Students Make Big Impact in Intercollegiate Volunteering Challenge

A competition to promote social and environmental responsibility on college campuses is launching on Monday, Jan. 22. Undergraduate schools will vie for several prizes in a competition to generate to the greatest social or environmental benefits.

The competition, called "Small Steps, Big Wins Campus Challenge," is a program of Net Impact, a nonprofit that encourages young people to create positive change in the workplace and around the world.

This spring will be the second such competition, the first having ended on Dec. 15, 2012. In a ten-week period, 1,340 students collectively volunteered over 300 times during the school semester and over the holiday break.

To earn points, students completed environmentally-friendly actions like air drying laundry, riding bikes, and using reusable mugs and water bottles. The winner of last year's competition was Wartburg College, based in Waverly, Iowa, which won in a landslide victory.

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Harry Stevens is a freelance reporter covering climate change, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and sustainable finance. Harry has contributed to several media outlets, including Justmeans, GreenBiz, SocialEarth, and Sustainablog. You can follow Harry on Twitter:@Harry_Stevens