On Oct. 1, 1993, 12-year-old Polly Klaas was taken during a sleepover from her California home by a man wielding a knife. For weeks, people across the U.S. searched for the young girl. National TV shows even covered her kidnapping. Two months later, when Richard Davis was arrested on November 30 for
violating his parole, police discovered a break in the case after he
admitted to the strangulation death of Polly. A year after his daughter's murder, Marc Klaas became a child advocate and established the KlaasKids Foundation. Since 1994, Klaas has traveled around the country with his foundation,
sharing his daughter's story and spreading awareness about violent
crimes targeted toward children. And on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9am to 3p.m., the Mungenast Automotive
Family will partner once again with the KlaasKids Foundation to host the
15th annual Child Safety Day, an event designed to fingerprint ID and
digitally photograph as many young people as possible. The event also allows gives parents the opportunity to create
a nine-point plan on what to do if their kid disappears, learn about
child-friendly safety tips and receive a DNA collection kit. There is no data basing. Parents retain
the only record of the visit. Local fire and police officials will be on hand, and food and refreshments will be provided.
This year's Child Safety Day is free, and will be held at four
Mungenast Automotive locations, including: St. Louis Honda, St. Louis
Acura, Mungenast Hyundai and Alton Toyota-Scion. In 2010, KlaasKids and the Mungenast Automotive Family provided photos
and fingerprints to more than 600 local children. The company also
raised over $9,000 to donate to the foundation. To help continue protecting local children and make the 2011 Child
Safety Day a success, we need your help. Listed below are ways you can
assist: - Co-Sponsorship: Donations made in excess of $2,000 to cover the cost and promotion of the event, with recognition given in all media formats. - Monetary Donation:
Funds cover the cost and promotion of the event, with recognition given
on sponsor board present at the event at all locations if donation is
received by Sept. 25. - Silent Auction Donation: Recognition is included with the donated item and on the sponsor board if donated item is received by Oct. 1. Any contribution is greatly appreciated. Monetary donations should be sent to: Mungenast Automotive Family ATTN: KlaasKids Child Safety Day 13700 Manchester Rd. Manchester, MO 63011 ** Checks should be made payable to the Mungenast Automotive Family ** All proceeds from the silent auction go directly to the KlaasKids
Foundation. Silent auction donations are tax deductible, up to the value
of the item. Some items that will be auctioned off include: