Max Gruenig

Max Gruenig, Agency Sales Team Leader at AssuredPartners, has a friend who says, “gratitude changes everything” and he could not agree more. He has come to realize that the volunteer and community service events he participates in have allowed him to experience gratitude at a level that he believes you can’t experience otherwise.

Volunteerism and community service have always been a part of Max’s life. He credits his mom’s dedication to her students in the public school system, his dad’s humble upbringing and his Catholic education as laying the groundwork for his commitment to service and meeting people where they are at. Though, today, Max credits his wife and kids for giving him the support he needs to continue giving back. 

Examples of Max’s current volunteerism include providing enrichment opportunities for local children as a board member of the Lakeview Boosters Club, helping motivate disadvantaged youth to become successful in college and beyond with Boys Hope Girls Hope and serving food to local families after Hurricane Ida devastated Southern Louisiana. He also participates in an annual Sleep Out fundraiser for Covenant House of New Orleans, where he sleeps outside the facility on a cardboard box to show those in shelters that they are not alone. 

“The main reason I give back is to connect with people that are different from me. It keeps me grounded to know that my everyday burdens are nowhere near what others have experienced,” says Max.

One of the most memorable ways Max has given back was for The Good Shephard School, which is a free Catholic elementary school that serves to give underprivileged children a quality education. It’s an extended day and an extended year to keep kids off the street and in the classroom. He won their “Dancing with the Stars” fundraiser — an event which raised almost $400,000.