Employees at Belk's flagship SouthPark store have helped lead a drive to raise $10,000 to fund a summer school program at a nearby elementary school.
Randy Dell, the store's manager, said he will present Montclaire Elementary, off Archdale Drive, with a check Thursday to help run a CDF Freedom School there this summer. The program works to help underprivileged students develop a love of reading and other academic skills.
Dell said the money was raised by store employees and a private donor. He hopes that the Belk store, along with other nearby businesses, can "adopt" the school, consistently supporting its students. Their next effort will be collecting 100 backpacks to donate to students there.
"The energy, the way they're enthralled with their students and getting them to learn more, is so impressive," Dell said of the school's staff.
The Belk Foundation, the store's founding family's charitable arm, also supports the Freedom Schools.