Field Day
A long-standing tradition and one of our largest philanthropic efforts is our Field Day event. Ruppert’s Field Day is a day that enables the company and its employees to give back to the community, combining charitable giving, training, and competition amongst branches. The company’s employees compete in a variety of events, some fun in nature, like relay races and obstacle courses; others testing their knowledge and skills, like identifying plants and operating heavy equipment; and others that will have a direct, lasting and high-quality benefit for the site that’s chosen.
In the company’s early days, Field Day started as a way to improve the look of the company’s facility. We scheduled a day, threw some fun competitions into the mix like tree planting and sod laying contests (all designed to get the beautification effort completed efficiently) and Field Day was born! The day eventually grew to include more fun competitions, like raft races, tug of war and relays as well as an increased focus on training and testing on horticulture and production knowledge.
As Field Day continued to evolve and our facility beautification efforts were complete, we began to look externally for projects that would enable us to enjoy our fun and competitive portion of the day while donating our time and materials to provide an immediate and lasting benefit for the community as well. Over the years, these charitable projects have included parks, playgrounds, and schools that needed a little outside help to jumpstart their renovation. Ultimately our best partnerships involve communities where there is a deep interest in the project’s success and where there is a vested interest in keeping the landscape enhancements looking good for the long haul.
Some of the company’s notable Field Days include:
- Children’s National Hospital Research & Innovation Campus (2021) Washington, DC
- Corpus Christi Catholic Church (2018) Atlanta, GA
- The Children’s Home (2016) Catonsville, MD
- Armed Forces Retirement Home (2015) Washington, DC
- Carroll Park (2014) Baltimore, MD
- 26 DC Public Schools (1997) Washington, DC
- JFK Park (1996) Washington, DC
- Community Park West (1995) Washington, DC
- Schools on the Hill (Park & School) (1994) Washington, DC
- Inman Ballfield (1994) Atlanta, GA
- La Polvosa (1993) Washington, DC