It was a hot July day and the Burbank office of Aramark, a uniform and food services company, sat empty. The 200 employees were nowhere to be found.

No, they did not take a beach day to hit the surf at Santa Monica. Instead, they gathered July 17 with paint brushes and other tools in front of the Salvation Army Red Shield Youth and Community Center, which provides educational recreational programs for youth and families.

Refurbishment projects at the 1532 W. 11th St. in downtown Los Angeles included creating an outdoor nature classroom; landscaping a community garden; cleaning up the courtyard, backyard and pool areas; and painting interior and exterior spaces as well as murals. Aramark spent a little more than $10,000 on tools and supplies.

Since its founding in 1950, the facility has served almost 200,000 children and their families, according to Irene Lewis, executive director of the center. However, areas of the property, including the auditorium, had not been painted in more than two decades.

“We recognized the need to be more strategic in our community involvement activities to make a greater impact,” said Aramark’s Vice President of Community Relations Bev Dervin, about the decision to assist the Salvation Army site.

The community center project is part of a broader charitable program undertaken by Aramark. Launched earlier this year, Aramark Building Community focuses on enriching the lives of families in need by supporting local community centers. The goal of the philanthropic program is to assist 30 city neighborhoods by 2011, including those in Detroit, New York, Chicago and Houston.

“We really wanted to leverage the expertise and power of our more than 250,000 employees worldwide to make a genuine difference,” Dervin said.

By the end of the day, the Aramark employees were sweating and their arms were sore, but they could not have been more satisfied with what they accomplished.

“Participating in the Aramark Building Community initiative was very rewarding,” said employee Manuel Arias. “What really made this experience worthwhile was the thank-you letter I received from the children as we headed back to the buses. Seeing the smiles on their faces made all my aches and pains go away. I realized that simple things like this can make a big difference.”