As the Florida weather at HQ began to transition from the oh-so-chilly 40-degree winter to 75-degree spring, the #IZEACares committee sought out to find IZEA’s first community initiative of 2017. This time, we took to the lush green fields at Freedom Ride this past Tuesday and painted some newly installed fences. Want to take a guess at how many of us walked away with snazzy white paint streaks in our hair?
Freedom Ride
Freedom Ride is a non-profit 501(c)3 volunteer-based organization dedicated to enriching the lives and experiences of children and adults with disabilities including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, autism, and deafness to emotional and learning disabilities. The mission-driven organization accomplishes this through therapeutic horseback riding and related activities.
It’s home to over a dozen therapy horses (two of which are our miniature horse friends, Joey and Marshmellow!) and is the only Premier Accredited PATH facility in the Central Florida area.
#IZEACares’ contribution:
IZEA’s local paint and supply partnership provided close to $800 in exterior paint and supplies including brushes, rollers and paint trays. During the two-hour volunteer event, IZEAns painted roughly 130 feet of new fencing and donated a total of 34 on-site volunteer hours.
The Freedom Ride family shared stories of how their guests find comfort in this facility before beginning our project. The staff and volunteers at Freedom Ride are incredibly knowledgeable, and their passion for serving the Central Florida area and these animals is undeniable.
It was an absolute pleasure getting to work with the Freedom Ride team. We’re excited to report that a couple of our own IZEAns are in the process of volunteering with them on a regular basis outside of work.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our part two initiative with Freedom Ride as we start a fundraising effort and involve our Senior Leadership in a “Pony Up Challenge!”
