Yard House + Round It Up America = Good Work

Months ago I blogged about Yard House's new social justice campaign, Round It Up America. Initially, I saw the campaign and thought it could be better. Apparently, Yard House was alerted to my post and I received a call from the President of Yard House, Harald Herrmann, the same day. After speaking with him, I blogged again, sharing my content in learning that Round It Up America was designed to be a broad campaign, adoptable by every restaurant in America. Great plan!

And, Yard House moved on...so did I.

But a few weeks ago, Mr. Herrmann's office called me, inviting me to attend an award ceremony for the program. I thought the invitation was peculiar, but rolled with it. "Sure," I said. Then, a few days before the event, I received another call, asking if I'd be willing to hand over one of the checks to a recipient non-profit. "Sure," I said.

And Thursday morning I show up to this event. I don't know exactly what it's for, or why I was invited. But, I liked Harald and I like the program, so I was curious enough to jump in with both feet. I check in, grab some coffee and grab a seat at the bar. About 40 or so people milling around. All professionals. All smiling. And they all seemed to know each other. Everyone except for me.

So a woman walks up to greet me, and after introducing myself, she lets me know I'll be giving the first check. I'm really starting to wonder, "what is going on, and why me?" I've at least come to realize that there's money going out to charities today. I got that. And, it seems to that everyone there wants to be there, but I still haven't quite figured out my role in this little gala event. And then she asks me if I've met Harald. "Only by phone," I say.

I'm rushed away to meet him, his VP of Marketing, a founder of Yard House, and a few other people. And it turns into story time. Harald introduces me to everyone as the guy that wrote an email, challenging the model. And, he introduces me as a guest of Yard House. I'll be handing over a check to the first charity on behalf of all guests of Yard House. The people who actually 'round it up.'

Then it starts to come together.

The ceremony begins. Harald explains how this program came together. The difficulties. The hurdles. The impossibilities. How it took a village to raise this baby. And I see the look on his face and see the sincerity and I'm blown away. "This guy is for real!" He's excited because a program designed to give is actually working!! I look around and the people in the room are excited too. They're a part of something that works. Something that gives back to society. And they built it with their own hands, blood, and sweat.

I suddenly feel proud to be part of this little soiree.

You see, in retrospect, I've had people talk to me about pushing social justice in the business context because it's good for PR. Giving is the new keeping. It's a bandwagon. So you can understand if I'm a little skeptical. But what I saw with these guys was legit. At least Yard House. At least Harald Hermann. And legitimacy is the new...legitimacy.

The good news, Yard House did listen. To me? Who knows, but they listened to something bigger than their bottom line. And that's all I care about. They did remove their own branding and allow other restaurants to participate without competing (and without a reason to create their own charity campaign). The result will be bigger donations and bigger checks to charities. Broader participation and broader branding. It's brilliant.

Congratulations, Harald, and congratulations, Yard House. Nice work.

Next time you go to a restaurant, ask if they are part of Round It Up America. If they are, round it up. If they're not, ask them to visit Round It Up America and join. It's worth it and it's easy. And easy is the new easy.

Brock