Company : Ravitz Family Markets
Program category : 2015 Community Outreach Awards Nominees

Origins:

Ravitz Family Markets is headquartered in Southern New Jersey. We operate 1 Price Rite and 5 ShopRite supermarkets. Our Camden Price Rite store, which opened in 2014. is the first new supermarket to open in Camden in over 40 years. While Ravitz Family Markets has always served customers from the Camden community, having a store within the city limits has strengthened our commitment. The majority of our store associates were hired from the local area, providing 80 jobs. Hiring was done exclusively through the Camden County One Stop, a county wide unemployment and training center located in Camden City. Outside of the store, we developed a partnership with YouthBuild, a job readiness organization run by the Camden Housing Authority. The YouthBuild program specializes in job training, education and work structures. Our Senior Director, Ken Brahl is a frequent guest speaker at the center giving students real-world experience and education on how job interviews are conducted. We have also created an interview skills program, created and led by our Loss Prevention Director, Jesse Levine. Our company Human Resources managers host interview skills classes as well as intense, mock interviews that offer direct feedback to the youth.

Contribution:

Ravitz Family Markets as a whole is supportive of these Camden initiatives and associates throughout the organization participate in events that help to strengthen the Camden community. Patricia Ford, a Ravitz associate, who is a YouthBuild graduate, was an invited guest and speaker at a roundtable discussion with US Secretary of Labor Tom Perez (pictured). • We have been part of the “Meet the Police” events, supporting community outreach between the local police and residents. • The Ravitz Family Foundation held a “Toys For Tots” toy drive in our store in partnership with legendary Philadelphia Eagles player Jerimiah Trotter and the Mayor of Camden, Dana Redd • We have been the premier sponsor for numerous Camden community events, including local park clean ups and river restoration in partnership with the Delaware Riverkeepers Network.

Objectives:

Ravitz Family Markets’ objective is to strengthen our community by being active in organizations within our neighborhood, providing a safe place to work and shop, and providing employment for Camden residents. We achieve these objectives by finding creative ways to be a part of our community. Camden, a city of about 76,000 people, has the unfortunate distinction of being the most dangerous city in the United States. Poverty and despair are commonplace. There is, however, a palpable sense in the city that things are changing for the better. The city’s police force is now nationally recognized for their community policing work. Blight is being eradicated and businesses are slated to come back into town. Ravitz Family Markets is proud to be at the forefront of Camden’s rebirth initiatives and we look forward to being a leader in our community.

Impact:

We have seen tremendous success with our objectives in Camden: We have taught numerous classes at the YouthBuild facility and recently received their partner appreciation award. Our team has committed that all students who participate in the program and that wish to apply to our stores will receive a job interview. As a result, we have hired 17 students from the program to work at our stores. Our work with the One Stop Career Center when opening our Price Rite store provided us with 80 employees; 75% were Camden City residents. One of the employees hired at our Price Rite store who graduated through the YouthBuild program and gained employment with us through the One Stop program, has advanced her career and is now a department manager with our store. We discovered that many of the students completing the high school equivalency programs at YouthBuild and the Community College could not finish the program because they could not afford to pay for the final exam. The final exam costs $90. Through our Ravitz Family Foundation we provided a $2,500 grant to fund GED testing. Our Price Rite associates have been paying it forward by volunteering to work on projects in the community such as “Meet the Police” days and Park Cleanups and plantings. This is the first time many of these associates have given back to their communities in a positive way; in fact many of them had never planted a flower or plant before and now have a pride in their community that makes them want to make it better.

Quote:

“Working with our community is part of who we are. Our purpose is ’to care deeply about people, helping them to eat well and be happy.’ Caring deeply means caring about your associates as well as your customers. “We know Camden is a city with challenges, but we are excited to be here. This is a hard working city, full of life and energy and we are proud to be part of the city’s rebirth. We like to think that we can make a difference not just with our stores, or the jobs we provide, but with renewing a sense of pride to this area. As Winston Churchill said ’We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’. We encourage our staff and management team to give back and make a difference in the lives of those we serve and we are proud of our team and how they selflessly give back to our community.”

Support Statement:

I am proud to write a letter of support for the Ravitz Family Markets. I am the principal of the YouthBuild program which is a division of the Camden Housing Authority. Our purpose is to help our Camden residents find productive employment while completing their education. Camden is a community with many challenges and I firmly believe that the best social welfare program is an education and a job. Since our first class with Ken Brahl we have developed an outstanding partnership. Ken speaks with our students regularly and he promises every one of our students that they will get an interview if they apply to their stores. To date we have had over 17 students find employment in their stores. I firmly support this organization and wholeheartedly endorse them for this community award. For further information I can be reached at 610-810-7363 Dr. Claudio V. Cerullo Principal