A Lifetime of Hard Work — and a Legacy of Giving

Alice Ziitel is a 93-year-old Salvation Army supporter who knows the value of hard work and giving back.

Alice began learning these virtues soon after her parents divorced in the early 1940s, when she and her mother began living with her aunt and uncle on a farm in Minnesota.

"My Uncle Peter and Aunt Emma treated me like one of their own," Alice recalled. "I learned to appreciate family and the importance of working hard."

It was during that period of her life that she first heard about The Salvation Army.

"Uncle Peter always shared that The Salvation Army was a good organization," Alice said. "He was in World War I and recalled that they helped the soldiers and never asked for anything in return. He taught us the importance of giving back."

Twenty years later, in 1960, Alice witnessed the work of The Salvation Army firsthand when she began working for her father, selling flowers at the Minneapolis Farmers Market. Her father often called on the local Salvation Army for help finding employees to help unload delivery trucks; The Salvation Army would send men who were trying to rebuild their lives.

"We hired many good employees from The Salvation Army," Alice said. "One young man, Victor, had a marvelous personality and worked for us part-time until the 1980s."

Alice has been so impressed by The Salvation Army throughout her life that she has established a planned gift that will allow us to serve others long after God calls her home.

"I have included The Salvation Army in my Estate Plans because I have witnessed lives that were changed by the help of The Salvation Army," she said.

Create a Legacy: To learn more about including The Salvation Army in your will or trust, or adding The Salvation Army as a beneficiary to your IRA, please call Tom Cierzan, Senior Director of Gift and Estate Planning, at 651-746-3515.