Residents of Charlotte’s historic Dilworth community celebrated the unveiling of a sculpture that commemorates the founding of Charlotte’s first electric streetcar suburb in 1981. General contractor Andrew Roby, a local Dilworth business of 62 years, donated materials and labor to complete the site work and prepare the piece’s foundation. The sculpture, which is titled “Time Line,” was created by Asheville artist Robert Winkler and sits on the island at the intersection of Romany and Dilworth Roads between Latta Parks. The piece recognizes the founding of the neighborhood’s first electric streetcar line in 1891 by Edward Dilworth Latta.

Leading specialty bedding retailer, Mattress Firm, is proud to support the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte with a donation of 39 mattresses and 39 mattress protectors. The donation took place Thursday at 1210 North Tryon Street, Charlotte. The Men’s Shelter is dedicated to providing safe emergency shelter while working to end homelessness for each man. The organization’s vision is to serve as the catalyst for systemic change to end homelessness in our community. Mattress Firm embraces local community efforts and needs. Giving back is engrained in the company culture and takes place on a local and national level. “We are committed

Leading homebuilder Lennar has announced plans to develop four new communities in metropolitan Charlotte, bringing more than 400 new homes into the metro area’s improving housing market. Lennar will introduce one new community – Franklin Meadows in Matthews – and begin building in three existing neighborhoods: Pecan Hills in Mooresville, Waterford Hall in Kannapolis and Walnut Creek in Indian Land, S.C. The news comes on the heels of the builder’s September announcement to add more than 700 homes in four other communities, demonstrating Lennar’s surging momentum in the Queen City area. “As the Charlotte housing market continues to show signs

Charlotte-based Belk Inc. will add approximately 150 employees to the corporate workforce over the next year, largely as a result of the company’s investment in various growth initiatives. The new jobs will be concentrated in IT and eCommerce as part of Belk’s overall OmniChannel strategy and will support corporate operations. Belk currently employs more than 1,000 associates at its existing corporate office. To secure top talent in these areas, Belk plans a phased approach to fill these management-level positions within IT, eCommerce and OmniChannel. As positions become available, they will be posted in the career section of Belk.com. “This is

Three Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools won the Rocking the Belk Bowl contest and each received $25,000 for technology. Reedy Creek Elementary, Quail Hollow Middle and Hopewell High received their awards Wednesday, Dec. 5 during school assemblies. To participate in the contest, students had to create educational and Belk-bowl themed designs on school rocks or bulletin boards. The contest ran from October to December. An additional 20 schools which participated in the contest will receive a $1,000 technology grant. The schools will use the $25,000 technology grant in various ways. Hopewell will purchase supplies for its digital art and fine arts classes. Reedy

Scott Clark Toyota will award new Toyotas to A Child’s Place of Charlotte (ACP) and Blessed Assurance Adult Day & Health Care Services, Inc. as part of the 100 Cars for Good program, a major philanthropic initiative in which the automaker is giving away 100 cars to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days. The program is the first Toyota initiative that engages the public to determine how corporate charitable donations are awarded. ACP will be given a new Toyota Sienna to help deliver donated supplies and essentials to children of homeless families and to transport them to much-needed

For those who won’t be home for the holidays this year – including people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time – Charlotte Rescue Mission and scores of similar organizations across North America are providing services that will make the season a little brighter. According to the 23nd annual Snapshot Survey, conducted recently by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (AGRM), about one in three (34 percent) who ask for help on any given day say they’re homeless for the very first time – an alarming statistic that seems to reflect the state of our economy and the ability

Dr. Heath E. Morrison announced eight key goals to move Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools forward at a Nov. 26 event marking his first 100 days as superintendent. In a presentation titled The Way Forward, Dr. Morrison emphasized the importance of community participation in strengthening CMS, including the creation of 22 task forces to identify ways to achieve the eight key goals. “As a district and as a community, we recognize that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has established a very strong foundation but is not yet great,” he said. “We want to create the schools we need for the future, not the schools we remember