Education Counts
In 1984, S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, created the WinShape Foundation, which supports long-term foster care and summer camp each year for 1,800 kids, all in an effort to shape winners, according to Don Perry, vice president of public relations at Chick-fil-A.
Before that, in 1973, Cathy began a scholarship program for restaurant team members. “Today, the influence of that socially-minded decision by Cathy 35 years ago has grown to tremendous impact today,” Perry says.“Basically, the $1,000 Chick-fil-A Leadership Scholarship honors restaurant team members who have achieved personal excellence in academics, employment, community service, and leadership. Since 1973, the number of recipients increases each year. In 2007, we awarded nearly 1,400 $1,000 scholarships.” More than $23 million has been donated since the program’s inception.
Ben & Jerry’s franchisee Kaplan left his job as a corporate employee at Nike to make an impact on his community. “When I left the corporate world, I was interested in getting involved in coaching or teaching kids but also starting up a business,” says Kaplan, who felt he could do both by running an ice cream store. “There is no shortage of opportunities in a community. We get a lot of requests for donations and products and fundraising, but I really wanted to focus on schools, reading programs, and books. I believe that being in the Portland marketplace, we do have a responsibility to people that support our business.”
An Industry Change
Community involvement is not limited to restaurants; professional organizations are also boosting membership and fostering camaraderie with service projects and special programs.
The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) initially planned two projects for its annual convention in Minneapolis in March, but when attendees found out there was nothing hands-on planned, they complained. CHART ended up planning a third project at a poverty relief organization called Hope for the City. Volunteers helped with packing, sorting, and stocking food, medical supplies, and merchandise for those in need.
“Many CHART members are passionate about philanthropy, bringing that to their own operations and teams. They just naturally have these kinds of relationships,” says CHART’s senior director of marketing, Lisa Marovec.
“There are two aspects to it. One is that it’s the right thing to do. There is also a business case for employee engagement,” Marovec says. “Employee engagement isn’t something new. All generations want balance. All generations want satisfaction and meaningful work. With the fast-food market, Generation Y is the primary target; they’re filling the workforce. They care about social responsibility deeply. They care about their company’s practices.”
If operators care about the local community, employees will know operators care about them, too.