Ballantyne Corporate Park Helps Over 16,000 Students With Successful School Supplies Drive

Aug. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Ballantyne Corporate Park achieved impressive results with its recent Third Annual Color the Park Drive, collecting 16,195 packs of markers for Classroom Central. Surpassing its goal of 15,000 markers, the drive ran from July 25 through July 29.

Tenants demonstrated creativity in their collection efforts. The Remi Group gathered over 1,000 markers by competing for paid time off. Long-standing tenant AXA Equitable collected more than 11,000 markers, offering employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work for a month.

"AXA Equitable is pleased to partner with Classroom Central in support of the teachers and students in the Charlotte region,” said Starr Haigler, AXA Equitable Life Marketing and Communications. “We recognize the need for school supplies in our community, and we are proud to show our support through the marker drive as well as financial donations to the School Tools campaign."

“We are thrilled to once again partner with Ballantyne Corporate Park and its Color the Park Challenge. Thanks to Bissell and the many businesses in the Ballantyne Corporate Park, Classroom Central has been able to equip more than 16,000 students with the markers they need to start the school year off right,” said Sarah Porter, Director of Communications, Classroom Central. “We are grateful to be the beneficiaries of Ballantyne Corporate Park’s commitment to education.”

“Our tenants continue to amaze us with their generosity in our park-wide charitable initiatives,” said Tom Pizzo, President, Bissell Property Services. “Ballantyne Corporate Park’s Color the Park Drive is so successful because of our tenants’ strong commitment to helping such important community organizations such as Classroom Central.”

Local vendors also participated in the Color the Park Drive. Cline Classics hosted a $6 event and mobile food truck Roaming Fork visited Ballantyne Corporate Park. Both vendors donated 15% of their proceeds to Classroom Central.

Ballantyne Corporate Park is deeply committed to community based charitable drives. In addition to hosting annual school supplies drives for Classroom Central, Ballantyne Corporate Park holds annual food drives for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina as well as a third drive for a deserving community partner. In 2009, Ballantyne Corporate Park collected more than 1,000 clothing items, making it the largest drive in Jacob’s Ladder’s 11-year history. Another way Ballantyne Corporate Park participates in community initiatives is by hosting regular American Red Cross Blood Drives. Ballantyne Corporate Park is also home to multiple charity runs and walks that raise money for many local non-profit organizations. For more information on news and activities in the Ballantyne area, please visit www.go-ballantyne.com.

Ballantyne Corporate Park, a 535-acre master-planned Class “A” office and business community in Charlotte, North Carolina, includes over 3.5 million square feet of office space and nearly 600 hotel rooms as well as restaurants, medical and retail amenities. Ballantyne Corporate Park was awarded the 2010 International Office Park of the Year by the Building Owners and Managers Association, recognizing quality in office buildings and excellence in building management. Zoned for more than 5 million square feet of office space, Ballantyne Corporate Park is positioned in the heart of Charlotte’s largest concentration of educated and experienced labor. Current corporate clients include SPX Corporation, AXA-Equitable, Bank of America, Snyder’s-Lance, Premier, Liberty Mutual, LendingTree, Polypore, Babcock & Wilcox, Camstar, ESPN and the Carlisle Companies. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ballantynecorporate.com.

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Bissell serves as the headquarters for a full range of real estate and related operating companies located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1964, Bissell is widely recognized as the principal office developer of Ballantyne and SouthPark – two of the Southeast’s largest and most successful mixed use communities. Today, Bissell specializes in commercial development, office leasing, property management, real estate investments and hotels, with ancillary interests in golf, spa and media businesses. With its diverse business units yet unified commitment to providing extraordinary service, Bissell strives to deliver unmatched quality experiences to its customers. For more information, please visit www.bissellcompanies.com.