Concord Mills is excited to announce a special back-to-school activation in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County.

From July 22 – Aug. 31, the mall will be hosting a donation drive to collect new and gently loved clothing for students in need this school year. Shoppers who bring in donations will receive access to the Concord Mills Savings Guide to purchase their own back-to-school essentials.

Drop offs for donations can be found at the following participating retailers within the Concord Mills mall: Lucky Brand, Aeropostale, and Nautica.

This initiative aims to support local students in our neighborhoods, so everyone feels ready to go back to the classroom. The Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County served over 1,500 youth last year, 61% of whom are from low-income families. By donating new and gently loved clothes, the community can help ensure that every student has the resources they need for a successful school year.

“We have 150 families that have signed up to receive meal boxes each week. The number of youths benefiting from this drive will depend on the amount of clothing received,” said Jeff Green from the Boys & Girls Club.

A widespread Microsoft outage has just crippled numerous data systems around the world, grounding flights, locking out banks, and freezing systems around the world.

The FAA said United, American, Delta, and Allegiant were all grounded due to the issue. In Charlotte, local DMV offices couldn’t assist customers, and Novant Health’s phone lines were down despite the website being up. Similarly, Atrium Health’s website was functional, but phones were not.

Update 7:32 a.m.: Due to the ongoing global technology impacts, CLT advises passengers to not come to the airport unless they have confirmed their flight information with the airline.

— CLT Airport (@CLTAirport) July 19, 2024

The City of Charlotte website and the York County permitting sites are currently still down, affecting access to CMPD, CFD, and online contractor services. The CATS website and Cabarrus County web services are also down.

According to Microsoft, the underlying issue has now been resolved, but there are still lingering issues in various systems.

The underlying cause has been fixed, however, residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services. We’re conducting additional mitigations to provide relief. More details can be found within the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/uFnnN6T3jN

— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024

How have the outages been affecting you?

Charlotte’s Discovery Place celebrated a groundbreaking of a new environmental education center and nature museum in Freedom Park. The new center will replace the old nature museum that was built in the 50s.

“The original building that housed Charlotte’s nature museum opened more than 70 years ago,” said Catherine Wilson Horne, Discovery Place President & CEO. “Our city has grown exponentially in a way that most cities can only dream about since that time, and we are thrilled to have finally broken ground on what will be a true cultural amenity and destination for Charlotte residents and visitors alike.”

The new nature museum aims to be an engaging environmental education center for guests of all ages. It will provide opportunities to explore the outdoors and learn sustainability practices. Specifically, the museum will feature a North American River Otter habitat, a naturalist lab, a native animal collection, and a tree canopy walk. Furthermore, the design prioritizes accessibility and integration with Freedom Park through public gardens and community spaces.

Since launching the Welcome Program in 2015, Discovery Place has emphasized accessibility. This program offers $3 museum admission to families receiving WIC or EBT benefits in North or South Carolina. Nearly 450,000 guests have already used the program. Consequently, Discovery Place expects 13% of the new nature museum’s first-year attendees to come through the Welcome Program.

Construction for the new museum in Freedom Park will begin in the coming weeks. Officials anticipate completion by Fall 2025. The museum’s opening date will be announced later.

You can find out more about the new museum at nature.discoveryplace.org.