Pickleball has no shortage of good intentions. What it sometimes lacks are systems that turn those intentions into something real, trackable, and built to last.

Chicken N Pickle is one of the few organizations that has figured that part out.

Through its Our Hearts Are Local™ initiative, Chicken N Pickle has woven community impact directly into how it operates day to day. Not as a side project. Not as a once-a-year campaign. But as something that shows up every time the doors open. In 2025 alone, that approach resulted in more than $1.5 million invested back into local communities, along with thousands of volunteer hours, meals donated, and partnerships with nonprofits across every market they serve.

A community location supported by Our Hearts Are Local’s breast cancer initiatives.

What makes Our Hearts Are Local™ stand out isn’t just the size of the numbers. It’s the consistency behind them.

A Mission That Shows Up Every Day

At its core, Our Hearts Are Local™ exists to strengthen the communities where Chicken N Pickle operates by making giving back part of everyday business—not a once-a-year obligation.

Chicken N Pickle doesn’t draw a line between “business hours” and “giving back.” Every day that they’re open to the public, something happening inside their venues supports a local cause, whether through fundraising campaigns, donated space, in-kind contributions, or staff-led service.

That mindset changes the question from “How much did we donate?” to “How are we showing up for our neighbors today?”

Who Our Hearts Are Local™ Serves

One of the most impressive parts of Our Hearts Are Local™ is how wide its reach really is.

In 2025, Chicken N Pickle worked with 10,944 charitable organizations, including schools, food banks, youth programs, churches, healthcare groups, adaptive sports organizations, and local nonprofits of all sizes.

Beyond nonprofit partners, the initiative directly serves:

Teachers, nurses, first responders, and community heroes through meal donations
Adaptive athletes and individuals with physical or developmental disabilities
Special Olympics athletes through sponsorships and hosted practices
Active military members and veterans through dedicated court access and recognition
Families looking for safe, inclusive spaces to gather and play

The common thread is access. Not just access to pickleball, but access to space, resources, and community support.

From Gathering Place to Community Engine

Chicken N Pickle opened its first location in 2017 with a simple idea: create a place where people of all ages and abilities could gather, play, eat, and connect.

As more locations opened, something became clear. Communities weren’t just treating Chicken N Pickle like a place to hang out. They were using it as a meeting space, a fundraiser venue, a volunteer hub, and a safe place to bring people together.

Our Hearts Are Local™ grew out of that reality. It formalized what was already happening and made sure community engagement scaled alongside the company itself.

Instead of tacking philanthropy on later, Chicken N Pickle built a system that expanded market by market, location by location, with dedicated staff and shared expectations.

What Growth Looked Like in 2025

Our Hearts Are Local™ has become a nationwide operation with clear tracking and accountability.

This year, Chicken N Pickle invested $1,534,098 directly into local communities, broken down into:

$347,945 through Community Cup campaigns and direct givebacks
$701,381 in in-kind donations, including space, gift certificates, and resources
7,420 meals donated to community heroes
Thousands of volunteer hours logged across all markets

Each location employs a full-time Community Impact Coordinator whose sole focus is working with local nonprofits, schools, and organizations to build meaningful partnerships.

That structure is what turns good intentions into sustained impact.

Community Outcomes You Can Actually See

The impact of Our Hearts Are Local™ shows up in practical, tangible ways.

Local nonprofits gain free access to meeting and event space, removing a major cost barrier. Fundraising events are hosted regularly without venue fees. Adaptive athletes have access to wheelchairs, equipment, and courts at no cost. Blood drives hosted on-site help save an estimated 750 lives per year.

In September 2025, Chicken N Pickle closed every location nationwide for Our Hearts Are Local Day, sending more than 2,000 employees into their communities to volunteer instead of operating venues for the day.

That choice says a lot. Community impact isn’t treated as something extra. It’s treated as essential.

What the Pickleball Community Can Take From This

There’s a lot that the broader pickleball world can learn from Chicken N Pickle’s approach.

First, facilities matter. Physical spaces can become real community assets when they’re run with intention.

Second, access is more than free play. It includes staffing, equipment, adaptive programming, and consistency.

Third, giving back works best when it’s operational, not promotional. Our Hearts Are Local™ succeeds because it’s built into systems, budgets, and job descriptions.

And most importantly, pickleball venues don’t have to choose between profitability and purpose. Chicken N Pickle shows that when community is treated as a long-term investment, both sides benefit.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As Chicken N Pickle heads into 2026, priorities include deepening existing partnerships, expanding adaptive and Special Olympics programming, and continuing to refine how impact is measured and shared across markets.

Rather than chasing growth for its own sake, the goal is for every location to become an even stronger community partner.

How a Pickleball Venue Became a Community Infrastructure Engine