Affinis Co-Workers Donate Time and Money to Their Communities

For the last several years, we have issued a community service challenge to our team. While it may seem simple, putting a little competition into giving back allows us to multiply our efforts. We donated 650 hours or about $13,000 in 2020.

We each tried to perform 20 hours of community service. Some co-workers chose to give their time with projects, like roadway clean-up. Others elected to donate money. We award a point per hour or one point for every $20 donation. The only stipulation is the cause has to be outside of a person’s immediate family. That could mean coaching a kids’ team, participating in your homeowners’ association, or volunteering at a charity.

Because we couldn’t gather in the same way this year, we shifted some of our focus to online fundraising. This yielded great results for local organizations. In the past, we have brought in about 400 cans to support Harvesters, but in 2020, we raised over $1,000 in a single online drive.

Typically, as a company, we try to host five to 10 events where we can complete a volunteer project as team. But, to keep one another safe, we did more things on our own. However, we were able to continue our ongoing group roadway clean-up project in Lee’s Summit on Ward Road, participate in the American Lung Association’s stair climb, and the American Heart Association’s charity walk.

Our top three group efforts in 2020 were:

• $ 1,372 raised for the American Heart Association through their Heart Walk
• $ 1,283 raised for the American Lung Association at the Fight for Air Climb
• $ 1,041 raised for Harvesters Community Food Network

This annual challenge allows us to move our communities forward. We’ve seen how giving back can positively impact those around us. For 2021, we’re raising the stakes again and planning to each donate 21 hours to local organizations.

The photo shown above was taken at the 2019 American Lung Association Fight for Air Climb.