Xcel Energy's Day Of Service Takes On New Look In 2020
DENVER (CBS4) – Xcel Energy is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Day of Service. In a normal year, thousands of Coloradans would volunteer for three hours at various pre-arranged service projects. This year, due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, Xcel Energy is hosting a few, small, in-person volunteer projects for employees only, and they've created a bingo card of acts of kindness that the general public can do within their homes and neighborhoods.
"We've really took a hyper local approach to the bingo card, knowing, especially in the last several months, we've spent a lot of time at home and in our neighborhoods, so we've populated the bingo card with acts of service and kindness that you can do from home," said Bonnie Gross, Social Investments Representative for Xcel Energy.
LINK: Download a Day of Service Bingo Card
Squares include suggestions like "write a sidewalk chalk message of encouragement," "rake a neighbor's leaves," "thank a front line worker," "pick up trash on a local trail," among others. All the suggestions are things that can be done from home, in your neighborhood, with your family and friends in a socially distanced, safe manor.
"For us, I really think, it speaks to the nature of Day of Service, which is all about giving back to the community," Gross explained.
The bingo card acts of kindness are left open, so that those who play can pick the organizations/people they want to help.
"Day of Service is really the sum of its parts. Whether you're doing these acts of service from home, or our employees are volunteering at nonprofits across the state, we're really looking forward to celebrating the impact in our community, for our 10th annual Day of Service," Gross told CBS4.
Another change in Day of Service this year, is that it's going to run 10-days, September 9 – 19, 2020.
"One thing that hasn't changed for us is our commitment to our community. And our team has really worked to provide an innovative, fun way for our employees, our customers, and the general public to come out and participate with Day of Service this year," Gross said.
When you download the bingo card, you will be entered into a drawing where Xcel Energy will randomly select two winners to receive $500 to donate to a Day of Service participating nonprofit of their choice.
"We are asking folks to share their progress on social media. You can take a screen shot of your bingo card, or download it directly to your phone, share it on social media, tag XcelEnergyCO, using the #xedos and we'll be following along," Gross said.
