PLS Plants 3,300 Trees in Celebration of Arbor Day

CHICAGO, IL—April 27, 2012: As part of its company-wide commitment to environmental awareness and resource conservation, PLS is once again planting a tree for each of its employees. Since 2009, PLS has planted more than 12,000 trees in honor of its team members.

PLS’s annual Arbor Day observance includes activities in its stores, satellite offices and the PLS Support Center to encourage the reduction of paper waste and the conservation of resources. The Arbor Day celebration is highlighted by the company’s contribution to American Forests to provide for the planting of a tree for each employee.

American Forests (www.americanforests.org), founded in 1875, is the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizen’s conservation organization. American Forests works to protect, restore and enhance the natural beauty of trees and forests.

PLS (www.PLShome.com) is one of America’s most successful and fastest-growing consumer financial services retailers. The PLS mission is to provide innovative and convenient financial services delivered with the respect that hard-working consumers deserve.

“This is the fourth year of our association with American Forests,” said Dan Wolfberg, President, PLS. “Our commitment to helping American Forests make our world greener mirrors our company-wide efforts to reduce paper use and increase recycling. We’re very pleased to know that there are thousands of trees growing that represent PLS team members.”

“This contribution will help restore a threatened ecosystem,” stated Gregory Meyer, Vice President, Development, American Forests. “It will make a real and tangible difference.”

American Forests is a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and forests. The organization has earned four stars from Charity Navigator and approval from the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.
About PLS: People. Location. Service.

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. The company also manages more than 45 check cashing locations in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas.

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 five 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.

About American Forests

As the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation organization, American Forests has been an influential voice for conservation and the environment since its founding in 1875. American Forests works with individuals, communities and policy makers to protect and restore forests around the world, and raise awareness of how important these ecosystems are to all forms of life on the planet.
This mission allows American Forests to work on many different fronts to grow a healthier world, with each of their many programs addressing an area of forest conservation, from planting trees, to educating future generations about their benefits. For more information, visit www.americanforests.org