Aramark’s Dulce Pardo of San Antonio Honored for Extraordinary Volunteer Commitment

San Antonio, TX, July 10, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Dulce Pardo, Safety Manager for Aramark Uniform Services in San Antonio, has been honored with Aramark’s Gold Outstanding Volunteer Award in recognition of her commitment to volunteer leadership in Texas.  

Aramark, a global provider of award-winning services in food, facilities management, and uniforms, acknowledges employees’ extraordinary efforts to live the company’s mission to enrich and nourish lives through the Outstanding Volunteer Awards. The awards are presented annually, and take place in conjunction with the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.

Pardo is one of 24 employees being honored by Aramark in 2014 for this commitment to building local communities. Since the program’s inception, nearly 350 employees have been recognized for their passion for volunteerism and public service.

“I am extremely proud of Dulce and of all the other Aramark employees being honored for their commitment to living our mission to enrich and nourish lives each and every day,” said Eric Foss, Aramark president and CEO. “We are in the people business and we believe in providing unmatched service, in our business and in the communities where we live and work. Our outstanding volunteers are truly living these values.”

Born in Havana, Cuba, Pardo and her family moved to the U.S. when she was two, and eventually settled in Texas. Her father worked long hours, but found time to be an active volunteer at their church, and encouraged his six children to do the same.   

Pardo has devoted hundreds of hours to the community. Under her leadership, Aramark increased its involvement with CitySquare in Dallas through Aramark Building Community (ABC), the company’s volunteer and philanthropic program. ABC enriches lives by improving community health and wellness and helping people succeed through education and employment.

 Pardo also took a leadership role during Aramark’s Global Volunteer Day earlier this year in her new hometown of San Antonio, creating a series of health and wellness programs designed to inspire youngsters at St. PJ’s Children’s Home to make healthy food choices. 

 “I love doing things for others, especially when those people cannot do things for themselves,” she said. “I want to make an impact on someone’s future.”

In addition, Pardo leads an annual golf tournament for Happy Hill Farm in Granbury, Texas for at-risk children has grown and now raises nearly $30,000 a year.  She also took the lead in organizing a volunteer day to assist families impacted by the Granbury, Texas tornado in 2013, coordinating a clean-up of the area after the devastating tornado struck, damaging or destroying more than 100 homes.

“Dulce is a wonderful, charismatic face for Aramark and deserves to be recognized for the countless hours, often on her own time, she graciously donates to her community,” said co-worker Doug Kaiser, a senior Human Resources manager for Aramark, who nominated her for the award. 

In June, Pardo was honored with one of the nation’s top awards for community service and volunteerism, the Gold Jefferson Award for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public volunteerism in America.

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. The awards are given each year by the American Institute for Public Service, which recognizes American citizens devoted to community and volunteerism.

About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) is in the customer service business across food, facilities and uniforms, wherever people work, learn, recover, and play.  United by a passion to serve, our more than 270,000 employees deliver experiences that enrich and nourish the lives of millions of people in 22 countries around the world every day.  Aramark is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.