Take time this season to 'give from your substance.'

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 9, 1996 by Paul King

Like most people across the country, Ted Hill plans to spend Christmas with his family, giving presents, opening presents and sharing a holiday meal.

Unlike a lot of people, however, Hill, Man Aramark employee working in its corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, also expects to spend some of his time with some new friends - up to 200 people at the Eliza Shirley shelter for homeless women and children.

For the second consecutive year, he and members of his family will join roughly 20 other Aramark employees and their families to prepare and serve a special Christmas dinner for the less fortunate at this Salvation Army shelter across from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Hill's act of kindness will be emulated by thousands of Aramark employees across the country, through a corporation wide program known as People of Service. During the months since the program was developed in 1995, Aramark employees, from chairman Joe Neubauer on down, have found time to volunteer at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food banks and the like.

"It is quite a sight, seeing our employees sharing themselves in these projects," Hill said. "It's very gratifying."

Hill's association with People of Service began last holiday season. He was placed in charge of finding a location in which to involve the corporate tax department.

"We knew that Aramark has been a part of the Salvation Army for years; we have had people sitting on the Army board of directors," Hill said. "So we called the Army and asked them where they needed assistance."

Ironically, the shelter that was suggested is an easy walk - perhaps discomfortingly so - from the plush offices of the Aramark Tower in downtown Philadelphia. Many of the women at the shelter are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, going through or recently graduated from treatment programs.

To prepare for the holiday, Aramark negotiated with one of its suppliers to donate food. On Christmas Day about 20 employees - along with several spouses and children - worked in shifts to decorate the dining room, prepare the food and serve the meal. Not only did it give Aramark employees a chance to interact with needy people, but also it allowed them to offer the shelter's paid employees a chance to spend some of their Christmas with their families.

In every respect it was an incredible experience, according to Hill.

"I think that it made people appreciate their own lives much more," he said. "More important, though, was the fact that our presence gave those women particularly a lot of hope.

"Many of those people are so down on their luck that they believe the world has given up on them," Hill continued. "Understanding that total strangers are willing to give up part of their day - on Christmas, no less - for them demonstrates that they are not forgotten, that there are people who care about their situation and will pitch in to help. That, we were told by the Salvation Army, can be tremendously uplifting and motivating for them."

The experience last Year was so moving for some Aramark workers that they have continued to donate their time, once a month, to work at the Eliza Shirley shelter.

The project is a pet of Joe Neubauer's. It is one for which he seeks no publicity, and he will not talk about his role in People of Service.

But his employees know that in this project Neubauer is not a figurehead. He not only asks his people to serve; he serves alongside them.

Aramark is not the only contract foodservice company where employees and accounts donate food, clothing, money and time to help the needy. With the passage of the federal Good Samaritan Act last September, for example, it is becoming rarer to find foodservice accounts that are not involved in some kind of hunger-relief program.

Without demeaning food-donation programs, however, it should be noted that while finding a use for leftover food is admirable, it is a painless and somewhat disembodied activity. A Catholic priest I know once called it giving from your excess."

Much more difficult, and far more rewarding, he said, is being willing to give from your substance." Employees at companies like Aramark and Sodexho, which is developing a program similar to People of Service, do that when they step outside their comfort zone on a holiday like Christmas.

So, during this holiday season, whether your practice is to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza'a, take a little time to think about the volunteer efforts of the Ted Hills of this industry. Better yet, please take some time to join them.