Fall Service Day in Zilker Park with the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas

On Friday, October 21st, we had the special privilege of joining several other technology companies in the Austin area for a day of community service coordinated by the Entrepreneurs Foundation. The Entrepreneurs Foundation was founded by former entrepreneurs and venture capitalists helping to give local technology companies the opportunity to share their time and money with the surrounding community. We’ve previously partnered with the Entrepreneurs Foundation in their efforts to help restore low-income elementary schools this past May and in their bowling tournament that benefited Austin Child Protective Services earlier this year.

For the fall service day, Entrepreneurs Foundation collaborated with the Austin Police Department (APD), bringing together community and law enforcement to clean up Zilker Park and improve community relations. The AlertMedia team was assigned to the Botanical Garden to help with some projects throughout the park. The Botanical Garden was founded in 1955 to promote a love of gardening and a natural education resource for the citizens of Austin.

When we initially arrived at the garden, the staff expressed how excited they were to have help for the day and put us to work mulching a path by the cactus garden. The pathway hadn’t been updated in quite a while, the mulch was strewn mostly off of the path and was making its way into the surrounding plant areas. We put down fresh pecans that created a new, beautiful walkway for patrons of the garden.

After redoing the path, we planted Bethlehem grass near the Japanese garden. The area was previously bare, with the exception of a few large trees. Our group planted over 30 plants in the area, breathing new life into the tucked away corner of the park. Other organizations spread mulch, picked up debris, reorganized flowers within a few of the gardens, and made various other improvements over the 350 acres.

Once all of the projects were complete, the APD conducted demonstrations with their K9 units and a couple of their officers that train on horses. The officers were available to answer any questions volunteers had, from K9 training to crime and arrest stats. It was a great opportunity for our team to be able to interact with the APD in a positive environment.

Being able to contribute to the Austin community that has done so much for technology companies was truly rewarding, and working with APD was an enlightening experience. We look forward to future opportunities to give back to the Austin community in any way we can, and collaborating with Entrepreneurs Foundation in their impactful and thoughtful events benefitting the Austin community.