On October 12th, Keep Irving Beautiful and Vizient, Inc. joined together, once again, for a “Community Day” project held at Fritz Park Petting Farm. According to a press release, twenty-three employee volunteers from Vizient used scrapers, rollers, and brushes to paint the metal fencing of a big animal enclosure.
It took sixty-nine hours for the volunteers to complete the mission at Fritz Park Petting Farm located at 312 East Vilbig Street. The press release mentions that the work the volunteers did for the Fritz Park Petting Farm “gave a bright, vibrant look to the area by applying a fresh coat of black paint to the metal fencing.”
Vizient Inc. and Keep Irving Beautiful have worked together to organize and succeed in an annual “Community Day” project for the past twelve years.
Keep Irving Beautiful “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city,” the press release explains.
Keep Irving Beautiful has a connected relationship with Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful and is considered an award-winning nonprofit organization.
Byron Jobe, the President, and CEO of Vizient, talks about the company on their website, stating, “The path for Vizient is clear: We help health care organizations improve their performance. It starts with our mission centered on strengthening members’ delivery of high-volume care and comes to life in how we execute on that mission with an integrated approach to enhancing cost, quality, and market performance.”
James Hull and Amanda List were the co-leaders for the Vizient team on October 12th. The volunteer employees that help with these projects give a helping hand to local nonprofit organizations, while Vizient allows them to take time off from work to complete the task.
“Supplies and technical guidance” were provided by the City of Irving Parks Department.
Kelly Horn, a board member of Keep Irving Beautiful stated, “We enjoyed hosting the Vizient employee volunteers here at the Petting Farm,” while adding, “we greatly value our relationship with companies like Vizient that place a high value on community engagement and volunteerism. It’s also nice to see that many of the same Vizient volunteers choose to work with us year after year in meaningful projects.”
Parks and Recreation for the city of Irving mention that all ages are welcome to visit the Fritz Park Petting Farm during the summer hours of operation.
Art and Seek states that Fritz Park Petting Farm officially opened in 1970 with the help of the City of Irving Parks and Recreation Department’s overseeing guidance. In this “clean, well-shaded environment,” visitors to this free park can have up-close interactions to pet the animals. The animals on this petting farm are cows, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and peacocks.
In 2018, Irving Weekly stated, “For more than 30 years, Fritz Park has been the place to experience farm life, including hands-on contact with an assortment of animals.” By contacting the City of Irving, reservations can be made for group tours and birthday parties.
One review of the petting farm on Business Yab states, “There are not a million animals here, but the place is peaceful and free. It has a petting area, a coloring area, benches, and great volunteers. This place is perfect for small children. Thank the City of Irving, and the Farmer who lends the animals. I love Fritz Park Petting Farm! I love that this is offered free of charge in a city park… how cool is that! It’s been around for many years and is a tradition in our family. This is not a destination for tourists, but for us locals, it’s a treat!”
Another review said, “This is just a fantastic place to take kids. It’s a wonderful little petting zoo where you can pet gentle animals. My two young children were fascinated. I knew this was nearby, but we had never been before. My children enjoyed it so much when a petting zoo visited their preschool that I thought we might check out this local spot. It’s a jewel. I highly recommend it!”
The press release mentions that “Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood, and civic organizations.”
Visit www.cityofirving.org/kib to make the next get-together activity a “green event,” or if interested in becoming a volunteer for Keep Irving Beautiful, contact Rick Hose at (972) 721-2175.
