When Bickford Ford employees pile into vans and head to the Everett-based Gospel Mission to serve meals, Jason Bickford says something shifts.

"Everybody was really excited, exuberant after it," Bickford said in a profile posted by EGM on Aug. 18. "It was a great time spent together … to see like, hey, there are people who are just four miles or five miles away from us dealing with this."

Bickford, vice president of sales and operations at the family dealership and a board member at Everett Gospel Mission, is the fourth generation of his family to work at the Snohomish-based business. He's also carrying forward a tradition of community giving that stretches back to his great-grandfather Lawrence, who bought the Ford dealership on First Street in Snohomish in 1934.

Lawrence Bickford was heavily involved with nonprofits and schools across Snohomish and Everett, according to a Snohomish County Tribune profile marking the dealership's 90th anniversary.

Jason's grandfather Art ran the business from the late 1970s until the late 1990s, when Jason's father, Mike Bickford, took over as general manager.

The family's connection to EGM runs through those generations. Jason said his grandparents supported the mission, and his father has been involved with area nonprofits for decades.

Now the partnership goes beyond writing checks. Bickford Ford, which employed more than 100 full-time and 20 part-time workers as of late 2024, runs annual fund drives for EGM and sends employees to volunteer at the shelter. Mike Bickford, who started at the dealership in 1978, said in the EGM feature that volunteering at the mission and meeting people there made the work feel personal.

Jason said those volunteer shifts changed how his team sees the community. He described watching employees develop what he called a "servant heart mindset" after spending time at the mission.

The timing matters.

EGM, which has sheltered people in Snohomish County since 1961, serves an average of 300 men, women and children nightly. A temporary downtown shelter opened during the pandemic is set to close in 2026 due to redevelopment, eliminating up to 80 emergency beds. EGM's Smith Avenue campus expansion is underway to add 108 new year-round beds and increase family shelter capacity by 25 percent.

Chivo Hawkins, EGM's director of advancement, said in a July 30 Snohomish City Lifestyle feature that the mission can't meet these moments alone, calling on donors, volunteers, churches and businesses to stand alongside the work.

Bickford Ford also helped fund construction of the Boys and Girls Club in Snohomish, which opened in 2003, and sponsors youth sports teams across Snohomish, Lake Stevens, south Snohomish County and Everett.

Jason Bickford's advice to other business owners considering a similar commitment: figure out what you can do as a company with your time, resources and budget, and go all in. He said he's never talked to anyone who regretted it.