Photos Submitted One of the hand-stitched quilts that will be auctioned off at this year’s event.

•March 2, 2016•

The Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale Board is working diligently in preparation for the annual two day relief sale that attracts people of all faiths and denominations for a common cause: Providing relief for the needy.

For Peoria and all surrounding communities March signals the traditional Illinois Mennonite Relief Sale.    This year marks the 58th Annual Illinois Sale to be held at Interstate Center in Bloomington on March 18-19.

This family festival is not only a special event filled with food, fun, and fellowship, but also a time for achieving the purpose of helping the needy at home and abroad.

Twenty percent of the net proceeds of the sale help local charities by providing food for the less fortunate.  Some of these agencies are the Peoria Salvation Army, Peoria Rescue Mission,  Midwest Food Bank, Bloomington Home Sweet Home Mission, and other local food pantries.

Eighty percent of the net proceeds are channeled through Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches.  Its purpose is to share God’s love and compassion by providing food assistance, clothing, medicine, material resources, and financial to the needy in 60 countries of the world, including America.       Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.