This past April, DataBank employee-owners across several markets stepped away from their desks and into their communities, marking Earth Day with hands-on volunteer work that ranged from environmental cleanups to sustainable farming.

It is the kind of participation that reflects who we are — a company committed year-round to charitable giving, educational partnerships, environmental initiatives, and hands-on volunteering. At DataBank, giving back is not a seasonal commitment. It is part of our culture.

Getting Their Hands Dirty at BonTon Farms

Three DataBankers headed out early to volunteer at BonTon Farms Extension in Dallas, lending a hand with morning chores that included milking goats, feeding chickens, trellising new tomato plants, and weeding garden beds — a full day’s commitment that the team embraced.

Bonton Farms is a South Dallas nonprofit on a mission to disrupt food insecurity in one of the city’s most underserved communities. Its Extension Farm spans 40 acres and serves as both a working farm and an educational platform, introducing volunteers to animal husbandry, sustainable gardening, and the importance of rotating fields. The farm supplies local farm-to-table restaurants while also connecting neighbors to fresh, healthy food that has historically been out of reach.

DataBankers’ efforts helped keep the farm’s daily operations running smoothly — from ensuring animals are fed and cared for on schedule to keeping garden beds productive for the season ahead. On a working farm serving a community in need, that kind of reliable volunteer support makes a tangible difference.

Cleaning Up Clear Creek in Denver

For the third consecutive year, DataBank’s Denver team joined a local Earth Day cleanup organized by Protect Our Rivers, working alongside roughly 300 volunteers to remove more than 5,000 pounds of trash from Clear Creek. That is a meaningful result for a waterway that runs through the heart of the Denver metro area.

Clear Creek winds more than 60 miles from the Continental Divide through the Denver metro before joining the South Platte River, making it a popular corridor for outdoor recreation that depends on exactly this kind of community stewardship to stay healthy and accessible.

Protect Our Rivers organizes volunteer events throughout Colorado focused on restoring and protecting the state’s rivers and watersheds. For DataBank’s Denver team, showing up three years running is less a tradition than a commitment.

Hitting the Trails in Tysons, Northern Virginia

DataBank’s Northern Virginia teams marked Earth Day with a trail cleanup at Scott’s Run Trail in Tysons, Virginia, and the timing carried extra significance. The event also coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Tysons area, making it a community moment as much as an environmental one. For many on the team, it was their first volunteer outing together.

Among the more interesting finds along the trail: baseballs, a lawn chair, old street signs, and what appeared to be the remains of a campsite. The team made a day of it, with lunch together afterward.

Scott’s Run Trail is part of the Scotts Run Stream Valley Park system in Fairfax County, offering a green corridor in one of the most densely developed areas of Northern Virginia. It is a good reminder that preserving that kind of space requires ongoing care from the people and organizations that call the area home.

Coming Up in May

This month, DataBank will once again bring its Kindness in Action campaign to life as employee-owners, customers, and community partners come together to assemble Kindness Kits for women and people experiencing homelessness. The kits are distributed to local shelters across multiple DataBank markets — a hands-on effort organized by the Women of DataBank employee resource group that grows in participation each year.

Also in May, DataBank will serve as a community sponsor of the 4th Annual 7×24 Cloud Run on Saturday, May 30, in Ashburn, Virginia. The race route runs alongside DataBank’s Northern Virginia data centers, and the event brings together data center professionals, families, and neighbors for a fun, casual day in the community. Options include a 4.999K race and a one-mile fun run. More information and registration are available here.

DataBank Cares: Giving Back Is What We Do

From blood drives and food donations to assembling Kindness Kits, writing letters to deployed troops, and supporting STEM education in underserved communities, DataBankers across the country have consistently shown up for the people and places around them. That commitment does not stop after these events.

To learn more about DataBank’s community partnerships and employee volunteer initiatives, visit our Community Relations page.

Want to learn more about how DataBank is investing in the communities where we operate? Visit our Community Relations page or explore DataBank Digest for more stories about our people, our partners, and the neighborhoods we’re proud to call home.