Q&A: How Communities in Schools grew a partnership with Whataburger to support the CIS Being Present Matters campaign

Kevin Lei is principal for events and external engagement at Communities In Schools (CIS). A 10-year veteran in the organization, in this current position which he’s held since 2017, he is “working to change the look, feel and experience of our branded events” to ensure that they have the desired effect on both the network and the organization’s external presence.

The Conversation

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Karen Pittman: Tell us about the “Being Present Matters” campaign.

Kevin Lei: It is designed to bring awareness to the issue of chronic absenteeism, which is an issue that many of us probably don’t understand. We hosted an event a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., where Bob Balfanz, the founder of the Partnership for Student Success, spoke on a panel. He framed the problem in a way that triggered something in me.

Balfanz said, “If a student misses two days a month out of school, that student is chronically absent.”

I had to sit back and think to myself, how many days of school did I miss growing up? Was I considered chronically absent? Are there students in my family who are missing school that are potentially chronically absent? What effect does having multiple students miss two or more days a month have on the classroom? What effect does this have on any student?  What effect on our most vulnerable students who missed school because they had real barriers or obstacles blocking them?

We needed to find a way to highlight the numbers, the names and the serious reasons behind chronic absenteeism faced by our most vulnerable students. We decided to create what we call “the longest roll call” and create a PSA (public service announcement) to show a physical representation of the crisis. So, we printed 15 million names on a roll call sheet. Every one of those names represents a chronically absent student in the U.S. and next to each name is the reason for their absence:

• Lack of transportation
• Mental health issues
• Food insecurity
• Lack of internet access
• Housing instability …

The list goes on and on and on. Addressing these issues is something that we have to understand if we’re going to address the issue of chronic absenteeism.

The PSA has done well. We had an opportunity to premiere it on Good Morning America. It’s been tracking very well, with thousands of views picked up by different partners and corporate sponsors we work with. And the message is clear: being present matters. Having a caring adult present and there for students in schools across America matters. CIS believes that if we can put a site coordinator in every school across America, we can guarantee students will show up ready to learn because CIS will show up for them every day.

Attendance Works is one of the leaders in lifting up messages about chronic absenteeism. How do they connect to the “Being Present Matters” campaign?

We have a great relationship with Attendance Works, the clear go-to organization on chronic absenteeism. We’ve had an opportunity to do research with them and to partner with them on many of the components of our national platform.

They’ve been great in terms of advocacy.

And Hedy Chang, who leads Attendance Works, has been very clear about the value of our work, our proven approach to ensuring that schools are equipped to reduce chronic absenteeism rates. She calls out Communities in Schools specifically for our belief that putting a trusted adult in a school can change everything. The groundwork laid by Hedy and Attendance Works helped validate our Being Present Matters campaign and has allowed us to get it in places and spaces where I don’t think we would have had the ability to go without their partnership.

Let’s talk about hunger. For too many students, missing school means missing meals. We know Communities in Schools helps get kids to school. Are there other elements to your strategy? How does Whataburger fit in?

CIS founder Bill Milliken reminds us that “you have to turn kids on to living before you can turn them on to learning.” CIS is not a charity. We’re a movement trying to change the face of education. But to do this we have to address poverty in this country and what poverty does to the most vulnerable.

Whataburger launched their Feeding Student Success initiative in 2020 to focus the company’s charitable giving at the intersection of food insecurity and education through college resource rooms, scholarships and community philanthropy. The fast-food giant continues to be a steadfast supporter of local CIS affiliates.

Whataburger has given more than $5 million to support communities and students in need.

In 2023, the company extended its support to CIS National with a landmark $100,000 donation. You wouldn’t necessarily think about a fast-food restaurant caring about filling the bellies of students in schools. But Whataburger deeply understands the reality of what empty bellies can create — the significant barriers not just to learning, but to engaging in life. Their initiative, Feeding Student Success, aligns with our mission. The national partnership felt like a natural fit. 

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Through their gift, we have been able to develop several impact-driven engagement opportunities that focus on how we can ensure that our students and families have opportunities not only through CIS but through workforce development. Whataburger has ensured that interested alumni have opportunities to apply for jobs at local Whataburger franchises. We’ve had an opportunity to bring their leadership to some of our convenings to learn firsthand and go into our schools to see what our students are dealing with, because hunger is just not about food, right? Hunger is about relationships. Hunger is about community. 

The CIS-Whataburger partnership has been years in the making, as have the CIS partnerships with other companies like JCPenney. What advice do you offer folks that are just beginning to explore corporate partnerships?

CIS will be 50 years old in 2027. Not every nonprofit has the reach that we have, the type of board that we have or the type of recognition and visibility that we have. So, I want to share tips and examples that can help people reading this, regardless of where they are, make this scalable for themselves. 

1. Look for mission alignment: The most successful partnerships emerge when both organizations genuinely share what I would consider the same values and goals. You want to look for companies whose core business connects to your work in a meaningful way.
2. Do your research: Understand the company, their partners, their existing community commitments. What’s their giving history? What’s their track record? What’s their corporate culture? 
3. Think beyond the check: Financial support is valuable and certainly very important. But there are other opportunities that you are able to leverage when you bring in a corporate partner — volunteer capacities, expertise, product donations or even market influence. Ask, how can I partner with this organization, with their influencers, with their leadership, with their social platforms? How can they help amplify our message in a way that we would not have been able to do? 
4. Invite them into your coalitions: It’s important that we not only invite those corporate partners to the table and invite them to your experiences and convenings, but engage with them and really cultivate a relationship that goes beyond the ask, that allows them to see that we want them to be a part of this community we’re building, to raise awareness. As nonprofits, we have to build coalitions, not just within the youth-serving world or nonprofit world. We should be looking to build cross-sector coalitions to ensure that people who are in the corporate sector understand the importance of the communities that are at the end of the receiving line of the services that they provide. 
5. Start small and build relationships at multiple levels: Whataburger was present at our Las Vegas national meeting. But so was Lyft. The company provided rides for our site coordinators to and from the event. For some, that may seem like a very small gift. But it was a big deal to partner with one of the nation’s leading ride-sharing companies to provide rides for our site coordinators to make sure that they had the resources to come to this event. The successful completion of initial projects with corporations like Lyft builds the credibility needed for larger commitments. 
6. Have patience but be present and persistent: Meaningful partnerships rarely develop overnight, right? It’s through regular communication, the celebration of small wins and consistent presence that’s going to help nurture that relationship. 

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Communities In Schools is a national organization that ensures every student, regardless of who they are, their ability, zip code or socioeconomic background, has what they need to realize their potential in school and beyond. CIS works directly inside 3,460 schools and community sites across the country, hand-in-hand with parents, families and caregivers, helping them access important resources and support their children’s success.