"A lot of experiences along the way" is how a nonprofit called My Contagious Generosity started in 2011.

The story starts like this - Marie Kayser always felt a nudge to help people who lost everything to a natural disaster. She thought about having a place to collect water, food, and hygiene items. With her husband's background in distribution and her ability to find donations, she kept it in mind while volunteering after Hurricane Katrina a Joplin, MO, tornado.

"While in Joplin, I met a woman doing exactly what I thought I wanted to do," says Marie. "It was as if God was telling me, 'I got this covered; I have other plans for you.'"

Then, while on a mission trip in Rocky Point, Mexico, handing out warm clothes, Marie met a young man who wanted to show her his garden. She has a background in agriculture and horticulture. The picture was coming into focus.

"Suddenly, so many things in my life made sense, and I believed this was the purpose God had planned for my life," says Marie.​ "Doors flew open, and God provided everything we needed."
Today, My Contagious Generosity has gardens locally and teaches people in Mexico how to raise their food. They arrange family-friendly mission trips to Mexico and have a feeding ministry currently working with 35 families and delivering up to 2,000 sack lunches to remote areas in Mexico. They deliver food boxes in the Gilbert area every other week.

My Contagious Generosity is one of about 280 nonprofits that receive food, without charge, from Midwest Food Bank.
Recently, when getting food at MFB, there was a bit of a wait. Marie started sharing photos of the sack lunch distribution with MFB volunteer Rhonda West Coe. Rhonda then joined My Contagious Generosity on a mission trip and saw how her volunteer efforts at MFB became a sack lunch for people in Mexico.

"Our volunteers and partner agencies are amazing, servant-hearted people," says Merilee Baptise, executive director of MFB Arizona.​ "And, to see them work together to meet a need in the community is just awesome."

Marie and her husband, Tom, live by this verse - "From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48.