Burnsville, MN (October 4, 2010) – Pawn America is proud to announce the company has been honored as a 2010 Activa Award recipient. Launched in 1999 by FiSCA, the Activa Awards program honors outstanding examples of positive community involvement activities of its members throughout the country. FiSCA supports and encourages its members to make an investment in the communities that they do business by giving their time through community service and money through charitable contributions. As each year passes, the Activa Awards bring greater distinction and a better understanding of the pivotal role financial service centers play in making America’s neighborhoods a better place to live and work.

“Pawn America takes great pride in the initiatives we’ve created to address the needs we see in our communities,” says Pawn America Owner Brad Rixmann. “Whether it’s serving a meal at the Boys & Girls Clubs, volunteering time with the local Sheriff’s Foundation, or even donating “therapy-friendly” merchandise to local patients affected by injury, disease or illness…we want to help people. We believe in listening first, we then do our best to make a meaningful impact.”

Dave Crume, president of the National Pawnbrokers Association, lauded Pawn America in a recent statement. "Congratulations on winning this award for your accomplishments. It is a fitting reward and justly deserved for all of your efforts in your communities.
You have truly done some innovative charitable work here particularly with your libraries. Really, really cool idea!
Thanks for raising the bar for fellow pawnbrokers and financial service operators to beat!"

Pawn America has created and fostered several community initiatives for which the 2010 Activa Awards honor including:

• The Pawn America/Boys & Girls Clubs Kids Feeding Kids (KFK) initiative
Created to provide an opportunity for local kids to eat, learn culinary skills and cooperative behavior traits while serving their peers via a nutritious late-afternoon dinner 5 evenings a week. The goal of the program is to stop childhood hunger in areas of the Twin Cities that house a local Boys & Girls Clubs location. More than 50,000 meals are served annually.

• Hennepin County Sheriff’s Foundation
Pawn America is a valuable part of this independent, nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to strengthening public safety through youth-based activity programs, prevention, intervention, education, outreach and 21st century crime fighting tools and programs.

• PC’s For People
A Partnership with this organization has collected hundreds of refurbished computers with the goal of giving outdated equipment a second lease by fixing it up for people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to own a computer. Recently, Pawn America developed a retail “curbside drop campaign” encouraging customers to drop off old and working computer systems at their stores for a gift certificate in return.

• The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview Transitional Care Unit
Pawn America began earmarking “therapy-friendly” merchandise when a nurse called requesting a few items on the wish list of patients and caregivers at the Transitional Care Unit. These items were to help rehabilitate, entertain and even inspire patients and include Wii consoles, musical instruments, games, CDs, DVDs and other types of entertainment options.

• Pawn America Builds Libraries for Soldiers in Iraq
Shortly after the start of the War in Iraq, Brad Rixmann learned the son of two Pawn America employees was being deployed. He wanted to help out and decided to package and send components of a media library with the soldier. Brad gave the soldiers a collection of more than 1,000 DVD’s, CD’s, video games and movies to entertain and comfort soldiers during their downtime. Since the first installment, Brad and Pawn America have sent components to Iraq for two additional libraries.


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