• With tax-free weekend coming up Aug. 7-9, GCF Donation Centers and Stores encourage shoppers to get out and stretch their savings by shopping with them.

All 29 GCF stores throughout eastern North Carolina will participate in the weekend, which offers shoppers the ability to purchase certain items with no sales tax.

For a list of all eligible items, visit the N.C. Department of Revenue’s list at dor.state.nc.us/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html.

The closest GCF locations are at 1150 West Williams St. in Apex and 220 Kilmayne Drive in Cary. For more information, visit gcfcommunityfoundation.org.

• Peak City Pharmacy opened Aug. 1 at 201 N. Salem St. in downtown Apex.

The full-service drug store is an independent pharmacy that will feature drive-through service and automatic refills. It’s owned and operated by Pat McClain, who also owns and operates two Prescription Shoppe pharmacies in Robbins and Carthage.

“Our pharmacy caters to young families and older adults because we’re here to talk with customers and help improve their lives,” McClain said. For more information, call 362-4444.

• Soles4Souls and Foot Solutions of Cary invite local residents to recycle their “gently worn” shoes for people in need.

Foot Solutions of Cary, located at 2070 Kildaire Farm Road, will be the collection site for the donated footwear or monetary donations to ship the shoes to a person in need. Soles4Souls estimates that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unused shoes lying in their closets.

People and companies interested in donating can visit the organization’s Web site at giveshoes.org and follow the instructions.

• Saturn of Raleigh and Saturn of Cary has released an audio podcast discussing the aspects of the Customer Assistance to Recycle and Save program — called “Cash for Clunkers” — a new federal program that provides vouchers valued from $3,500-$4,500 for new, more fuel-efficient cars when a less fuel-efficient vehicle is traded in at participating dealerships.

The podcast features commentary from Bill Shotwell, executive general manager and owner of the Saturn dealerships, and provides an overview of the program, as well as its potential impact on car dealerships and the economy across the nation.

Download the podcast at triangle saturn.blogspot.com/2009/07/if-widgetbox-widgetbox.html. Call Saturn of Cary at (866) 569-5673 with questions.

• Lord Corporation, a coating and adhesives manufacturer for aerospace, automotive and general industrial markets, donated adhesives to mount the centrally located Spartan statue at Salem Middle School in Apex.

The statue is a cement-based chest-up portrait of a Spartan that will stand about five feet tall and will weigh about 350 pounds. It was purchased by the Salem Middle School’s eighth-grade class to commemorate the school’s fifth anniversary.

LORD scientists Mark Pressley and Michael Verdi both have children at the school and have visited classrooms demonstrating how adhesives work and how different chemicals react.

“LORD chose to donate the adhesive because we value giving back to the community and seek to educate and get students excited about science,” Pressley said.

LORD Corporation is located at 111 Lord Dr. in Cary. For more information about the company, call 468-5979 or visit lord.com.

• Fuentek, LLC, an Apex technology consulting firm, is cosponsoring a scholarship for a medical student at UNC-Chapel Hill through the Excellence Fund.

The firm is partnering with Scintellix, LLC, an international network of biomedical technology consultants headquartered in Raleigh, to fund the scholarship for the 2009-2010 school year.

Scholarships are typically awarded to first-year medical students and recipients are determined based on their financial need.

“We are pleased to support the education of a UNC medical student through the Excellence Fund for the second year in a row,” said Laura A. Schoppe, president of Fuentek. “Students often graduate with immense amounts of debt and, given the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to help.” For more, visit fuentek.com.