PLS Team Members “Share the Warmth” with Chicago’s Pacific Garden Mission

CHICAGO, IL—February 6, 2012: PLS team members generously contributed to make Chicago’s winter a little warmer for those in greatest need. The company continued its ongoing support of the Pacific Garden Mission with a donation of 250 new blankets for the Mission’s dormitories.

The Pacific Garden Mission (www.pgm.org), located on Chicago’s South Side, provides food, clothing, shelter and medical care to the needy throughout the Chicago area. On an average night, over 700 homeless men, women and children receive safe, clean and warm shelter at the Mission. During the cold winter months, that number can climb above 900. Everything is provided free of charge to all who enter “the doors that never close.”

Over the past several years, PLS (www.PLShome.com) has supported the Mission with truckloads of Thanksgiving turkeys; donations of pillows, bedding and toys; financial contributions and more.


As part of PLS’s December employee giving program, store teams at many of the company’s locations—and employees at the PLS Support Center headquarters—made contributions of $15 (the cost of a new blanket).

“PLS stands for the best in People, Location and Service—and there’s a reason why People come first,” said Bob Wolfberg, President, PLS. “PLS team members make all the difference, whether it’s delivering exceptional customer service at our stores or taking time during the busy holiday season to remember our neighbors in need.”

“Once again, we extend our sincere gratitude to our friends at PLS,” said Pastor Phil Kwiatkowski, Pacific Garden Mission’s VP of Ministries. “They continue to demonstrate what it means to be a good neighbor.”


The PLS Group (www.PLShome.com), headquartered in Chicago, is comprised of more than 300 financial services centers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, New York, Texas and Wisconsin, with more than 3,300 employees. PLS is one of the largest, fastest-growing and most distinguished organizations in the check cashing industry, and is a top performer for Western Union, a money transfer network.

The company’s mission is to provide innovative and convenient financial services delivered with the respect that hard-working consumers deserve.

PLS has been listed among Inc. magazine’s “5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America” (www.inc.com/inc5000/list) for the past three years, and for three consecutive years has been named one of the “101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in Chicago” by the National Association for Business Resources (www.101bestandbrightest.com). For the past four years, PLS has been named one of Chicago’s Largest Privately Held Companies by Crain’s Chicago Business® (www.chicagobusiness.com), and was listed among Crain’s “Fast 50” (Fastest Growing Companies). Bob and Dan Wolfberg, PLS Presidents, were finalists for Ernst & Young’s 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award (www.ey.com). In 2011, Bob Wolfberg was recognized by Financial Service Centers of America [FiSCA (www.fisca.org)] as its Financial Service Provider of the Year. The company has also been twice honored with the Activa Award from FiSCA in recognition of its charitable efforts.

The PLS Group serves customers through its PLS Check Cashers stores, which offer check cashing, prepaid Visa® debit cards, money transfer services, money orders and bill payments; PLS Loan Store locations, which provide consumer short-term loans, auto insurance and tax-preparation services; and PLS Motor Vehicle Services facilities, which offer vehicle license and registration services.


The Pacific Garden Mission is the oldest continuously operating rescue mission in the U.S. In addition to food, clothing, shelter and medical care, it offers ministry and job training to thousands in need throughout the Chicago area. The Pacific Garden Mission accepts no government funding; all of its operating expenses are covered by donations. To support the Mission’s work, or for more information, call 312-492-9410 or visit www.pgm.org

2/9/2012 Barb Wolf All 558 0

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