Safety has always been our number-one Core Value at Kansas Gas Service, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed us to focus on safety in a new way. This meant that employees had to rethink how they did their work, how they interacted with one another and how they engaged in their communities. With safety as the top priority, employees had to find creative ways to live out another one of our Core Values: Service. 

"When the option to bring employees together for volunteering was paused, we knew the need in our communities was still there,” said Heather Earl, philanthropic manager for ONE Gas, the parent company of Kansas Gas Service. “For that reason, we shifted our volunteer events to virtual opportunities during the pandemic."

Now, with more in-person opportunities becoming available, Kansas Gas Service employees are engaging in their communities with renewed energy. 

"Our employees have been eager to get back out in person,” Heather said. “With COVID concerns decreasing, we are excited that we are now able to host in-person volunteer opportunities. We also have continued with virtual events to give our employees and retirees options to volunteer in a way that works best for them."

This September, we launched our companywide United Way campaign. The campaign encourages employees to invest in their communities, whether through donations or through volunteering with local organizations. 

 

 

Recently, some Kansas Gas Service employees came together to volunteer with Giving the Basics. Giving the Basics provides personal hygiene products, not covered by governmental assistance, to over 350 schools and 80 social service agencies across the Kansas City Metro area. Ten employees came together at the organization’s warehouse to fill orders by packing over 22,190 hygiene items for social service agencies to pick up. Employees from the Overland Park Service Center also contributed by donating a total of 341 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. 

"These communities are our friends, neighbors and coworkers,” Heather said. “It is important to us that we are doing what we can to create a positive impact where it is needed and to help create a better tomorrow for future generations."

Learn more about our commitment to the communities we serve at ESG.Onegas.com.