KANSAS CITY, MO. -- Secret Santa II has been out in the Kansas City area, keeping alive a long-standing tradition of handing out $100 bills to unsuspecting strangers.

Secret Santa II took over for Kansas City's original Secret Santa, Larry Stewart, who died in 2007.

Secret Santa II handed out about $10,000 Tuesday to people in thrift stores and pantries, bringing gasps and thanks.

Like Stewart, who gave away more than $1 million to strangers each December, this Secret Santa prefers to stay anonymous.

Recipients Tuesday included a police officer with terminal cancer, a homeless man, an 81-year-old woman who told her 27 grandchildren she couldn't afford to get them any Christmas gifts and a 32-year-old unemployed mother of two.