By Payton Tholstrup

Twenty-one Kansan employers are competing in this year’s Give Back Kansas Challenge which began on April 1st and will go through May 31st. The goal is to challenge Kansans in employer-supported volunteering. Cloud County is one of the participants this year.

The challenges allow employees to volunteer and receive recognition by tracking and then reporting their hours to win a $1,000 grant from Volunteer Kansas. The grant will be donated to a nonprofit of their choice.

“We are thrilled to have a record number of businesses compete in the challenge. Participation has grown each year as employers realize the value of serving their communities alongside their employees and encourage them to volunteer,” Nola Brown, executive director of Volunteer Kansas which is partnering with the Kansas Volunteer Commission to introduce the challenge.

There is no cost to participate. Businesses are divided into three categories based on size and number of employees. Volunteer hours are recorded through an online portal and winners are selected from each category by determining the average of volunteer hours per business.