Central Avenue Betterment Association

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, the Central and South regions of Mexico, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to ask for the wellbeing of and remember friends and family members who have died and help support their spiritual journey. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1 and November 2 to coincide with the western Christian triduum of "All Hallowtide": All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called "Ofrendas", honoring the deceased using "Calaveras", Aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess "Mictecacihuatl" The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Our event concentrated 19,000 people on Central Avenue.

Summer Mentoring Program: * Provides 4th year high school students with mentors and situational experiences plus good work practices designed to prepare and to focus the student on personal successes. * Builds self-esteem giving young persons the inner strength to resist negative peer pressure. * Gives the community positive student/resident/business interaction. * Provides actual situational and work experiences generating future life success paths. * Pays a stipend after completion of the contract. * The program is open to Central Avenue Area High School Seniors. Program's History - For many Years CABA has held the "Student Job Placement Program" Sponsored by the Board of Public Utilities. During the year 2014 and after the execution of the SJPP a full revision of the program's goals and reach was reviewed and within the revision, structural changes were made to the program to increase the participant's community awareness and the promotion of student's leadership. The promotion of leadership and higher education became the specific goals, however, the generation of personal and community pride and the breaking of self-imposed and cultural barriers, were embedded into the new program's structure. The presentation of the program's new structure to CABA's board of directors was made successfully, late 2014 and the first version of this structure was delivered during the summer of 2015. This program has improved with time, and of course, with the student's participation. The program as it stands was received overwhelmingly well by the community's leadership. The Board of Public Utilities was reported and pleased with the results. New leaders and professionals from the community expressed their interest in their participation as mentors. Program's Current State. During the year 2024, we hosted a total of 23 events during June and July, each event delivered in a specific area of human development. We had 15 students enroll in our program and a total of 47 mentors interacting with our students along each of the events. The students experienced self analysis, goal making, time management, learning how to use technology to gain knowledge, networking, family financials, business financials, government structure, government operations, chamber of commerce purpose, table etiquette, dress codes, job placement, public office, candidate vetting, public interviewing, public speaking, breaking ceilings, and many more trades. On the certification day, the students organize their own event, they have to write a report of their experience and present it to the community and the Public Board of Utilities.

La Placita, Central Avenue Market at Bethany Park: Ten years ago, CABA, under the direction of Marty Thoennes, was asked by leaders of the community to help Bethany Park become a more friendly and safe place. As a Chair of the Board, Marty and I discussed different ways to support the creation and production of positive initiatives that would bring life to the park. Events at the park was the natural solution. With the partnership and support of the members of CABA's board and other organizations, we cleaned up the park, installed exercise equipment, took old equipment out and promoted the reconstruction of the trail, also we started a series of monthly events that would bring the community to the park under a feel-good atmosphere. The group of initiatives became La Placita, a market-program that has produced an enormous amount of positive activity, has kept negative activity at bay and has helped many members of our community make more than ends meet. We did not do any of these things alone, we had an amazing team of friends and volunteers help us at every point of this journey. We built a community. The 2023 session started on May 5th and as a successful community program, we received approval for producing it every week until the end of its session in the month of September. Nearly 40 local vendors and organizations took advantage of La Placita at Bethany Park. It served over 20,000 residents and visitors to the community, promoting community engagement and the incubation of future businesses for the Central Avenue Commercial Corridor.

The Flavors of Central Tour: People from around the world have discovered there is nothing quite like the invigorating flavors of traditional Mexican cuisine and the authentic dishes that can only be found in the ever-popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Over the last four decades, Latino immigration to the Midwest has brought new and mysterious spices, condiments, and recipes that have transformed the palates of Americans. A wave of new flavors has enhanced the Mexican and Central American food experience and gained a very demanding following. We, in the Kansas City Metro, are fortunate enough to have more than 20 authentic Latino restaurants along the Central Avenue corridor. Over the last 40 years these businesses have built Kansas City, Kansas into the Mecca of all Regional-Original dishes. We invite you to join us and explore "The Flavors of Central Avenue". Fall in love with the traditional dishes, drinks, and desserts our businesses have to offer. We will help guide you to becoming the real, regional Mexican food connoisseur you always knew you were! The Flavors of Central Tour was a Total Success! We had a total of 23 businesses on Central Avenue participating. We had a total of 187 tickets sold. We invited 58 special guests from the community. We had 20 volunteers helping us with all the production. We had 378 hits on our website before and after the event. We had 28 bicycles borrowed by visitors during the Tour.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration: Our new community celebration brought 40 vendors to the park and 5,000 people to enjoy the celebration.

Other program service accomplishments include Healthy Quality of Life, Free Wheels for Kids, Dotteversity Parade, and an Earth Day event.