OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The holidays are still a few months away, but the time has arrived for Santas to get ready.
In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Clauses from all over the nation are getting ready right here in the Kansas City area.
The first Santa Symposium put on by Santa America, a 501(c)(3) volunteer organization, started Thursday and continues through Saturday at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center.
Santa America President John Scheuch said 33 Mr. and Mrs. Clauses are participating in the training, which covers grief, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder in children and military veterans.
"We have tried for a long time to have our own standalone event without needing to dovetail off of somebody else’s event, and we were finally able to find the resources and pull them together to make that happen," Scheuch said.
The group of Santas spend the three-day course listening to and learning from experts and local families.
Julie Mattson was among the training's speakers. She lost her 5-year-old son, Spencer, to a brain tumor in 2005.
Mattson and her husband learned of the tumor in 2003.
When the holidays came around, Santa Scheuch reached out to the family and wanted to do something special. He dropped by the family's farm in a helicopter to plant a magic acorn with Spencer.
"Spencer understood the farm and growing and planting things, so that led to the amazing event on Christmas Eve," Mattson said.
Santa and Spencer flew off on the helicopter to see the lights on the Country Club Plaza and a 20-foot oak tree was in the acorn's place when they returned thanks to a handful of local volunteers.
"The memories are there forever and ever," Mattson said.
Mattson hopes sharing her story with the group of Santas at the conference will help them realize how much of an effect they have on families.
"Putting a smile on a child’s face or family's face during a hard time is priceless," she said.
Scheuch said there are many things going on in the world that cause tension in children, which is why training like this is necessary.
"We need to be that calming, stable influence to children," Scheuch said. "Children tell Santa everything. We hear things that aren't maybe what parents want shared, but they're things that children observe."
