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their tasks for the day. Photo by Robert Brennan
In five hours, corps sees inspirational murals, fresh hallway paint, and overhaul of food pantry.
By Kimberly Selman
Paint cans, blank walls, and piles of wood awaited 100 ARAMARK volunteers as they stretched and cheered in preparation for a day of “doing the most good” at The Salvation Army Glendale (Calif.) Corps on Oct. 25.
In just more than five hours the volunteers transformed the bare walls of the Glendale Corps’ gymnasium into inspirational murals, restored the interior hallways of the corps with a fresh coat of paint and achieved a major overhaul of the corps’ food pantry.
Through its ARAMARK Building Community (ABC) program, ARAMARK—a global professional services company—has been identifying “Opportunity Zones” like the Glendale Corps for five years. The Glendale Corps was selected due to the vast array of services and programs it offers to the community, including healthy food and educational programs. Once selected, City Year, a national nonprofit organization, teamed up with ARAMARK to help organize the volunteers’ projects for the day and make the plan a reality.
“The really unique thing is we are actually augmenting programs that are already in existence here and just helping to make them better,” said Chris Farr, director of partnerships and projects for City Year.
One such program is the Glendale Corps’ food pantry, which serves about 1,000 people each month. It received a new, bright paint color, and hand-constructed bins and shelving to better organize all of the food donations to be distributed.
This pantry project will create a positive, long-lasting difference, according to Glendale Corps Officer Captain Rio Ray. “Really, they are impacting every box of food that goes out, every child who’s administered to, every homeless individual and family that come here for help,” he said.
Creating good for the community is what motivates volunteers to take on tasks that are not normally part of their 9-5 routine as they opt to get their hands dirty at ARAMARK’s annual company day of service. Carrie Schrock, who traditionally spends her weekdays in the Sales Department of ARAMARK Uniform Services, volunteered for her second year in a row.
“I’ll volunteer every time we do it,” she said. “It’s nice to get involved and be a part of something that’s bigger than your daily life.”
