Two Saturdays out of every month, Tytus and I show up to serve. We're not doing it for recognition, we're not doing it for content — we do it because we genuinely believe that one of the most important things you can pour into a child is the habit of showing up for other people. And cooking is our lane, so that's where we plug in.
Last year I decided Tytus was old enough and mature enough to start coming alongside me for real. Not just watching, not just tagging along — actually working. Cutting, prepping, cooking, serving. And he has risen to it every single time. I'm proud of him in a way that's hard to put into words. Watching your son understand at a young age that his time and his skills are worth something to other people — that's the kind of thing that sticks with a kid.
Tytus putting in work — this is what showing up looks like.
We Cook. That's Our Contribution.
There are a hundred ways to serve a community. Some people build things. Some people teach. Some people drive or organize or donate. For Tytus and me, it's always come back to food. It's what we know, it's what we love, and it's one of the most direct ways to meet a real need. When you put a hot meal in front of someone who needed it — that's not abstract charity. That's something real, right there in front of you.
We usually prepare and cook for both the people who are out there volunteering alongside us and for the community we're serving. There's something right about that — the people giving their Saturday need to eat too, and it brings everybody together around the table in a way that flattens the divide between "server" and "served."
September 2022 — another Saturday well spent.
The Two Organizations We Work With
If you're in the Huntsville and Madison area and you've been looking for a way to get involved — or if you want to bring your own kids into something meaningful — here are the two organizations we plug into. Both are doing serious, consistent work in this community, and both have real opportunities for people who want to show up.
Serve Huntsville — Generosity Foundation
Serve Huntsville operates under the Generosity Foundation, a non-profit based right here in Huntsville and Madison with a mission of bringing hope to underserved communities. What makes this organization stand out is the consistency and the variety of ways you can plug in — it's not just a once-a-year event, it's a sustained, weekly commitment to the same neighborhoods and the same families.
Serve opportunities include Monday community dinners, Pack & Pray meal bagging events, Manna House grocery outreach, Saturday block parties and family events, skilled volunteer projects like ramp building for families in need, and playground and community space improvements. There's something for every skill set — if you can cook, build, organize, or just show up with a good attitude, there's a spot for you.
- Weekday and Saturday serve opportunities available
- Family-friendly — a great way to bring your kids in
- Director: Joe MacKenzie | joe@generosityfoundation.com
- Website: generosityfoundation.com
- Sign up: servehuntsville.org
Friends of 400 — Serving Huntsville's Inner-City Youth
Friends of 400 focuses specifically on the children and families living in Huntsville's public housing communities — addressing what they call physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational poverty. Their goal is to come alongside these kids and families with consistent, real relationships and opportunities, not just one-time handouts.
Their programs include Cub Scout Pack 400 and Boy Scout Troop 400 (meeting weekly), Girls Night (Thursday evenings for the girls in the Searcy community), Project Great First Day (school supplies for kids heading back to school), and their annual Christmas Extravaganza — which provides Christmas gifts for children in low-income housing. Every single one of these programs runs on volunteers and donations from people in this community who decided to show up.
- Volunteer weekly, monthly, or for special events
- Donations are tax deductible through the Friends of 400 Foundation
- Contact: Shellie Mitchell | shellie@friendsof400.com | 256-603-3395
- Contact: Keri Fletcher | keri@friendsof400.com | 256-998-8682
- Website: friendsof400.com
- Donate: Click here — all donations are tax deductible
Why We Keep Coming Back
I'll be real with you — there are Saturdays where it would be easier to stay home. Sleep in. Do nothing. But every single time we show up, we leave better than when we came. That's just the truth of it. There's something that happens when you get out of your own life and into someone else's need that recalibrates everything. You remember what matters. Tytus is learning that lesson young, and I'm grateful for that.
This isn't just something we do on the side. Cooking is our passion, and serving is our purpose. When those two things line up, that's where we're the most useful — and honestly, where we feel the most like ourselves.
— Tyrone & Tytus
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