For several years the Wellmark foundation has allowed their employees to have a say where the corporate contributions are given back to the community. Out of this idea, “BluesCare Giving” was created as a way to empower Wellmark employees….

That’s the Manager of the Wellmark Foundation in Sioux Falls, Stephanie Perry. She says Wellmark also does a payroll deduction campaign in the fall. Employees can select from any of the qualifying nonprofits in South Dakota to make a payroll reduction which is then matched by the Wellmark Foundation…

Through matching gifts and recognition grants of Wellmark employee volunteer time of nearly 40,000 hours, gave nearly two-million dollars to more than 650 nonprofit organizations, in 2015. Perry says those numbers represent the giving nature of the state…

Since 2011, more than 205,000 hours have been logged by employees and $6.2 million has been distributed to more than 1100 non profits under the BluesCares program.