Strack & Van Til’s Checkout Challenge Helps to Jumpstart Opportunity Enterprises’ Annual Giving

​Porter County, IN – July 2021 – Opportunity Enterprises’ (OE) President/CEO, Neil Samahon, accepted a most generous gift made by community members as a result of Strack & Van Til and Town & Country’s well-known Checkout Challenge. More than $15,000 was raised in two-and-a-half weeks to support OE’s mission of increasing the self-sufficiency and enriching the lives of individuals with disabilities. 

​“I cannot emphasize enough how important customers of our store locations are,” states Jeff Strack, president of Strack & Van Til. “Our stores, with the support of our employees, have the ability to serve as a conduit to giving. Our customers have an outlet to give in a convenient way to some of the most amazing organizations in Northwest Indiana, like Opportunity Enterprises. Thanks to our cashiers, they have an important role in helping customers understand why rounding-up their purchases benefit our collective communities,” Strack states further.
 
Neil Samahon visited the Valparaiso Strack & Van Til store located on Calumet Avenue with District Manager Laura Wassong to thank top cashiers from five store locations who supported efforts in spreading awareness about Opportunity Enterprises.
 
“Opportunity Enterprises goes beyond serving our amazing clients and their families. With more than 360 employees, we are part of the very fabric of our communities by contributing to the social and economic impacts of our Northwest Indiana region,” states Samahon, president/CEO of the organization. “I cannot thank Strack & Van Til and its customers enough for supporting OE’s mission. I especially thank the store’s cashiers who really took time to learn about our organization in order to share with their customers. The Checkout Challenge timeframe for our organization came at an ideal time with our fiscal year beginning in July of each year. The Challenge helped kick-off our annual giving, creating a strong start in giving the best of all possibilities to our clients.”
 
Opportunity Enterprises thanked the top cashiers at each store location in Porter County and recognized the Strack & Van Til store location on Route 30 in Valparaiso for the highest increase of their round-up gifts from the previous year. Through the support of their cashiers, customers increased their giving by nearly $1,000.
 
About Strack & Van Til:
Strack & Van Til is a full-service grocery and fresh food store committed to the complete satisfaction of our customers. We guarantee the finest quality and best value. We provide our customers with a friendly shopping experience in each of our 21 stores in Northwest Indiana. We remain dedicated to the communities we serve by supporting organizations and events that enhance the quality of life. Supporting local charities is a part of our culture along with hard work, genuineness and gratitude. These values are in Indiana and in the people, who call the region home. And with our Indiana roots going back to 1929, they’re in Strack & Van Til. We’re Indiana’s grocery store. Visit strackandvantil.com for more information.
 
About Opportunity Enterprises
For more than 50 years, Opportunity Enterprises works to maximize self-sufficiency and enrich the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. OE is in the business of amazing people, serving nearly 1,500 people with disabilities in Northwest Indiana with over 360 staff and hundreds of volunteers. To learn more about OE or to support the organization by volunteering or making a gift, call (219) 464-9621, or visit oppent.org.

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