While volunteering certainly remains a personal pursuit, people of working age have ever-expaning opportunities to give back through employer-sponsored programs. Though volunteerism overall has been flat or declining in recent years, corporate volunteerism, which first came about in the 1950s, has been on the rise. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the share of U.S. companies offering community volunteer programs went from 40% in 2014 to 51% in 2019.
Our company is proudly among them. We offer our employees frequent chances to volunteer in their own communities, or even across the world. In 2019, we had nearly 12,000 volunteers engaged in community service, led by over 300 project leaders across 12 countries.
“As an organization and as individuals, we focus on issues we care about,” says Jami Leveen, Vice President of Community Partnershiaps, whose role is to foster a culture of purpose at Aramark. “We give time, money, and tangible donations to support solutions and drive change in our communities.”
The COVID-19 pandemic may have brought in-person events to temporary halt, but our commitment to helping those in need never faltered. We have only become more creative and intentional with how we engage volunteers for the greatest impact. Read on to learn what we have planned for National Volunteer Month and to meet a few of the employees who exemplify our spirit of service.
Transformational Change
Our approach to community service is as strategic as any other business initiative. It’s not solely about the sheer number of participants or how many hours they spend volunteering — it’s about net impact. Company-supported volunteer projects must align with at least one of three goals: driving economic independence through education and employment, increasing access to healthy food and nutrition education, or building vibrant and sustainable communities.
Whether we’re planting trees in places hard-hit by natural disasters or serving up healthy meals to people in need, our service projects are always timely, relevant, and personally meaningful. The goal is to create a positive experience for the employees who volunteer, the community leaders we collaborate with, and the people we directly support.
“To truly make an impact, volunteer opportunities should be transformational, not transactional,” Leveen explains. “At the end of the experience you should come away knowing you made a difference in someone else’s life.”
The pandemic drastically altered the landscape of community service, and the vast majority of our volunteer opportunities went virtual. In the time since, Leveen and her team have innovated in other ways as well, including engaging employee resource groups (ERGs) to expand our philanthropic reach. For example, we collaborated with our grant administrator, Social Current, to subsidize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training for nearly a dozen nonprofits, increasing the organizations’ capacity to bring about DEI impact in their own communities.
With pandemic-related restrictions mostly lifted, this April will present a flurry of volunteer activity at Aramark. We will support the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of Arbor Day on April 29, then plant trees in parts of Kentucky damaged by recent tornadoes for our annual Aramark Building Community (ABC) Day in September. On April 27, we will host an in-person service project at FNC Community Learning Farm, which seeks to improve access to affordable healthy food in North Philadelphia. During this service project nearly 100 Aramark volunteers will support expanded access to fresh produce and refurbish garden infrastructure.
Additionally, this April about a dozen employees will host environmentally focused service projects across the U.S. including a recycling drive, a park and creek clean-up, plant-forward meal preparation, and a gardening workshop.
Service Stars
As a company rooted in hospitality, we empower our people to deliver the very best experience for everyone who walks through our doors. Some employees stand out for consistently going above and beyond to serve their local communities as well, and their stories illustrate the many ways to get involved.
“Each of these volunteers is unique in their passion and commitment to making a difference,” shares Leveen. “And of course, they don’t do it for attention or admiration. For all their determination, they are always humble about the impact they have.”
Sean Ames: Giving Back Generously
Inspired by a desire to ensure everyone has a fair opportunity, Sean Ames has made giving back to his community a priority wherever his career has taken him. In his role as District Manager, Parks & Destinations, he supports the Urban League of Philadelphia, the NAACP New York Chapter, and the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council (SCMSDC). He also currently serves as Team Lead for HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Campus Recruiting and as Chair of our LEAD ERG (Leaders & Employees of African Descent) in Philadelphia.
And thanks to Ames, the pediatric patients at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in East Harlem, New York, had a happier holiday season in 2020. He worked with the local chapter of the NAACP to expand the hospital’s annual toy drive, allowing them to reach more children. Their generosity lightened the financial burden for Harlem families facing tough economic times during the pandemic.
“I’m proud to be a part of such a benevolent effort,” Ames says. “Aramark, NAACP, and Social Current all came together to make this happen and I couldn’t be more pleased."
Jeff Tharpe: There in Times of Need
Jeff Tharpe does right by people and the planet every day in his role as National Account Manager, Uniform Services. He finds inspiration in his own team’s commitment to service and channels those same qualities into supporting his Nashville community in times of need.
No stranger to mobilizing large-scale efforts, Tharpe coordinated support in the aftermath of recent natural disasters. For ABC Day in 2021, he led the Nashville Star Team in planting and giving away 200 trees to help neighborhoods hit by the March 2020 tornado.
“I feel blessed to work for a company that allows me to pursue my passions in and out of the office. I’m also thankful to work with such an amazing team that helps support our local community in times of need,” says Tharpe. “We are excited to continue to do great work in Nashville and surrounding counties.”
Daily Acts of Kindness
Caring is ingrained in our hospitality approach and everything we do, from bringing someone’s meal to their table to providing back-to-school supplies for students in need. It’s how we show up, in ways both small and grand, for the millions of people within our reach.
“I’m always impressed by the countless ways one person can help another, by how a simple act of kindness can change someone’s day,” Leveen says. “Every single person has the ability to make a difference and create these moments that matter.”
