Career Education Corporation (CEC) and our more than 13,000 employees share knowledge, skills and learning opportunities to enhance the quality of life for people and families in the communities where we live, work, teach and learn.

The cornerstone of our corporate social responsibility program is our relationship with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). CEC employees and students help RMHC programs, such as the Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®, do what they do best – support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children.

The CEC family is passionate about changing lives through education, while also recognizing the importance of giving back through the participation in CEC Cares, our employee volunteer program.

Launched in 2009, CEC Cares mobilizes faculty, staff, students and employees to volunteer in their communities. The program provides hands-on volunteer opportunities as part of an ongoing company-wide effort to heighten awareness for community needs and promote the importance of corporate citizenship and social responsibility. CEC further supports and encourages employees' volunteer contributions through a paid volunteer time program.

In 2010, employees and students contributed more than 12,000 volunteer hours to local charities, participated in more than 250 local activities and events and prepared at least 2,500 healthy meals for people and families at Ronald McDonald House facilities.

CEC Cares 2010 highlights include:

• More than 3,500 Sanford-Brown volunteers rallied around community health needs and causes in a nationwide "Give Back Day" in October 2010. Students, faculty and staff of the career-focused healthcare campuses provided free health screenings and wellness education, healthy cooking classes and diabetes management seminars, donated nearly 600 units of blood and collected more than 3,000 pounds of food for people in underserved communities.

• Colorado Technical University actively supports U.S. service personnel and spouses through its Wounded Warrior Scholarship Program, in partnership with the Yellow Ribbon Fund. To date, the university has provided 150 scholarships worth nearly $3 million to wounded service men and women and their spouses as they recover from their injuries and rebuild their lives.

• Le Cordon Bleu Schools in North America (LCB) expanded its campus sustainability practices in May 2010. In addition to its enrollment in the National Restaurant Association's "Greener Restaurants" initiative, LCB introduced a phased approach to using cage-free eggs in culinary instruction and student-run restaurants. Many LCB campuses have their own gardens and all have excellent relationships with local farmers and industry partners who share their belief in good citizenship.

• International Academy of Design & Technology – Las Vegas students and faculty are partners in a room-by-room redesign of the local Ronald McDonald House. In addition to cosmetic changes, the local CEC Cares team is working with vendors to secure home product donations for the house.

• American InterContinental University, in collaboration with Women Employed, is helping women advance their education through WomenAchieve.org. Designed as a go-to resource for women of all ages, the website provides information about higher education, careers, work-life balance, childcare, education financing and many other topics. The AIU Women Achieve Scholarship provides qualifying women financial assistance to earn a master's degree online.

In addition to its many volunteer efforts, CEC supports the non-profit Career Education Scholarship Fund (CESF), which provides need-based and merit-based scholarships to students attending one of the colleges, universities and schools in the CEC family. The goal of CESF – a 501(c)(3) charitable organization – is to help students attain a quality education in their chosen discipline.

Since the fund's inception, CESF has awarded $5 million in scholarships to more than 5,000 deserving students. In 2009, 1,003 students pursued a career education after receiving scholarships totaling more than $ 1.3 million dollars. Go to www.cesfund.org for more information about CESF.

CEC is proud of the activities and contributions made to RMHC, local communities and others in need. Please e-mail for additional information regarding CEC's Corporate Social Responsibility program.