FeedsAutos for Autism
Charity car show will help fund center programs
Later this month, automotive buffs from throughout the area are expected to flock to a car show that helps support a local school.
Don Nicholson’s Charity Car Show will return to the Western Wayne Skill Center from 6-9 p.m. on June 30 to spearhead a fundraising drive for the school. The annual event is designed to help support the center, a “special education center providing employability exploration and special education work experience” that is located in Westland and operated by the Livonia Public Schools.
“We’re expecting, this year, between 150-200 cars,” said Nicholson, president of the event.
Nicholson said the show began five years ago as a way to help personnel find the funding they needed for materials. Since school funding is based on the number of students at the school, he said that the school faces a double challenge—the number of students per class is fairly low and the number of educational personnel needed in each classroom is higher than at some other schools—that results in overhead costs by necessity absorbing a large chunk of available funding.
It’s a challenging situation that was, in some ways, very personal.
“My son is autistic,” he said.
To help out his son’s school, years ago he began a charity car show, now known as Autos for Autism, at Berger School in Garden City. When his son moved to the Western Wayne Skill Center, Nicholson said that he decided to begin a similar program there. The money raised by the car show, he said, is used to help pay for items that might not otherwise be in the budget. The 2007 show earned a little less than $7,000 during the course of the one-day event. This year, Nicholson said, he’s hoping to raise $10,000 for the school.
“It all goes toward educational materials,” he said. “The show is 100 percent charitable—we don’t make a nickel off of it.”
Anyone with a vehicle he or she would like to display is welcome to enter it into the show for a $15 registration fee. Admission to the view the car show is free, but spectators can help support the cause by offering a donation to the school in exchange for a ballot that will allow them to help judge the show. The donations, Nicholson said, have ranged from a few cents to $100—“whatever they can give.” The owner of the vehicle selected as the Best in Show recipient will receive a specially designed brass trophy by internationally recognized artist Sergio DeGiusti.
“He donates the trophy to us,” said Nicholson.
Classic cars won’t be the only vehicles on display. He said that he has already received confirmation on three feature vehicles that will be there: the Dodge Charger from the Dukes of Hazzard television show, the Ford Torino from Starsky and Hutch, and one of only two Monkees mobiles created for the band.
“We also invite a lot of police departments to come out and show off their D.A.R.E. car,” Nicholson said.
In addition to the various vehicles on-site, the event will feature live classic rock and easy listening music by the Six Foot Poles. There will also be items available for sale, ranging from student-created calendars and food to pizza donated for the event by Papa Romano’s.
“We probably have 80-90 percent of the teachers show up to volunteer,” said Nicholson. “It just shows their commitment to these kids.”
The Western Wayne Skill Center is located at 8075 Ritz Road, just off Ann Arbor Trail to the west of Merriman Road. For more information about the event, visit its website at www.donnicholson.net/carshow or call (734) 658-5296.
