“I am an old farm boy. I like exerting energy, knowing what we were doing would be putting a smile on people’s faces,” reflected Bryon Knuth, who along with about 14 other Ameriprise Financial team members, packed and sorted thousands of pounds of food at Gleaners Joan and Wayne Webber Distribution Center in Warren last month.
A November packing day at Gleaners continued Ameriprise’s strong commitment to fight hunger. Ameriprise staff has regularly volunteered at Gleaners various locations (since at least 2011) and earlier this year, awarded Gleaners a $15,000 grant to help feed hungry families across metro Detroit.
“We spend a lot of time on the other end of the spectrum,” Knuth said, referring to he and his colleagues’ day jobs of helping people with wealth creation, most often geared toward their retirements. “’There is value in what we do to help people with their money, but we also want to be on the other end, helping families (through Gleaners) who are struggling to put food on their table.”
A veteran of the financial services industry, Knuth said Ameriprise Financial’s involvement with Gleaners is part of the organization’s wider commitment to give back to the community. He sighted a “Let’s Shred so Others Get Fed” event in June that benefitted two service agencies in Macomb County as another example of Ameriprise’s community commitment. And, Knuth said, Ameriprise is already scheduled to sort and pack food at Gleaners in 2016.
“Our job is changing people’s lives,” Knuth said. “Here (at Gleaners) when you go into the warehouse, you are positively affecting people’s lives. It (the volunteering) not only changes the lives of those who receive the food we pack, but it changes the lives of us who do the work on their behalf,” he added.
If you, your company, group or organization would like to volunteer at Gleaners, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us to get more information on how you can become a Gleaners volunteer.