“We’re all part of this journey called life, and it doesn’t mean anything if we’re not there to help one another and to give back. Otherwise, it’s pretty much futile.”
Gena Norris shared this perspective during a press conference at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Cypress, Texas this week, and what stood out was not merely the beauty of her words. It was the sincerity of them. This is the matriarch of a family that believes in a strong commitment to good values and making things better for the next generation.
It helps explain why Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, an organization known for its own commitment to community empowerment, announced a substantial donation to the Kickstart Kids non-profit that the late Chuck Norris co-founded.
During this week’s event, Cane’s owner Todd Graves revealed that his restaurant chain will donate $1 from every Box Combo sold on National Chicken Finger Day (July 27) – up to $1 million.
“Chuck’s legacy lives on through his family and through every student whose life is changed by Kickstart Kids,” said Graves. “Honoring my friend by supporting the mission he cared about most is one of the most meaningful things we’ve ever done.”
Featuring inspirational words from Graves, Gena Norris, Dakota Norris, and Dani Norris, the press conference reflected on Chuck’s legacy, his friendship with Graves, and their collective commitment to community service. It also touched on the values like discipline, honesty, and respect that Kickstart Kids teaches children through karate.
Values, it should be noted, Chuck Norris embodied and instilled in his children.
“My dad wanted me and my brother to grow up with that discipline that martial arts brings you,” shared Dani Norris. “I would not be the person I am today without it. And I’m so happy that all these kids get to experience that as well … that [they] get to find themselves through it.”
Chuck’s values also proved resonant inside Raising Cane’s. Graves shared a story about how the martial arts icon’s “10 Codes of Conduct” helped define organizational culture in the business he built.
“I saw a poster of Chuck with 10 codes of conduct,” noted Graves. “I actually put those posters up in the restaurants. It was a fun way to talk about leadership and doing the right thing. And customers would get into it. They were like, ‘look at this Chuck Norris poster. I haven’t seen that one.’ And it wasn’t a poster of Chuck doing these amazing kicks and things like that. It was him standing strong in these leadership things. So we incorporate that into our management and how we want to live this way. We want to lead our people this way.”
Chuck later provided more direct inspiration for Cane’s, attending a leadership retreat and sharing fourteen pages of handwritten notes on leadership values.
Not merely an influence on his business, Chuck Norris would become a meaningful part of Graves’ life as a friend. He would go on to present Graves, a longtime supporter of Kickstart Kids, with a karate gi.
“At a ceremony where we were watching Kickstart kids, he said, ‘Hey buddy, I made this karate gi for you,’ and it had the Cane’s logo on it,” shared Graves. “I’m blown away. This is a hero and now a mentor to me, and he’s a six-time karate champion. And he goes, he said, ‘Todd, I’ve only done this for you and I did it for [President] Bush. He was heavily involved in Kickstart Kids. And this is for your leadership of your people and your support of all these children out here. That means so much to me and my family.’ And I was just blown away. It’s epic. I have it framed and in our office in Dallas.”
For as touching as it was to hear the four panelists reflect on Chuck’s life and philanthropy, it was equally powerful to see the impact of Kickstart Kids in action. Numerous students provided karate demonstrations during the event, confirming the skill, discipline, and joy martial arts classes can produce for so many children of different backgrounds.
And with so much dialogue about the prohibitive costs of youth athletics, Kickstart Kids democratizes the opportunity via school systems.
Along with the National Chicken Finger Day celebration and donation, support for Kickstart Kids and Chuck’s legacy will come via a special merchandise collection.
“Chuck would be deeply honored to know his legacy is continuing in such a meaningful way,” said Gena Norris. “Our family is incredibly grateful to Todd and everyone at Raising Cane’s for celebrating Chuck’s life and helping carry forward the work that meant so much to him.”
