CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Coloring contests seem to be everywhere throughout childhood, but how many winners can say their design was produced as a t-shirt and sold online? That's exactly what happened for three lucky winners who participated in Belk's KidFest events. Each of Belk's 290 stores hosted local youth for an afternoon, and three winners have now seen their designs come to life in shirts that the retailer just launched on belk.com.

After a year hiatus, Kidfest, Belk's largest event for children, returned on July 31^st for an interactive experience where kids could check out back-to-school trends and get reenergized to start a new school year. "Kindness" was the word of the day and, as part of the event, kids were encouraged to design t-shirts showing what the word "kindness" meant to them.

Hundreds of designs came rolling in from Belk's locations, and the winning artists now have their designs available for sale on belk.com. As if having bragging rights to designing a t-shirt for sale with a retailer wasn't enough, each winner also received a $500 Belk gift card along with a $2,500 donation to a school or non-profit organization of their choice. 

The three KidFest t-shirt design contest winners are:

• Ally Acker from Rainbow City, Alabama
• Kensie Farwell from Raleigh, North Carolina
• Alyssa Ottmo from Paris, Texas

The three entities who will be receiving a donation on behalf of the three winners are:

• Southside High School (selected by Ally Acker)
• Trinity Academy (selected by Kensie Farwell)
• 4-H (selected by Alyssa Ottmo)

Over the last month, each winner had a special presentation at their local Belk store where they received the very first mock-ups of the t-shirt they designed, as well as a check presentation and photo opportunity with their selected school or non-profit.

For over 130 years, Belk has proudly put customers and our community at the center of what we do. Education is one of the main pillars of Belk's community focus, and we are thrilled to be able to make donations to each of the winners' organizations, because we believe in taking care of our neighbors together.

Visit belk.com to purchase the t-shirts from these talented young Belk customers with the direct links below:

Ally Acker's Design: 

Girls shirt - https://on.belk.com/2ZBpBYO
Boys shirt - https://on.belk.com/3BbZXGY

Kensie Farwell's Design: 

Girls shirt - https://on.belk.com/2XR3U6q
Boys shirt - https://on.belk.com/3bizw7O

Alyssa Ottmo's Design: 

Girls shirt - https://on.belk.com/3bfJFCg
Boys shirt - https://on.belk.com/3pAdMNk

About Belk
Charlotte-based Belk, Inc., a privately-owned department store, opened its first store in 1888, beginning a legacy of selling great products at great prices, treating customers like family, and giving back to the community. Today, Belk serves customers at nearly 300 Belk stores in 16 Southeastern states, at belk.com and through the mobile app. For over 130 years, Belk has proudly put customers and community at the center of what they do, supporting local charities, organizations, and families when they need it most. For more information visit https://newsroom.belk.com/.

To shop, find your local store at https://www.belk.com/stores/, visit belk.com or download the Belk app in Google Play or Apple Store.

SOURCE Belk, Inc.