Golden Valley Company’s ‘Spirit of Giving’ Raises $100K for Charity

A remarkable show of teamwork was on full display Tuesday afternoon in Golden Valley.

About 200 Allianz Life employees formed an assembly line to load box after box of donated food and clothing to be delivered to several local charities.

Employees ended up raising about $100,000, which provided 15,000 pounds worth of food and clothing.

The effort was the 25th year of Allianz Life’s “Spirit of Giving” campaign held in November.

“Every year for ‘Spirit of Giving’ our employees get really excited,” said Kenna Poppler, director of community engagement for Allianz Life. “They come up with really creative ways to help raise money, they know there’s a lot of need for food and basic needs in the community and they want to come together to support it.”

The company matched all the money raised by employees.

Charities aided by the campaign include Second Harvest Heartland, Toys for Tots, PRISM and The Arc Minnesota.

Food Shelf Demand Increases

PRISM was one of the beneficiaries of the fundraising. The Golden Valley nonprofit says donations are needed now more than ever as food shelf usage is on track to reach 9 million visits in Minnesota this year, up from 7.5 million last year, a 20 percent increase.

“There is a significant uptick in the number of people who are accessing the food shelf,” said Michelle Ness, executive director of PRISM. “Having this variety of food being donated, especially during the holiday season, makes a big difference in the lives of thousands of families.”

While PRISM food shelf is based in Golden Valley, it serves everyone. Ness said more than 25,000 people visited its food shelf from 125 different cities last year.

“We can absolutely use an extra boost of generosity right now,” said Ness.