Chandler real estate investor and strip mall king Michael Pollack made the holidays merrier for 20 needy families last week.
Pollack gave each family a $1,000 gift card to buy food, toys and other necessities during a shopping spree Dec. 20 at the Target store at Baseline Road and McClintock Drive.
“We wanted to make a huge impact this year giving the gift of financial support that allows families in need the ability to purchase essential items and Christmas presents,” said Pollack.
The families were selected by Child Crisis of Arizona – which has long been supported by Pollack, who over the years has been a kind of patron saint for numerous charities in the region.
Dozens of nonprofits have been supported not only financially by Pollack over the years but also by his participation on boards and at charitable events, where he often has played with his band to entertain guests.
Saying he wanted to “make a positive impact on the upcoming holiday season” with his gift card gifts to the families, Pollack said he hoped to be setting an example for other businesses to help the needy in their communities.
Pollack has been in the real estate business for 50 years, and started in California by buying a single house.
He came to Chandler in 1990 and said in an interview in 2019 that he was “fascinated by the opportunity” he saw in the city.
His first real estate project was the revival of the Waterfall shopping strip on at Alma School Road and Galveston Street.
Since then he has been involved in more than 11 million square feet of real estate projects, specializing in refurbishing commercial and industrial properties.
“For many of our low-income families with children the holidays can be a time of extra stress. It’s pure joy to see Michael Pollack stepping forward to take care of 20 of the families we work with in order to make their lives a little easier and spread some very generous holiday spirit,” said Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona.
The nonprofit has been serving the community’s most vulnerable children, youth and families for 45 years and its mission is to “provide children and youth in Arizona a safe environment, free from abuse and neglect, by creating strong and successful families.”
“The 20 families selected are typically working several jobs to make ends meet and are living well below the poverty line,” the agency said in a release.
To make a donation to Child Crisis Arizona visit childcrisisAZ.org or call 480-304-9471.
