Davis-Moore Blog

The Wichita affiliate of Dress for Success has announced the second annual Kansas Women of Distinction tribute book.  The coffee-table-style book will feature photographs and short stories honoring Kansas women.  “Every one of us have women in our lives who have influenced and guided us to be a better person; better mothers, better business women and better community leaders,” said Pat Jones, Executive Director of Dress for Success Wichita.  “The Kansas Women of Distinction tribute book is an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of these women in a lasting way.”

Proceeds from the book benefit the programs and services that Dress for Success Wichita has provided to over 10,000 low income women over the past 10 years that help them become employed and succeed in the workplace.  Women are referred to Dress for Success through partnerships with 74 referral organizations in Sedgwick, Harvey and Butler counties. These organizations include homeless shelters, domestic violence centers and job training programs. Each woman receives a “gently used” top to bottom interview outfit along with assistance from volunteer personal shoppers and can also participate in additional programs that teach interview and employment skills.

Individuals or groups can purchase pages in the book.  A half- page tribute is $500.  A full-page tribute is $1,000.  A two-page spread is $2,500.  Each tribute will consist of a photograph and a short passage describing the qualities and contributions of the woman.  The finished book will be printed in mid-September and will be presented to the honorees at a publication party to be held at the Venue at the Abode on November 16^th.  Those purchasing tribute pages will receive copies of the book.  Additional copies will be available for $27.50.  Details about the book and the order process can be found at the web site www.kansaswomenofdistinction.com

Tribute pages can be ordered on-line or by calling Dress for Success Wichita at (316) 945-8779.  The Kansas Women of Distinction project is sponsored by Dress for Success Wichita, Women’s Focus magazine, John Davis Photography, Entercom radio (Buzz 105.3FM, Oldies 103.7FM and News Radio 1330AM KNSS), Donlevy Lithograph, Westar Energy, and Armstrong|Shank Marketing Advertising and Public Relations.  For additional information contact:  Pat Jones at (316) 945-8779

The 2010 BlackTop Nationals will close out the summer of 2010, welcoming the nations’ top classic and performance car collectors, custom builders and enthusiasts to a four day festival in Wichita, Kansas on Thursday, August 26th through Sunday, August 29th.

The BlackTop Nationals will be the largest automobile event in the Midwest, with more than 2500 cars and motorcycles displayed on more than a mile of city streets, competing for cash awards and prizes.

More than 50,000 automobile and truck enthusiasts are projected to attend this premier event centered around the Century II Convention and Entertainment complex in downtown Wichita for an incredible weekend of fun. The BlackTop Nationals will feature more than 21 individual events, and will be unique among car shows and festivals in the United States.

Events will include:

The BlackTop National Black Denim and Diamond Cocktail Party Preview (August 26) – Join us for a special preview of the amazing cars and trucks that will come up for auction during the Collector Car Auction. Food, cash bar and entertainment will highlight the opening event of the weekend.

The BlackTop National Collector Car Auction (August 27/28) – Sponsored by Fidelity Bank, the auction will feature up to 300 classic and performance cars, trucks and motorcycles. This two day auction will be conducted by renowned classic car auctioneer Spanky Assiter.

The BlackTop Nationals Car Show (August 27/28/29) – More than 20 classes for classic and performance cars and trucks, with cash awards and prizes, sponsored by New England Financial. To register a vehicle for the show, you can register online, anytime, at www.blacktopnationals.com, or onsite at Exploration Place on August 26, 27th or 28th.

Open Auto Cross Challenge (August 27/28/29) – Bring your car, and test your skills on a closed course, sponsored by Kansas Land Tires. Compare your times to those of your friends.

Drifting Exhibition (August 27/28/29) – Made famous by the film “Fast and Furious – Tokyo Drift,” the drifters will deliver an exciting ballet of speed, sliding and gliding on wheels. The Driftcup Association presents this exciting show throughout the weekend.

Cruise Nights (August 27/28) – Friday night, join your friends for a cruise through Park City, Kansas. On Saturday night, relive your youth cruising Douglas through downtown Wichita. Cruise Nights are sponsored by Bumper to Bumper.

