Revitalizing the Salvation Army's Center of Hope

ARAMARK, a global leader in professional services, has invested in the Salvation Army's Center of Hope, one of Charlotte's premier non-profit organizations and the first fully-chartered Boys & Girls Club to operate within a homeless shelter, as part of its national ARAMARK Building Community program. The program is a company-wide initiative that will create long-term commitments that enhance community centers in 30 cities over the next year.

More than 100 ARAMARK employee volunteers in the greater Charlotte region participated in a day of service, refurbishing the Salvation Army's Center of Hope, located at 534 Spratt Street, near uptown Charlotte. As part of the community service day, ARAMARK volunteers transformed an empty plot of land into a garden retreat by creating a garden walkway, replanting the area, building benches and picnic tables and reseeding grassless areas.

"The timing for this project couldn't be better, with many companies cutting back on donations to charities given the current state of the economy," said Major Todd Hawks, area commander for The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte. "The Center of Hope is relied upon by thousands of families in the Charlotte area and this partnership with ARAMARK will help us continue in our efforts to make a lasting impact on the children and families that we serve."

In addition to creating the outdoor garden retreat, ARAMARK employee volunteers, in partnership with City Year, a group dedicated to engaging young people in full-time community service and ARAMARK's volunteerism partner, will participate in a variety of additional hands-on enhancement projects around the Center of Hope including: the creation of nutrition and fitness-themed murals for the center's kitchen area; the revitalization of the center's Boys and Girls Club by painting walls and murals, and building shelves and storage areas, and other restorative projects.

"At ARAMARK, we have a legacy of putting community needs first. Our corporate resources, combined with our passion for volunteerism, allow us to positively impact social issues in a powerful way, and in a manner that is truly relevant to our business strengths, culture and the community," said Steve Cannon, senior vice president of ARAMARK Healthcare and local executive sponsor of ARAMARK Building Community (Charlotte, NC). "Our partnership with the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte allows us to offer our expertise and resources so that the organization can focus on what it does best, serving women and children in need."

The Center of Hope provides safe shelter, health care, intervention programs and case management for women and children facing the deep personal crisis of homelessness. On any given night, the facility provides a safe place for over 250 women and children. The Center of Hope is the largest women and children's homeless shelter in the southeast, providing housing to 5,723 women and children in 2007.

ARAMARK looks forward to developing an ongoing partnership with the Salvation Army where its employees can continue to work with the Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, offering expertise and resources related to health and wellness, workforce readiness and basic services, as well as job skills and interview training to enhance and strengthen the Center's existing programs.

Through ARAMARK Building Community, volunteers use their expertise to help youth and adults develop critical, employable work skills and connect them to career opportunities; support families with nutrition and wellness education; provide basic needs such as food and clothing; and help identified partners run cleaner, safer and more efficient facilities on an ongoing basis.

October 29, 2008