Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) first-time Project Director Lowell Peachey, and his wife, first-time Office Manager Rita Peachey, shared why they liked leading the Summer Youth Program, a weeklong service experience for high school youth. The...
As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, some Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) responders have looked back on that time as one in which the traditional model of response had to change. Tom Smucker, who was MDS Executive Director at...
Tom Smucker still regards responding to the Sept. 11 attacks 25 years ago one of the toughest responses he ever led for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). Then MDS executive director—and now retired but still volunteering for MDS—Smucker analyzes...
Three generations from the same extended family came together to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) at Denare Beach in June. The three—grandfather Henry Warkentin, 74, his son Eric, 46, and grandson Parks, 18—installed furnace ductwork...
Three young volunteers—Brandon Martin, 18; Miles Rissler, 19; and Brenna Eastman, 19—are ready to embark on a yearlong service adventure with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). They will travel to various disaster recovery projects across the U.S...
“Skill at performing tasks is secondary to the Christian values of humbly serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.” That’s how Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Project Director Rex Graham described why “Golden Hammer” award recipients were...
In response to the growing needs among disaster survivors, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in the U.S. is adjusting its leadership structure. As MDS U.S. Executive Director Kevin King retires, and newly appointed Executive Director Clair Good...
As former Chair of the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Ontario Unit, Nicholas Hamm used to look for disasters where the organization could serve. In July, a disaster came looking for him. That’s when the Niagara region of Ontario, where he lives,...
Clair Good has been appointed as new Executive Director of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) U.S. and will begin his new position on Oct. 1, 2026. Good joins MDS from Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) where he most recently served as the Plain...
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