Colonial Life donates nearly $3,500 in Challenge for Charity

COLUMBIA, S.C. (June 22, 2017) — Eight area charities are getting a combined $3,450 more in their coffers to help those in need, thanks to Colonial Life and the online efforts of eight local media outlets.

Colonial Life’s annual Challenge for Charity pits Columbia-area news media representatives against each other to earn donations to their favorite charities. This year’s competition challenged participants to post consumer-focused infographics on financial topics on Facebook or Twitter. They had a week to encourage engagement with their posts, earning $1 per like, share, retweet or commenter. Those who created the most engagement could earn additional donations. 

When the cyber-dust settled after seven days, Kelly Nash from WCOS-FM/WVOC-AM was the top influencer, earning $1,250 for the S.C. Autism Society.

Second place went to WIS-TV’s Judi Gatson, who earned $750 for innersole. Not far behind in third was Kati Horton of the blog site Lexington Mommy, collecting $500 for SisterCare.

Also competing in the friendly fight for funds were:

* WOLO-TV’s Alicia Barnes, earning $250 for the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families.

* WACH-TV’s Janet Parker, earning $250 for the S.C. Alzheimer’s Association.

* WLTX-TV’s Deon Guillory, earning $250 for the Community Health Assistance Team.

* Midlands Anchor’s Allen Wallace, earning $100 for Cancer of Many Colors.

* Lexington Ledger’s Paul Kirby, earning $100 for LICS Food Bank.

Area residents were winners, too. More than 2,600 people actively engaged in the competition, meaning they liked, shared, retweeted or commented on one of the posts. The total reach of the campaign — including those who reacted plus those who saw the posts — means several thousand people received important, useful financial and health information.

The Challenge for Charity has generated nearly $85,250 in donations to area community organizations over the past 16 years.