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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; You can do a lot of good in two minutes. Just ask Anne Opiela of Plains Township.</p><p>Opiela was the winner of the United Way of Wyoming Valley/Wegmans two-minute, $500 shopping spree and this year&#8217;s event had a different twist this year: the lucky winner did the shopping, but she donated it all to a local charity.</p><p>Everything Opiela was able to gather during her two minutes of fame went to local women&#8217;s shelter Ruth&#8217;s Place. The spree will provide lots of food, feminine hygiene products and cleaning supplies to the shelter and its 21 residents.</p><p>And when her employer, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance heard about Opiela&#8217;s generosity, the company offered to match half the value of her spree.</p><p>When the cash register stopped ringing, the total was $651.37, slightly over the $500 prize designation, but the amount was approved on the spot by Wegmans Store Manager Dave Grossi.</p><p>&#8220;I just felt I could do something better with this,&#8221; Opiela said. &#8220;Ruth&#8217;s Place was at the top of the list. Everybody tends to forget about these causes after the holidays.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Feeding many mouths</strong></p><p>Opiela said she spoke and emailed back and forth with Kristen Topolski, director of programming at Volunteers of America, the agency that oversees Ruth&#8217;s Place.</p><p>&#8220;This is such a great gesture of generosity, it&#8217;s exciting,&#8221; Topolski said. &#8220;We feed 21 mouths every day. The food goes fast.&#8221;</p><p>Topolski said she asked Opiela to include feminine hygiene products, cleaning supplies and ready-to-eat foods on her list. She said Ruth&#8217;s Place served 290 women in 2017 &#8212; a total of 6,000 nights of lodging.</p><p>Bill Jones, president/CEO of the United Way of Wyoming Valley, said this was a special year for the shopping spree and he thanked Wegmans for its sponsorship if the annual event.</p><p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s really special when the winner decides to give to others in need,&#8221; Jones said.</p><p>Karen Stempowski, human resources specialist at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, said the company and its 700 employees enjoy giving back to the community.</p><p>&#8220;We have always set that tone,&#8221; Stempowski said. &#8220;And our employees follow through.&#8221;</p><p>Grossi said the United Way is an important the community&#8217;s fabric, and Wegmans looks forward to the shopping spree every year.</p><p>&#8220;It warms my heart to see that spirit of community here today with the winner donating all of this to Ruth&#8217;s Place,&#8221; Grossi said. &#8220;This is what the Untied Way is all about &#8212; people coming together for the community.&#8221;</p><p><strong>How she won</strong></p><p>Opiela donated to United Way of Wyoming Valley&#8217;s 2017-2018 Community Campaign. Her name was then entered into a raffle to win a number of campaign incentive prizes.</p><p>Opiela said she has four children and two grandchildren. She said she makes enough money to provide for herself and family, so it was a quick decision for her to donate the shopping spree to Ruth&#8217;s Place.</p><p>Opiela asked her niece, Nicole Shields, to assist her with the spree.</p><p>A large crowd of folks from United Way of Wyoming Valley, Berkshire Hathaway Guard and Ruth&#8217;s Place were on hand to cheer Opiela on during her spree.</p><p>Two large shopping carts were stuffed with bags filled with items. Everything was delivered to Ruth&#8217;s Place in the city&#8217;s north end.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nicole Shields grabs feminine hygiene products off the shelves at Wegmans as her aunt, Anne Opiela, pushes the shopping cart during the United Way/Wegmans Shopping Spree. Opiela, an employee at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, won the shopping prize from the United Way and in turn donated her winnings to Ruth&#8217;s Place. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL022818supermarket1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nicole Shields grabs feminine hygiene products off the shelves at Wegmans as her aunt, Anne Opiela, pushes the shopping cart during the United Way/Wegmans Shopping Spree. Opiela, an employee at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, won the shopping prize from the United Way and in turn donated her winnings to Ruth&#8217;s Place. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL022818supermarket2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Anne Opiela, center, claps after hearing the $651.37 tally of groceries she was able to haul in during a two-minute sweep of Wegmans in Wilkes-Barre Township. Opiela won the spree from United Way and donated it to Ruth&#8217;s Place, a shelter for women. United Way President/CEO Bill Jones claps for the winner as Kathy Bozinski records the moment and Wegmans Store Manager Dave Grossi bags groceries. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL022818supermarket2-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Anne Opiela, center, claps after hearing the $651.37 tally of groceries she was able to haul in during a two-minute sweep of Wegmans in Wilkes-Barre Township. Opiela won the spree from United Way and donated it to Ruth&#8217;s Place, a shelter for women. United Way President/CEO Bill Jones claps for the winner as Kathy Bozinski records the moment and Wegmans Store Manager Dave Grossi bags groceries. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Shopping for a cause: Spree winner donates haul to Ruth’s Place