In March 2009, ARAMARK launched a partnership with Families International Inc. which leverages our expertise to build the capacity of community centers through a range of resources including grants, employee volunteerism and in-kind contributions. Over the past two years, we’ve worked together to award ARAMARK Building Community grants to local community centers which will support the partnership activities between ARAMARK employees and UNCA and ACF member agencies.
Throughout this partnership, ARAMARK employees in across the country will be linked with United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA) and Alliance for Children and Families (ACF) member agencies in an effort to strengthen and support community centers in the areas of workforce development, health and wellness and basic human services.
About Families International
Families International Inc., a not-for-profit supporting organization, is the tie that binds together four organizations that work closely with one another, yet remain separate entities. This unique partnership has proven to be successful for each company and beneficial to the children, families, and communities they serve. Families International oversees the governance, management and finances of United Neighborhood Centers of America, Inc. (UNCA), FEI Behavioral Health, the Alliance for Children and Families (ACF), and Ways to Work, Inc.
From the Families International Network of Companies, partners in the ARAMARK Building Community Grant program include:
United Neighborhood Centers of America
Established in 1911, UNCA is a national voluntary association. UNCA’s members are nonprofit community-based organizations including settlement houses, neighborhood and community centers, and similar community-building institutions. UNCA’s programs are structured to raise the profile of its members’ accomplishments, strengthen its national network of centers, and advocate solutions for the challenges most common to their experience and work. The objective of UNCA’s services is twofold: first, to ensure efficient and effective member agencies, and second, to develop action strategies that will improve neighborhood conditions. UNCA’s work strengthens communities with its neighbors and 160 members.
The Alliance for Children and Families
The Alliance for Children and Families was created on October 1, 1998, when Family Service America and the National Association of Homes and Services for Children merged into one organization. Framed by a vision of a healthy society and strong communities for all children and families, the Alliance’s mission is to fuse intellectual capital with superior membership services in order to strengthen the capacities of North America’s child and family serving organizations to serve and advocate for children, families and communities. With a combined national membership of more than 360 nonprofit human service agencies providing a wide range of community-based human services to all generations and campus-based residential care to youth in need, the Alliance continues to be one of the oldest and largest networks of nonprofit agencies in North America.