Genz-Ryan’s 4th Annual Classroom Cash Giveaway
25K Cash Prizes Awarded to Local Teachers
In August, Genz-Ryan Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical conducted its fourth annual Classroom Cash Giveaway.
Owner Jon Ryan is passionate about giving back to the Twin Cities community that’s been so good to the Genz-Ryan business. Having children of his own in public schools, he feels most passionate about supporting classroom funding for public school teachers.
Teachers often spend money out-of-pocket on school supplies to create learning environments where students can be successful. And that’s just one of many ways teachers go above and beyond.
Teachers also pour a lot of time and energy into the day-to-day duties that extend beyond the typical responsibilities of educators. Particularly since COVID-19 and the onset of hybrid learning, we believe teachers deserve more recognition.
What is the Classroom Cash Giveaway?
The Classroom Cash Giveaway is an annual campaign led primarily on social media to support local Twin Cities teachers.
The event started in 2019 and is part of GenzGives, where Genz-Ryan supports local charities and community programs through financial support and awareness campaigns.
We Give Cash Prizes Directly to the Teachers
The Classroom Cash Giveaway funds supplies and materials for local classrooms so students can start the school year off right. Winners receive Target gift cards so they can shop right away for the items they need.
The top two nominees with the most votes each received $2,000 in Target gift cards, and 16 more each received $1,000 in Target gift cards.
This year also had a bonus round. Inspired by one of last year’s winners who shared some of her winnings with fellow teachers, this year, voting reopened for a bonus round in which one of the top five teachers won $5,000 to share with other teachers at their school.
2022 Winners
While most people generally appreciate teachers, we don’t see or recognize just how much additional weight and responsibility falls on them. More than money, the purpose of the Classroom Cash Giveaway is to create a platform of recognition for the teachers in our community. We’re so thankful for them!
This year’s giveaway received 130 nominations. The community then voted for the winners on Facebook with likes and comments — we received over 22,000 votes!
Top 2
The top two nominees with the most votes each get $2,000 in Target gift cards. Join us in recognizing the 2022 winners:
- Emma Lindenfelser
- Carly Heras
All Winners
The next 16 nominees with the most votes each get $1,000 in Target gift cards. We’re thrilled to celebrate the following 2022 winners:
- Jen Bahn
- Jordan Iverson
- Allie Duellman
- Taylor Zweber
- Bridget Burton
- Alexa McLain
- Mary Beth Plaschko
- Kaitlin Hamby
- Adam Larson
- Andrea Gross
- Robert Geisenhof
- Kimberly Jessen
- Deanna Hanks
- Monica Purintan
- Chris Donley
- Katie Rabe
Bonus Round
For the bonus round, nominees received another 6,000 votes! Teachers Carly Heras and Jen Bahn were the top two vote recipients.
They were so close in votes they decided to split the $5,000 prize between their schools. Congratulations, Carly and Jen!
Thank You, Voters & Teachers!
We want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who nominated, voted, and participated in the giveaway. Thank you for showing up for our local teachers and giving them some much-deserved recognition and support. All of us at Genz-Ryan are proud to serve in a community of caring people.
We look forward to seeing how the teachers use their winnings, and we’re already excited about the 2023 Classroom Cash Giveaway!
