CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Belk, Inc. has announced that the company, and its associates, customers and vendors contributed more than $20.9 million to local communities in the fiscal year ending February 1, 2014. Of the total amount, Belk corporate dollars funded $7.3 million to more than 250 nonprofit organizations, with a focus on education, breast cancer research and awareness, and community strengthening. The remainder of the funding includes associate, vendor and customer dollars raised in Belk-led charitable initiatives, including Belk Charity Sale.

"Being a part of our communities and meeting local needs has been an integral part of the Belk philosophy since our founding in 1888, and it continues to be one of our core values today," said Jessica Graham, Belk vice president of communications and community relations. "We are grateful to our customers and our associates for their contributions to our efforts, which allow our efforts to have an even greater impact."

Key gifts in fiscal year 2014 included:

• More than $10 million to more than 8,000 local charities through Belk's semi-annual Charity Sale.
• More than $1.5M, including corporate and associate dollars, to local United Way chapters across Belk's 16-state footprint.
• $600,000 to Susan G. Komen, which includes corporate, associate and customer dollars to fund breast cancer research and awareness efforts across the Belk footprint.
• More than $500,000, including customer and associate contributions, to the American Heart Association.

Key additional gifts from Belk, Inc. included:

• $5 million five-year commitment to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's Belk College of Business to fund an Endowed Professorship in Business Innovation, an Endowed Chair in Marketing Analytics, a Belk scholars program, and faculty research and teaching grants.
• $1.3 million, through the Foundation of the Carolinas, to fund the Belk Gives On The Go Mobile Mammography Center (belk.com/pink). This contribution was the second payment of a multi-year $6 million commitment.
• $1 million to Points of Light to fund Belk's 125 Days of Service. This contribution was the final payment of a two-year, $2 million commitment.
• $750,000 to the Belk Foundation to assist in its efforts to ensure all students receive a quality public education.
• $465,000 to the International Society for Technology in Education, to fund the Belk Service Learning Challenge (belkservicelearningchallenge.com). This contribution was the second payment of a three-year, $1.5 million commitment.
• $200,000 to Major League Baseball's Civil Rights Game in Atlanta, Ga.
• More than $170,000 to support the work of Junior Leagues throughout the Southeast.
• $125,000 in technology grants to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a part of Belk's Rockin' the Belk Bowl contest.
• $100,000 to the American Red Cross to support disaster relief efforts.
• $50,000 to support the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Scholarship Fund.
• $50,000 to support La Noticia's scholarships for Latino students.

Key impacts of Belk's giving in fiscal year 2014 include:

• The Belk Mobile Mammography Center screened more than 4,500 women in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, and detected 21 cases of cancer.
• Through Belk's 125 Days of Service, more than 10,000 Belk associates provided 304 makeovers to Title One schools across the company's footprint.
• Belk Service Learning Challenge winning projects:
  • Opened a new walking path in Jackson, Miss. Winning school: Main Street Restart Center
  • Held a job fair and provided resources to Karen immigrants in Raleigh, N.C. More than 16 immigrants found jobs as a direct result of the students' efforts. Winning school: Neuse Christian Academy

Belk also supported almost a dozen fashion shows to raise money in for charities in local communities, as well as numerous fundraising events at store level.

About Belk, Inc.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. (belk.com) is the nation's largest family owned and operated department store company with 300 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states. Founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, N.C., the company is in the third generation of Belk family leadership and has been committed to community involvement since its inception. Each year, Belk gives a portion of its pretax income back to the communities it serves. In fiscal year ending Feb. 1, 2014, the company and its associates, customers and vendors, donated more than $20.9 million to those communities. Belk.com offers a wide assortment of national brands and private label fashion apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family along with top name cosmetics, a wedding registry and a large selection of quality merchandise for the home. To connect with Belk go to Belk Get Connected.

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SOURCE Belk, Inc.