Like in 2019 and 2021, KUA also earned the Smart Energy Provider (SEP) for demonstrating proficiency in energy efficiency, distributed generation, and environmental initiatives that support the goal of providing safe, reliable, low-cost, and sustainable electric service. And KUA earned the Excellence in Public Power Communications Award of Merit for social media strategy during Hurricane Ian.
Locals inducted to Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, reported it has inducted Yasmeen Anis of Kissimmee and Sandra Dakers of Champions Gate. Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni.
Hometown Heroes assistance program receives additional funds
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has announced that the Hometown Heroes down payment assistance program will reopen next year with $36 million available to Floridians in over 50 critical professions, such as police, firefighters, teachers, and nurses, looking to purchase their first home.
In July 2023, the Hometown Heroes program received $100 million from the Florida Legislature to help Florida families purchase their first home in the community where they work. Just two months later, those funds were fully committed, helping more than 6,400 families purchase a home. Due to increased demand and the rapid speed at which the previous funding was reserved, Florida Housing has redirected additional resources to allow for the program to be reopened with more funding to assist Florida’s homebuyers.
The Hometown Heroes program is available to those full-time workers who earn less than 150% of their county’s area median income (AMI). The maximum down payment assistance available to each homebuyer is $35,000, or up to 5% of their first mortgage loan amount. To get started, homebuyers must connect with one of Florida Housing’s participating loan officers, have a minimum credit score of 640, and be a first-time homebuyer (veterans are exempt from this requirement).
For more information on the program, visit www.floridahousing.org/hometownheroes.
