ARAMARK To Honor Non-Profit Community Center Leadership for Innovation, Advocacy

Washington, D.C., June 27, 2013 /3BL Media/ – ARAMARK, a global leader in delivering food, facility and uniform services, will recognize one outstanding community center leader with the Peter B. Goldberg ARAMARK Building Community Executive Leadership Award. The award, which includes a $40,000 grant to the recipient’s organization, was announced by ARAMARK and its partners, United Neighborhood Centers of America, (UNCA), and the Alliance for Children and Families (Alliance) during the 2013 Neighborhood Revitalization Conference.

For the third consecutive year, ARAMARK will honor an individual who advances successful solutions to community challenges, takes innovative approaches to solving problems, and advocates for the value of community centers. This award honors the memory of Peter Goldberg, who served as president and CEO of the Alliance and CEO of UNCA until his death in August 2011. Nominations are now open, and any individual can nominate an Alliance or UNCA executive director through July 8.

ARAMARK has partnered with Families International Inc. [FI) since 2008 to help strengthen and elevate the work of local community centers to build strong families and neighborhoods. As part of this relationship, ARAMARK provides grants, volunteers, capacity building programs that support the collaboration between ARAMARK and community centers in more than 50 markets.

“Families living in less-advantaged communities often rely on community centers to help them overcome challenges. Community centers offer a range of services, from job training, to child care to every day basic needs,” said Bev Dribin, ARAMARK Vice President of Community Relations. “This leadership award was created to recognize and showcase those leaders who have not only created successful solutions to critical issues in their communities, but are also vocal advocates for this work.”

“ARAMARK recognizes that excellent executive leadership is a critical part of a high performing nonprofit organization,” said Susan Dreyfus, president and CEO of the Alliance and CEO of UNCA. “Passionate and committed leaders like Peter, who was instrumental in the creation of this award, inspire people at all levels.”

An independent judging committee will select the winner, who will be announced at the Alliance National Conference in October 2013 in Minneapolis, MN. More information about the awards and to nominate an outstanding executive can be found on the award website.

About ARAMARK Building Community

ARAMARK Building Community (ABC) is the company’s strategic philanthropic and volunteer program dedicated to enriching the lives of vulnerable families around the world. Through ABC, ARAMARK partners with and advocates for local community centers and the important role they play in addressing the comprehensive needs of families to help them succeed. ARAMARK Building Community helps families improve their health, secure jobs and move out of poverty. Employee volunteers lend their nutrition, culinary, job readiness and facilities management expertise to ensure people can succeed. ARAMARK provides a range of resources, and has invested more than $8 million in volunteer expertise, cash and in-kind resources to strengthen the capacity of local community centers, involving 18,000 ARAMARK volunteers through over 500 volunteer activities.  Nearly 3.5 million individuals and families served by community centers in nearly 52 cities have been aided by the program. Visit ARAMARK for more information. Please join us on Facebook.

About ARAMARK

 ARAMARK delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people's lives through innovative food, facility, and uniform services. Our more than 250,000 employees around the world demonstrate our corporate responsibility values every day, and we are recognized among the Most Admired Companies by Fortune and World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute.  Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Families International, Inc.

Families International, Inc.  is the largest network of private, nonprofit human services organizations and serves as the parent organization for three nonprofit organizations—the Alliance for Children and Families, United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA), and Ways to Work.

Previous ARAMARK Building Community Leadership Award Honorees

The 2012 Peter B. Goldberg ARAMARK Building Community Executive Leadership Award winner was Randal Rucker, CEO of the 177-year-old Family Service of Greater Boston (FSGB) in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Rucker is a tireless and outspoken advocate for the power of community centers to help Boston’s most at-risk children and families build their lives. He is widely respected for his more than 24 years of commitment to bringing together his team, public officials, the corporate world, and the private sector to drive change on the regional and national levels. Rucker has pioneered efforts that encourage responsible fatherhood and urban youth character, built programs to help children and strengthen families, and forged new paths in serving vulnerable communities. “This award is especially meaningful as it incorporates the legacy and vision of the extraordinary Peter Goldberg--a dynamic catalyst for continual excellence and innovation in the non-profit human service and community service field,” said Rucker.

In 2011, the inaugural year for the awards, Angela Blanchard, president and CEO of Neighborhood Centers Inc. (NCI) in Houston, Texas, was recognized as the ARAMARK Building Community Innovation Award Leadership honoree.  Blanchard has been at the forefront of community investment and transformation in the Greater Houston area for more than two decades. Under her leadership as the CEO of Houston’s 103-year-old Neighborhood Centers Inc., the organization has evolved into a network of 59 service sites that provide comprehensive services for more than 340,000 individuals and families in southeast and central Texas.