For more information on the Blacktop Nationals,
please visit them online at www.blacktopnationals.com
or contact show Director Stephanie Flaming at 316-425-6767

Davis-Moore is proud to have supported the Muscular Dystrophy Association for 10 years with a unique fundraiser that gets every dealership employee involved in the cause! We are very excited to support MDA again during 2010, and during the month of August, Davis-Moore will donate $50 FOR EVERY CAR WE SELL to MDA. Every new and used lot participates in this special event, and this year we are excited to announce that we will also serve as a remote broadcast site for the 2010 MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon. The Telethon will be broadcast live on KAKE TV on September 5th and 6th and include local segments right here from Davis-Moore on September 6th! There will be exciting special events on site at Davis-Moore Jeep Chrysler Dodge all day, and we will be open for business – donating $50 for every car we sell that day to MDA as well.

Since its founding in 1950, the Muscular Dystrophy Association has become one of the nation’s largest and best-known voluntary health agencies. MDA provides comprehensive medical services to tens of thousands of people with neuromuscular diseases at some 240 hospital-affiliated clinics across the country. The Association’s worldwide research program, which funds some 300 individual scientific investigations annually, represents the largest single effort to advance knowledge of neuromuscular diseases and to find cures and treatments for them.

MDA has provided services to more than 940 individuals and provided more than $2.5 million in services to people living in Kansas over the past five years. MDA provides services for children and adults affected by any of the 43 different types of neuromuscular diseases.  In our community, MDA provides at no cost diagnostic and follow-up care through our local clinic at Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita and KU Medical Center (also the site of an MDA/ALS center) in Kansas City, assistance with repair of wheelchairs, leg braces and other durable medical equipment, and a week long summer camp for children ages 6 to 17.  More importantly, MDA supports vital research pursuing treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy and other related muscle diseases. All proceeds from this event will directly support our community.

Davis-Moore is proud to be included in this far-reaching organization, and hopes that you will help us reach sky-high levels for our 2010 donation! Every $50 counts – so there really is NO BETTER TIME to come find a new or pre-owned vehicle!

Help us support MDA and come see us during August, and come in and see us on Monday, September 6 at Davis-Moore’s Jeep Chrysler Dodge location (6205 E Kellogg) for the MDA Telethon festivities! We look forward to seeing you!

Davis-Moore is proud to once again be part of the team to help raise money and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy. During the month of August we will be donating $50 per car sold to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).  In addition, Davis-Moore will be open Monday, September 6th and will be a LIVE location for the Labor Day MDA telethon!!

- 76% of every dollar MDA spends goes to research, services and education; 15% to fundraising; 9% for administration costs.

- MDA spends $74 a minute in its worldwide research program, supporting more than 330 projects.

- MDA maintains more than 200 clinics, including more than 35 MDA/ALS centers. In the past 5 years, MDA has provided more than $2.5 million in services to individuals living in Kansas.

- MDA clinics are staffed by teams of top health professionals skilled in the diagnosis and medical management of muscular dystrophy and related diseases. Services provided at MDA clinics may include occupational therapy, selected diagnostic tests, genetic counseling, respiratory therapy and more.  There are two MDA clinic locations in  Kansas: University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and Via Christi Medical Center in Wichita.

- MDA annually sponsors 80 weeklong summer camp sessions, serving more than 4,000 children across the country and in Puerto Rico. More than 5,200 volunteers give a week of their time to serve as MDA camp counselors.

- MDA’s equipment loan program provides help obtaining durable medical equipment of all types.

For more information regarding Muscular Dystrophy research and ways to help-  go to the MDA website.

Davis-Moore is proud to again support Badges for Backpacks, an initiative of the Wichita Police Department and Simon Properties! This two week event collects backpacks and school supplies for abused and abandoned children in the Wichita area. This is the second year for Badges for Backpacks, and its success during 2009 led Simon to decide they would host a number of events during Badges for Backpacks this year – to provide fun experiences and events, all while helping a worthy cause!

Officer Mike Lloyd with the Wichita Police Department, one of the founders of the program, knew there was a great need with children he saw and heard about through various law enforcement contacts and agencies around town that care for abused and abandoned kids. Said Officer Lloyd, “Some of these kids come in with only the clothes on their backs – some of them not even that. After some discussion within the department, and with school coming up, we decided that we wanted to help get these kids the items they needed to still be able to succeed at school – so we came up with a plan and were very pleased with the results. It’s amazing to see what the citizens of Wichita came together to do, we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can collect this year.”

