NASHUA – Ameriprise Financial Services began a community outreach mission in May during the height of the lockdown with meal deliveries to clients, and this week, they will be providing 60 pies to their clients as a way of checking in and saying thanks.

Client service coordinator Mary Martin teamed with Ameriprise franchise owner Andrea Riley Arnesen on Tuesday and Wednesday to extend their gratitude to their financial clients.

“We hit the ground running in May and just didn’t stop,” Martin said. “The pie event is actually an event that we do every single year, and it’s the one that we close the year out with.”

Aside from sending holiday cards, it’s the big event for Ameriprise.

“We got the pies from a local business, and it’s our goal to support local,” she said. “Andrea has always chosen to go local. And we were super excited about it. We even tested a pie before we did the drive-by pick up.”

Martin said a little more than 60 pies were provided.

“It is kind of a drive-by event,” she said. “We coordinated everything, as this was the first pie event that we did in a COVID situation.”

Ameriprise in the past would invite their clients into their Nashua office for cider and refreshments, but obviously 2020 made similar gestures impossible.

“That’s always been a great way to say hello and spend a little time with our clients,” Martin said. “Not this year. But they still received wonderful pies.”

While the face-to-face aspect of giving was reimagined for this year, Martin said they say thank you to not just their clients, but to the community as a whole.

“I think what happens is that our clients see us interact with the community,” she said. “And that’s one of the great things about our Nashua Soup Kitchen involvement. Ameriprise hosts two national days of service per year.”

During a normal year, Ameriprise clients would join the staff and serve the soup kitchen.

“Just by our reaching out, or by the things that Andrea does, consistently every year draws the clients into the community services.”

The soup kitchen events take place in June and November, and Ameriprise clients were optimistic that they would take place this year.

“We do it as a team,” Martin said. “But this year we had to let everyone know that the soup kitchen was closed down to any inside volunteering. And they were so disappointed.”

Instead, Ameriprise organized a soup kitchen drop-off, collecting a massive amount of food for the kitchen and shelter.

“I collected so much, it was numerous trips to the soup kitchen,” Martin said. “I said, ‘we can’t do it the way we normally had,’ but instead, Ameriprise clients dropped off food in Andrea’s parking lot. They said ‘hello’ in their mask, drop-off and go.”

The event filled two cars “and then some,” Martin added.

“It was really wonderful,” she said. “The soup kitchen didn’t expect that.”

As this year has been a game changer, Martin noted that many individuals are by themselves, and many avenues of their social enjoyment has been diminished.

Think of it as a drive-through for pies.

“Some clients didn’t want to miss out on the pies, and asked if we can do this contactless,” Martin said. “We said ‘absolutely, of course.'”

For a lot of people, they miss the interaction, but are in a higher risk category.

“It’s not just our older clients,” Martin stated. “Even our younger clients aren’t traveling.”

For business itself, COVID has hit some folks with investment and financial portfolios.

“This biggest number one is uncertainty and fear,” Martin said. “Some people who are retired are living off their portfolio now. Nothing is going into it. And this started before lockdown, when there was a terrible loss on the stock market.”

Martin said she and Arnesen and the Ameriprise team have worked to reassure their clients.

“We have kept busy with offering guidance during the pandemic,” Martin said. “Andrea and her practice have weathered it together with our clients and the community and have helped them to see just how well they were actually doing.”