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Friday morning, Burlington Coat Factory joined Suffolk’s list of new businesses while also giving back to Suffolk Public Schools.

During the department store’s grand opening on Friday, June 28 at 6253 College Dr., store, city and SPS officials celebrated the donation of $5,000 to Creekside Elementary School in partnership with national non-profit AdoptAClassroom.org during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Creekside Elementary School Principal Jill Paraska thanked Burlington for supporting the “home of the Gators.”

“On behalf of our students, our teachers and our community at Creekside, we want to express our gratitude for this generous donation,” Paraska said. “Your contribution will provide our teachers with the opportunity to secure additional materials and supplies that will make these learning experiences for these babies special. Thank you again, we look forward to a partnership with you that will make a difference for our schools and the community that we service.”

Alongside City Council Members Roger Fawcett and Leroy Bennett, Mayor Michael D. Duman also gave remarks during the ceremony.

“For those of you in Burlington that maybe haven’t been to Suffolk before, I think what you’ve noticed in Suffolk as far as your patrons are going to be, as far as your employment opportunities, because we are a very unique city. We are a very diverse city, but we are a very unified city,” Duman said. “Once again, I want to thank you for choosing to invest in our great city and I wish you much, much success in the future.”

After the opening, Burlington, Virginia District Manager Angela Buhite and Store Manager Joy Pincoski talked about the moment, with Buhite reflecting on when she was told they were coming to the Harbour View area.

“For me, when they said we were going to be coming to Harbour View, I was super excited. Because I know what a growing area this is, and it’s a beautiful area, so we were super excited to have the store here,” Buhite said.

Pincoski also said she was excited to move to the new Burlington location.

“I have been with the company almost four years now and it’s time for me to move [up], so very, very excited. And thank you, Ms. Angela [for] trusting me to run this store for her,” Pincoski said.

For those just finding out about the new Burlington, Pincoski invited readers to check out what they offer.

“We have a lot of good stuff, beautiful stuff for summer, so come on down!” she said enthusiastically.

For more information, go to stores.burlington.com/va/suffolk.