Matthew 25:35 Foundation

How did the Matthew 25:35 Foundation come about?
 

    In October of 2020, Will and Skip Strickland opened a catering business in Silvis, IL.  It was always our intention, because of our Christian faith, to use the business to help our community and in doing so to share the love of Christ.

    Two months later, after working in the kitchen for 14 hours, we were discussing this want, but decided that we should wait until the next year, since we were so close to Christmas and were occupied with still trying to get the business off and running.  At the 18 hour mark, we both, almost simultaneously declared that we needed to do something that year.

    Our initial plan was to smoke a few turkeys and donate them to families in need.  Of course, we had to find families in need and people willing to help with the cause.  That decision set in motion a chain of events that involved an elementary school and two churches, who knew of families in need.  We began to reach out to businesses and our customers and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

    With food donations from Walmart, HyVee, Jewel-Osco, Prairie Farms Dairy and Neumiller Farms, as well as monetary donations from our customers, family and the business itself, we grew from a planned distribution of about 12 smoked turkeys to all of the food items needed for a full Christmas feast.  52 Families, comprised of 204 people, were blessed that Christmas.  God's plans were far greater than ours!

    We have been blessed to continue our meal drive for three more years.  In all, we have provided meals  for 217 families, almost 1000 people.  Including that first meal drive, we have provided meals to families from three churches, two schools, a daycare, one local business and several families just struggling through difficult times with illness and loss.

    This year, we decided to step-out in faith by creating this nonprofit so that we are able to reach out to more donors, form more partnerships with local businesses, and provide food and the enduring love of Christ to even more families in the Quad Cities area.


    It is our earnest hope that the formation of the Matthew 25:35 Foundation will enable us to not only continue and grow our "Be the Light" Christmas Meal Drive, but to allow us to expand this mission to times and situations throughout the year.

Please join us in bringing love and peace to those who are struggling through hard times.