At 4:00 pm this afternoon, I was joined by Tamara Tunie, Tony award winning producer and actor and God’s Love Board member, to ring the Closing Bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square. While the ringing of the Closing Bell marks the end of the trading day, for God’s Love it signifies the launch of our 25th anniversary year. We are celebrating 25 years of delivering individually-tailored meals and nutrition counseling – along with compassion and dignity – to people who are too sick to help themselves. And we are look forward with both humility and enthusiasm to the next 25 years of service.

God’s Love We Deliver was founded in 1986 by hospice volunteer, Ganga Stone, who prepared and delivered a meal to one man with AIDS. Inspiring compassion and love in those around her, Ganga quickly coordinated a group of caring individuals who were dedicated to fighting the dual crisis of hunger and illness, helping HIV/AIDS patients in a desperate situation. Since then, we have expanded our mission and now cook and deliver freshly prepared, nutritious meals to individuals living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and all other severe illnesses.

God’s Love has delivered nearly 12 million meals in our history. While we have come a long way, the need for our life-sustaining programs continues to increase. Today, we are proud that we not only serve our clients, but also provide for their senior caregivers and children as well.

Throughout 2011, we will be orchestrating events, celebrations, and inviting special guests to mark this milestone anniversary. We are especially pleased to begin this 25th year celebration with NASDAQ. Please add to the celebration, by sharing a God’s Love We Deliver story on our website here and spreading the news to friends, family, and neighbors. We will stay in touch and keep all of our supporters abreast of our 25 year anniversary plans.