ARAMARK’S David Fitterling Recognized as Gold Medal Jefferson Award Winner
(3BL Media) Philadelphia, PA - June 26, 2012 - David Fitterling, of Kansas City, Missouri, has been honored with the prestigious Gold Jefferson Award for Public Service, one of the nation’s top honors for community service and volunteerism. The Jefferson Awards, presented annually by the American Institute for Public Service, recognize American citizens devoted to community and public service.
“I am very proud of David and the other employees who have been recognized for outstanding service, and the thousands of ARAMARK volunteers who commit their time and skills to enrich the lives of others,” said Eric Foss, ARAMARK CEO and President “Every day, around the world, ARAMARK employees devote their time and extend our culture of service beyond the workplace and into our communities.”
The Jefferson Awards is part of ARAMARK’s commitment to volunteer service and to providing opportunities for employees to contribute to their communities in a meaningful way, while celebrating and supporting their efforts. In addition to Fitterling, 19 other ARAMARK employees were honored as ARAMARK Outstanding Volunteers for 2012, and received Silver and Bronze Jefferson Awards.
Fitterling, a senior sales consultant with ARAMARK Refreshment Services, was recognized for supporting the victims of the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado disaster and for his work with the Don Bosco Centers, a long-time ARAMARK Building Community partner. Fitterling and his fellow national honorees participated in several recognition programs and activities as part of the Jefferson Awards ceremonies held recently in Washington, DC.
“It’s great to work for a company that supports volunteerism the way ARAMARK does,” Fitterling said. “When my community or an organization like Don Bosco needs me, I want to be able to lend my time. ARAMARK recognizes the role we can play, lending our talents to people and places that need help.”
A native of Joplin, Fitterling worked as many as 18 hours a day following the May 22, 2011 tornado, a catastrophic event that caused more than $2.2 billion in damage, and destroyed between 20 and 25 percent of Joplin, including 7,000 homes. He assisted dozens of families who had lost everything they owned, helped to remove trees that had fallen on properties throughout the area, and raised money for a charity to help pay for school supplies and other necessities for children. He also worked with a friend to offer a food pantry that provided perishable items. Fitterling continued his volunteer support of Joplin for more than six months.
Fitterling also dedicated dozens of hours to the Don Bosco Centers, a community organization that provides youth services, emergency assistance, food, clothing, job readiness classes, counseling and activities and health meals for senior citizens of the Northeast Kansas City area. He helped lead an effort in 2011 to build the Don Bosco Centers Community Garden on a blighted vacant lot. Later in the year, Fitterling and other ARAMARK employees helped move Don Bosco’s Family Assistance Center to new facilities, and assisted with ARAMARK’s annual Don Bosco Senior Center Holiday Party.
Co-founded in 1973 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr., and Sam Beard, the Jefferson Awards celebrate America’s commitment to public service. Recognizing both the famous and the unknown, individuals and organizations, the young and the old, the awards reflect one of the founding ideas of our nation, that of contributing toward the larger good. Previous honorees have included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Paul Newman, and Nnamdi Asomugha, currently of the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as hundreds of everyday citizens making a positive contribution.
About ARAMARK Building Community
ARAMARK Building Community enriches the lives of families in need by supporting local community centers. ARAMARK recognizes the important role community centers play in addressing the comprehensive needs of individuals and families and is providing a range of resources including grants, volunteers and in-kind contributions. Since 2008, ARAMARK has invested more than $7 million in volunteer expertise, cash and in-kind resources to strengthen the capacity of local community centers, involving 15,000 ARAMARK volunteers through over 500 volunteer activities. Nearly 3 million individuals and families served by community centers in nearly 50 cities have been aided by the. Visit ARAMARK for more information. Please join us on Facebook.
About ARAMARK
ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, parks and destinations and businesses around the world. The company is recognized as one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by the Ethisphere Institute, one of the "World's Most Admired Companies" by FORTUNE magazine and one of America's Largest Private Companies by both FORTUNE and Forbes magazines. ARAMARK seeks to responsibly address issues that matter to its clients, customers, employees and communities by focusing on employee advocacy, environmental stewardship, health and wellness, and community involvement. Headquartered in Philadelphia, ARAMARK has approximately 250,000 employees serving clients in 22 countries. Learn more at www.twitter.com/aramarknews.
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