Since co-founding Milwaukee-based V&J Holding Companies Inc. in 1982, Valerie Daniels-Carter has made philanthropic work a central tenet of the company, which operates franchised Burger King and Pizza Hut restaurants. Last September, Daniels-Carter was named the National Restaurant Association’s Cornerstone Humanitarian. The award recognized her leadership in community involvement, including the No Child Left Out for Christmas program, which provides gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated, as well as the founding of the Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center for Community Empowerment and Family Reunification.
Why did you make community involvement such a big part of V&J’s business model?
We are a community-based business because our restaurants are located within communities. We’re focused on ensuring that our customers understand that when they come to a V&J restaurant, they come not only to support our economic growth, but also to continue to support the community in which we do business.
At the end of the day, it’s vitally important to the long-term viability of communities that the businesses are present in terms of their overall contributions to that area.
How has V&J benefited from its outreach?
First, it forges the opportunity to provide employment to individuals in those communities. If we can have sustainable incomes in those communities, it makes a stronger environment for our business. Second is in the long-term imaging of our organization. When a business is involved in the community, they benefit because the mind-set of the consumer then is not that the business is…coming in to take things out of the community, but rather somebody coming in to invest in the area. You want people to think positively of your organization.
What should restaurateurs know about finding a cause and identifying the costs involved?
It ranges from very nominal costs to as broad as you want it to be. First, identify what your passion is because it’s not as hard to give back when you believe in what you’re doing. It has to be an extension of who you are in the operating community and globally.
Everybody may not be able to give at the same level as my company. Find a niche and don’t be afraid to make a time commitment to it because ultimately it will come back to be a benefit not just for you but for others. The greatest gift a person can give is a continual gift of time and commitment.