Badges for Backpacks will begin on Saturday, August 7 with vans, provided by Davis-Moore, at both Towne East and Towne West Simon properties available to drop off the supplies. Towne East Square will be hosting “A Kids Towne Affair” to kick-off this fun donation drive. The event, sponsored by the Simon Kidgits Club, will include fun crafts and activities for kids and a free goody bag just for attending. Badges for Backpacks will finish on August 22, with Towne East Square’s Back to School Fall Fashion Show wrapping up the whole donation drive in style.

Vans will be located at both Towne East Square and Towne West Square. Just bring your donation by and drop it off, and you’ll be making a big difference in the education of some great kids in our area! Both Towne East and Towne West Square are open 10am-9pm Monday through Friday and 11am-6pm Sunday.

Items you can donate!
Anything you can think of that a student may need for school, we’d like to have! Some of the most needed and requested items are:
Backpacks
Pencils
Notebooks
Three ring binders
Glue Sticks
Glue
Calculators
Large pink erasers
Rulers
Scissors
Pencil Sharpeners
Highlighters
Protractors
Crayons
Watercolor sets
Markers
Pencil Boxes
Construction Paper
Pocket Folders
Colored Pencils
Pencil Pouches
Don’t have time to shop? Gift cards to purchase these items are always welcome and will be put to good use!

David & Lynn Gilkey are the epitome of people who have taken life’s lemons and turned them into lemonade.  They both work for the Urban League of Kansas, directing programs that they each developed to help underprivileged teens who came from backgrounds similar to their own.  Through these programs, David & Lynn personally touched the lives of 126 teens in 2009 alone and have provided the resources and inspiration for many of them to keep their lives on the right track – or in many cases…to just get it going in the right direction.

Lynn Gilkey is no stranger to some of the issues facing adolescent females today.  She isn’t afraid to share her own story to help others.  As a survivor of childhood abuse at a very young age, Lynn found herself in trouble with substance abuse in her teens.  She later promised herself that if she got a chance she would dedicate her life to helping young women make better decisions than she  made,  and would provide them with the resources to do so – which is exactly what she’s done.  Lynn personally created the program Caring Ladies Assisting Students to Succeed, better known as (CL.A.S.S.), to help young ladies from all walks of life develop into the Queens Gilkey believes every girl was meant to become. Gilkey states she simply didn’t want ANY young lady to experience anything that could make her abandon her God given destiny. The program’s mission is to support the healthy development of teen girls and help at-risk girls from heading down the wrong road.  C.L.A.S.S. consists of a diverse group of local women who are dedicated and passionate about mentoring teen girls.  They meet each week with teens at four local high schools in a signature program called “sisterhood of Queens.”  During these sessions the volunteers educate the girls about the importance of academic achievement, social skills that encourage healthy social behavior, enhancing self esteem and community service that will help them become leaders in their communities and world.  The vision of Lynn Gilkey and the CLASS program is to ensure that these girls become self sufficient women who have access to the resources they need to become productive adults.  In 2009, 90% of the students involved in C.L.A.S.S. were passing classes, and 81% of them were in attendance at school at least 90% of them time.

David Gilkey’s question to the students he helps is very straightforward, “Do you want to live or die?”  As a gang prevention specialist and Founder of the Urban League’s gang prevention and outreach program, David also uses his own story of incarceration and substance abuse to help those teens at risk in our community.  With over nine years of sobriety, David has committed his life to preventing youth from entering into gang life, helping them get OUT of gang life, and trying to change the paths of those young men headed toward drugs and incarceration.  David’s program, DYWTLOD, (an acronym for the question posed before), operates on the premise that education and positive role models can lead to graduation, career opportunities and a successful future.  Mr. Gilkey mentors youth in four area high schools, his work has been recognized by the Department of Corrections, The Center for Health and Wellness and many local Churches, and he is a member of the Wichita Gang Coalition, Real Men Real Heroes organization.  He was also the 2008 NAACP Person of the Year.

These two people and two great programs are only a sampling of the work that the Urban League is doing in our community.  If you know someone who can benefit from these programs, please call the Urban League of Kansas at 440.9246, or you can go online and explore their services at www.kansasul.org.

WANT TO HELP?
To make a tax deductible contribution to C.L.A.S.S and Do You Want to Live or Die please  contact David and Lynn Gilkey at the Urban League, call 440.9246 or mail your check to:

Urban League of Kansas, Inc
2418 East 9th
Wichita, KS  67214
*You may designate money to go towards the C.L.A.S.S. or DYWTLOD programs.