Belk Makes $10,000 Donation to Alabama Symphony Orchestra

Belk, Inc. made a $10,000 donation to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra to support ASO education and community programs.

Jan Clevenger, chair of the Belk Western Division, and Gary Siler, senior vice president and director of stores, presented the donation to ASO Board President G. Ruffner Page last week at Belk in the Riverchase Galleria.

“Belk is an advocate of the ASO’s mission to push creative boundaries and serve the community through education and the arts,” said Clevenger. “Fostering a love for and understanding of music is a great educational gift.  Belk feels it is important to help fund and sponsor the valuable programs that ASO offers.”

“We’re so fortunate to have an orchestra the caliber of ASO in Alabama,” said Page. “If not for the funding of donors like Belk, the ASO could never afford to maintain the variety of arts and education programs the symphony provides. This is especially true in this current tough economy, when funding for education and arts programs is being reduced or even eliminated altogether.”

Curt Long, executive director of the ASO, agreed, and pointed out that the educational benefit of exposure to the arts has been well-documented over the years.

“There is overwhelming evidence that student participation in the arts in general and music in particular leads to improved educational outcomes,” Long said. “At the ASO we believe that supplementing the music education programs offered by our community’s schools is one of the most important ways we fulfill our mission to change lives through music. We are grateful to Belk, and to all our education partners, for supporting these important programs.”

Jessica Graham, vice president of communications and community relations at Belk, noted that an important part of Belk’s mission is to support the communities where its stores are located.

“Belk is proud to be one of the sponsors for the ASO, which has an outstanding reputation not only in Alabama, but outside the state as well,” said Graham. “We know it’s tough financially for educational programs everywhere, so it is an honor for us to help the ASO continue its outstanding programs.”

About Belk, Inc. 
Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. (www.belk.com) is the nation's largest privately owned mainline department store company with 303 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states. The company was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, N.C., and is in the third generation of Belk family leadership. Belk.com offers a wide assortment of 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 via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blog, mobile phone, text messages or by email, go to Belk Get Connected.

Modern. Southern. Style.
Belk seeks to satisfy the modern Southern lifestyle like no one else, so that our customers get the fashion they desire and the value they deserve. Our vision is for the modern Southern woman to count on Belk first - for her, for her family, for life.

About the Alabama Symphony Orchestra

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) began with the first performance by a group of volunteer musicians in 1921. That group would evolve from a volunteer ensemble to the state's only full-time professional orchestra. Today, the ASO is continuing to make music and provide vital services to the residents of the state, serving nearly 100,000 individuals a year through concert series, youth programs, and educational and community engagement efforts to fulfill our mission to change lives through music.

To post a comment, you must register and login.