When the team at National Pawn in Fayetteville saw local news reporter Gilbert Baez’s story about a local arts program falling victim to theft, they knew it was a cause close to their CEO’s heart. Since 2010, Bob Moulton and his team at National Pawn have donated thousands of instruments and tens of thousands of dollars in cash to public performing arts programs in North Carolina counties where their stores are located.
Moulton, who founded the company in 1987, has always sought to give back to the communities his stores serve and is specifically inspired to support music education through his own experiences growing up. Once he learned of what had happened to Art Exp’osion, a program that connects underserved children to music and the arts, he knew he had to help. “This is a guy that’s really doing some good things for the community, and we need to reach out and help him,” he shared, referring to the program’s Executive Director Velton Brown.
Brown says that about 8,000 area children have taken part in his program over the years. “Since I started the program in 2003, I have 19 kids that are now music teachers or band directors somewhere,” he beamed. But it all came to a halt when thieves broke into the building and stole instruments and other property.
Now, thanks to this donation of keyboards, guitars, saxophones, and a truckload of other instruments, computers, and supplies, Brown will be able to get his program back up and running soon. A GoFundMe has been set up for the public to contribute. See the full story at WRAL.
“Our hope with instrument donations is that they inspire others to get involved and really broaden the community impact,” said Moulton.
About National Pawn: National Pawn is a Triangle-based pawn retailer with 23 locations across North Carolina. For over 30 years, National Pawn has been recognized as an industry leader, recently surpassing over 50,000 Google reviews thanks to world-class customer service, bright modern stores, quality products, and a professional sales team. National Pawn offers services including buying, selling, and pawn loans. For more information, call (888) 315-4347, email info@nationalpawnshops.
