At MDS, our goal is to restore hope for survivors of disasters. We do this by recruiting, organizing and empowering volunteers to repair and rebuild the homes of those impacted by disasters in Canada and the U.S.
To be the hands and feet of Jesus to those affected by disasters.
We respond to disasters, rebuild homes, and restore hope by organizing and empowering volunteers in the U.S. and Canada.
We welcome all who share our values and who want to make a difference in the lives of those impacted by disasters. No construction experience or skill is required; just a willing heart and hands. Learn more about volunteering with MDS.
Our Core Values
We believe in and practice a life of service and proclamation founded on the Bible and modeled after the life and teaches of Jesus Christ
We engage all disaster survivors, volunteers, and partners with mutual respect, humility and accountability
We intentionally work with one another inside MDS and with partner organizations.
The Cross is at the center of our logo because Christ is at the center of our work. MDS volunteers serve in the name of Christ.
The Handshake in the MDS logo represents the primary relationship between MDS volunteers and the clients we serve. Effective disaster response begins with working partnerships between organizations, agencies, and individuals. Many of these partnerships begin and end with a handshake.
History of MDS
For generations of Mennonites and other Anabaptist groups, mutual aid has been an informal practice of expressing their faith in the day-to-day actions of caring for one another. Through spontaneous gestures of assistance, such as the well-known barn raising, the Anabaptists put their faith into action when fellow church members or neighbors faced calamity.
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Governance
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Board of Directors and Board of Delegates is a diverse group of leaders that serve as strategic advisors and work closely with the Executive Director to hold MDS accountable to its vision and mission.
Board of Directors
- Wayne Yoder*, Chair, Conservative Mennonite Conference
- Aaron Groff*, Vice Chair, Lancaster Mennonite Conference
- Frank Hoover*, Treasurer, Groffdale Conference
- Henry Warkentin*, Secretary, MDS Canada Board Chair
- Gerald Dyck, MDS Canada
- Ronn Frantz, Region 2 Board Chair
- Mannie Flaud, Old Order Amish
- Sally Unrau, Region 4 Director
- Fred Hershey, Region 2 Director
- Tim Schrag, Region 3 Board Chair
- Phil Troyer, Region 1 Board Chair
- Michele WhiteEagle, Region 4 Board Chair
- *Officers of the Board
Board of Delegates
- Robert Brenneman, New Order Amish
- Murray Bunnett, MDS Canada
- David Brubacher, MDS Canada
- Margarita Bloodworth, Member-at-Large
- Becca Cordes, Mennonite Church USA
- Harold Friesen, MDS Canada
- Wilmer Hoover, Weaverland Conference
- Ivan Shirk, Member-at-Large
- Karen Shelly Smucker, Member-at-Large
- Elizabeth Troyer-Miller, Member-at-Large
- Phillip Bridgewater, Member-at-Large
- Paul Yoder, Beachy Amish
- Sue Ewert, Member-at-Large
- Don Rheinheimer, Member-at-Large
- Niels Lichti, Member-at-Large
- Mitch Kingsley, Member-at-Large
- Scott Soden , The Brethren Church
- David Zarate, U.S. Mennonite Brethren
- Lana Tieszen, Member-at-Large
- Dan Yoder, Member-at-Large