Saddleback's Work in the Community and Donation Requests

At Saddleback BBQ, we think that it is important to give back to the community that has done so much to support us. As a small business, we get asked for a lot of donations and sponsorships to very deserving causes. Unfortunately, we can't afford to support them all even though we wish we could. If you are interested in having us donate or sponsor your event, please complete this form. We will have our Team at Saddleback review the requests and we will select the programs that we think best align with the mission of Saddleback BBQ.

Donation Request Form: https://goo.gl/forms/Wb32XVyjq0VqzwNE3

• March 13th - Schools in Michigan were shut down for the remainder of the year. This meant school lunch programs that students rely on would be temporarily canceled. Saddleback and the community stepped up to help out. Together we were able to donate over 1000 meals to students in need. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3830799890273484
• March 18th - A ban was placed on dine in services for restaurants in Michigan. Saddleback put together a website with a list of all the local restaurants that were remaining open, and advertised to have the list reach more people. We updated the website weekly to ensure the information was accurate. In the end, it helped over 50,000 people find information about restaurants.  https://www.saddlebackbbq.com/lansing-restaurants-open-during-coronavirus-covid-19
• April 2nd - A surge in Covid cases led to an overwhelmed healthcare system. Once again the Saddleback community stepped up and together we were able to donate over 200 meals to first responders.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/videos/2838853746399657
• April 5th - Grocery stores were beginning to run out of essential supplies (gloves, masks, cleaning supplies, etc.). As a way to help we began to sell these items to the community.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3170910759595737
• April 7th - As a way to bring hope to the Lansing community, we partnered with Taproot Picture to make a website and video that celebrated the Lansing community, called Lansing Strong. We paid to have the video advertised on local television stations and social media. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3129909383695875
• April 10th - We realized the negative effects Covid was having on local artists. We offered a free “livestream concert” of Rachel Curtis. This was a way to help a local artist make money and give the community some entertainment.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/videos/720949288712208
• April 18th - Kingsford recognized our work in the community and awarded us with a grant of $10,000 to help us continue our initiatives.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3201275389892607
• April 29th - It became clear students wouldn’t be able to have a traditional graduation ceremony. We wanted to honor the students to do so we purchased 5 billboards in the Lansing area to celebrate students.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3230426573644155
• May 23rd - Midland was hit with a massive flood. We were able to raise over $1,400 to donate to help rebuild Midland.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3289478084405670
• August 6th - Ingham County’s annual fair was canceled, which meant these kids would not be able to sell the livestock they had worked so hard to raise. Saddleback was able to purchase $6,700 worth of livestock to help support the children’s college funds.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3507970119223131
•  November 24th - It became clear this would not be an ordinary Thanksgiving. As the second surge hit, it meant people would not all people be able to be with their loved ones for the holiday. Saddleback and the community came together and was able to donate meals for over 900 people in need.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3811173822236091
• December 10th - We helped a local bakery (Mitten Raised) that was struggling and ended up helping them sell out of food for weeks! VIDEO
• January 23rd - We worked on a campaign with Coachs Pub and Grill, we purchased a whole hog and smoked it at their restaurant, we also paid for advertising to help drive business to their store. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3977744275579044
• March 30th - Saddleback Co-Owners, with the help of donations from the community, paid off school lunch debt for 9 different local school districts.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4158339210852882
• April 6th - We offered Free Pork Rinds to anyone that showed us their vaccination card. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4180591565294313
• April 21st - We offered $100 to Employees that received the vaccination. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4228205080532961
• July 26th - We received a letter from Governor Whitmer thanking us for our work in the community throughout the pandemic.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4516129328407200
• August 1st - Saddleback began raising money for our 4H fund. In exchange for donating we provided Saddleback Gift Cards of equal value of their donations (i.e. if someone donated $50, we sent them a $50 Gift Card.  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/3487498611270282
• August 2nd - We started a GoFundMe for 7 local businesses who were victims of a recent string of break ins and vandalism. We set a goal of $1,000, after 3 days we had reached over $8,600!  https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4563479957005470
• September 1st - We were lucky enough to be featured in an article by Business Insider!
• October 13th - Saddleback made a $500 donation to help Afghan refugees, and conducted interviews with a few of these refugees to try and get them gainful employment. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4760887303931400
• October 14th - We started a fundraiser to help provide stem kits to 3rd-5th graders at Waverly East Intermediate. https://www.facebook.com/Saddlebackbbq/posts/4764646363555494

• 2022 Recap 

  • Opened our first pizza restaurant, Slice by Saddleback - January 
  • Saddleback purchased $1,000 in gift cards to locally owned restaurants and gave them away to the community - January
  • Paid off student lunch debt for Mason schools - March
  • Our sauces were placed on the shelves of local Meijer stores
  • Took our Mobile Pizza Oven to Gaylord to feed folks effected by the tornado - May 
  • Matt taught classes at the Wilson Talent Center to student pursuing culinary arts - May
  • Saddleback celebrated its 7 year anniversary - June 
  • Gave away free yard signs to promote safe driving habits in neighborhoods disrupted by construction - July 
  • Raised and purchase over $2,000 worth of livestock from the annual 4H large animal auction - August
  • Offered 401k with 4% match to employees that have worked for Saddleback for 12+ months - August
  • Opened our second Slice by Saddleback location - August
  • Operated a concession stand at Spartan Stadium - September
  • With the help of the Community, we gave away food to feed over 680 people Thanksgiving meals
  • Raised over $5,000 to help purchase medical equipment and ambulance for victims in Ukraine - November
  • Raised awareness for Capital City BBQ to help them during a tough time - November 
  • Operated a concession stand at the Breslin Center - November 
  • Raised money and produced food to feed over 340 people Holiday meals - December 
  • With the help of Rich & T Patterson Saddleback donated $3,400 in gift cards to the victims of the Knob Hill fire.