MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In honor of their 125th anniversary, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) today announced a $125,000 matching donation to Midway-area food shelf provider Keystone Community Services. This matching gift will be used to renovate and equip a new 20,000 square-foot Community Food Site in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood that will help Keystone bring more food and resources to more people.
The new Keystone facility, located at 1800 University W. in St. Paul, will offer:
- A large shopping area for people to select foods that meet their needs
- Increased capacity to receive and store donated food and household essentials
- Space for staff to meet people privately to discuss crisis assistance and connect to other resources
- Large areas to offer more volunteer opportunities for people to support hunger relief efforts
- Space to offer community programs like tax assistance preparation and classes
“We can think of no better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary for Allianz Life than by reinforcing our commitment to making a positive difference in the community through giving and volunteerism,” said Allianz Life President and CEO Walter White. “As naming rights sponsor of Allianz Field, we have a true connection to the Midway and a responsibility to support our neighbors in need. Keystone has been a crucial community resource for more than 80 years, so we’re proud to support their continued efforts to fight hunger in Minnesota.”
Today, one in nine Minnesotans face hunger and experience food insecurity, a situation that has only intensified since the start of the pandemic. Those interested in donating to support a new community food site that will provide more healthy food for people living in St. Paul and the Midway Neighborhood can visit www.donorbox.org/AllianzLifeKeystone125 and have their gift immediately doubled.
“The face of hunger in Minnesota is changing rapidly, with increasing numbers of youth and seniors experiencing food insecurity,” said Mary McKeown, President and CEO, Keystone Community Services. “As more of our neighbors find themselves in need of our services, we’re grateful for our strong partnership with Allianz Life. Their support of our new community food site in the Midway will help more families, individuals and seniors have access to healthy food.”
Allianz Life started working with Keystone to help address food insecurity in 2018, helping to stock their food shelves during the pivotal summer months when donations are typically lower. Since then, the two organizations, have partnered to stage multiple food donation and distribution events, including six “Free Farmers Market In a Box” events at Allianz Field, with the next event coming on Friday, July 16. To date, those events have delivered more than 250,000 pounds of food to more than 4,000 households in the Midway and surrounding communities.
Minnesota United has also been a key partner in supporting Midway residents through the Free Farmers Market In a Box events, and will be making a $75,000 donation to Keystone’s capital campaign. For more information about Minnesota United’s work in the community, visit www.mnufc.com/news/articles and click on “Community News.”
In addition to celebrating 125 years, the $125,000 matching gift donation is part of Allianz Life’s Spirit of Summer Giving campaign. Running from July 13-22, this charitable giving campaign supports local charities, including PRISM and Keystone, with food, clothing and cash donations. The Keystone matching donation will also be highlighted at “Allianz Day at Allianz Field” on Sunday, July 18 when Minnesota United takes on the Seattle Sounders at 1 p.m. Fans attending the game will have an opportunity to make a donation to Keystone and learn more about Allianz Life’s long history of giving and volunteerism. In 2020, Allianz Life employees contributed more than 8,500 volunteer hours and more than $4 million to support the community.
About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® and one of the Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies®, has been keeping its promises since 1896 by helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuity and life insurance products. In 2020, Allianz Life provided additional value to its policyholders via distributions of more than $10.1 billion. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with approximately 150,000 employees in more than 70 countries. Allianz Life is a proud sponsor of Allianz Field® in St. Paul, Minnesota, home of Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United.
