Photo By Laura Moon

STONE MOUNTAIN—Parishioners of Corpus Christi Church in Stone Mountain joined 100 employees of Ruppert Landscape for a fun field day event Sept. 13. The end result was a much-needed landscape makeover for the church community.

Employees of the Ruppert Landscape’s Lilburn and Mableton, and Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina branches descended upon the grounds of Corpus Christi Church, donating $100,000 worth of time and materials to renovate the landscape of the multi-cultural parish as a community service project.

Jason Ruiz, a crewman from the Lilburn branch of Ruppert Landscape, uses some of his lunch break to play the piano in the sanctuary of Corpus Christi Church as he participates in the company’s annual Field Day.

A total of 800 man-hours were invested in planting trees, shrubs, perennials, laying sod, improving drainage, repairing concrete and pavers, and weeding, pruning or mowing existing landscaping on the seven-acre site. Ruppert’s field day event combines charitable giving with friendly competition between branches, where teams were scored on the quality of their work as well as fun events including dodgeball and a relay race.

Corpus Christi’s global congregation

Members of the church also took part in the day’s activities. Corpus Christi’s congregation includes immigrants and refugees from 47 different countries who speak more than 14 different languages. This event provided a unique opportunity for people of different backgrounds to overcome cultural and language barriers as they worked together to transform the church grounds into a welcoming environment for reflection and community-building.

Workers tore out weedy vegetation to replace it with 18,000 square feet of Bermuda turf. Six existing unhealthy trees were cut down and replaced with 11 shade and ornamental trees. Crews planted more than 500 shrubs and 135 perennials, with low-maintenance, water-wise plant material.

The company has been recognized for its giving. Organizations to which Georgia branches have donated funds, time and or materials include the Lilburn Community Partnership, HouseProud Atlanta, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Lilburn Lions Club, The Elaine Clark Center and the Oconee Veterans Memorial Foundation.