Want $3,000? Do 30 good deeds and enter the Peyton Anderson summer challenge.

When the Peyton Anderson Foundation staff sat down to think about how to celebrate its 30th anniversary, they kept coming back to the idea of a 30-day summer challenge, a contest to reward good-doers.

“Our founder, Peyton Anderson, who used to own The Telegraph but passed away in 1988 and through his estate established the foundation, was a firm believer in giving back to your community,” said Karen Lambert, President of the foundation. “This 30-day challenge is a way to honor him, to celebrate the work of the foundation, and to encourage people to pay it forward and to think about the community.”

The challenge will run through July 31.

“After the 30 days we will draw entries, and we will award three different entries that have completed the challenge the opportunity to direct a $3,000 grant to the charity of their choice. It must be a charity in good-standing with the IRS, of course, and it must be a local charity that does work here,” Lambert said. “From those three, the one with the best application will have a bonus.”

To help you complete the challenge, the foundation offers a list of possible opportunities you can engage in, including providing a meal for families who stay at the Ronald McDonald House, visiting the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park, and picking up litter along the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.

“We suggested things like ... donate cans of black-eyed peas to a local food bank,” Lambert said. “When Peyton was living, he was famous for these black-eyed pea parties he would have every New Year’s Eve. We’re connecting in fun ways to some of his activities and things that he liked when he was here with us.”

To participate in the 30-day challenge, complete the entry form and sign the pledge at https://www.peytonanderson.org/30day/.

Hard copies of the form are available at local downtown businesses, according to a release. Email completed entries to challenge@pafdn.org.

Entries must be received before Aug. 1 and winners will be announced Aug. 5.

For more information about the Peyton Anderson Foundation, visit https://www.peytonanderson.org/.

This story was originally published July 4, 2019 at 5:00 AM.