Couple proves giving yields dividends
The 40-year-old lunch tables and folding chairs inside the Minneapolis E. Lake St. Salvation Army cafeteria were on their last legs. The tables were rusting and delaminating. The chairs were falling apart.
“It was hard keeping the tables clean,” admitted Captain Jesus Trejo, site administrator since 2011. “Food was getting trapped in the cracks.”
The 100-plus people who eat a free weekday lunch at the facility deserved a nicer dining environment. But money for cafeteria upgrades wasn’t available in the 2015 budget. Cash spent on new tables and chairs would have meant less money for the E. Lake St. Salvation Army’s youth programs, or fewer groceries for the nearly 500 families coming to its food shelf every month.
Enter Salvation Army donors Pat and Dave Teskey (pictured at top), a retired couple from the southern Twin Cities suburbs. In September, they solved the lunchroom problem by purchasing 12 new tables and 72 folding chairs.
“The Teskeys blessed us,” said Trejo (pictured, right). “Our staff and guests love the new cafeteria setup.”
Interestingly, the Teskeys didn’t purchase the tables and chairs by writing a check or giving online. They did so by donating stock.
Many people are surprised to learn that donating stock is perhaps the easiest way there is to support The Salvation Army.
“It was a simple phone call,” Dave Teskey affirmed, adding that donating stock includes additional tax benefits.
He made his call to The Salvation Army this summer. Arrangements were made for the Teskeys to transfer their stock to a Salvation Army account. The Salvation Army then sold the stock and put the proceeds to work.
“Thanks to the Teskeys, hundreds of people in need are now able to eat lunch in more comfortable and dignified surroundings,” said Corinne Overstake, special gifts manager. “Although most people who give stock do not give toward specific needs, we’re always thrilled to accommodate such requests.”
The Teskeys found out about the E. Lake St. Salvation Army’s need after touring the facility and several other Salvation Army locations during the past year, including our Harbor Light Shelter in Minneapolis and Booth Brown House youth housing facility in St. Paul.
“With any charity we give to, we like to see the programs in person and meet the people running them,” Pat Teskey said. “I would encourage everybody to visit the sites to see the good work The Salvation Army is doing.”
In addition to tables and chairs, the Teskeys have also donated stock toward the purchase of towels, socks and underwear for Harbor Light residents; to financially support Booth Brown House; and to provide a laundry list of other upgrades at the E. Lake St. Salvation Army, plus camp scholarships for kids.
“The Salvation Army addresses people’s physical needs and their spiritual needs – both of those things are important to us,” Dave Teskey said.
To learn more about changing lives by donating stock, please call 651-746-3504 in the Twin Cities or toll free at 800-456-4483 in North Dakota or Greater Minnesota. Additional information can be found on our Planned Giving webpage.