Mennonite Central Committee
A North American Mennonite, Brethren in Christ, and Amish relief, development, peacebuilding, and service organization.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a North American Christian relief and service organization that represents fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ, and Amish bodies. It combines humanitarian assistance, long-term development, peacebuilding, voluntary service, fair-trade activity, and public advocacy. Its work is rooted in Anabaptist traditions of nonviolence, mutual aid, practical service, and concern for people affected by poverty, war, displacement, disaster, and discrimination. The organization operates through a network that includes churches, local partners, volunteers, relief-sale organizers, donors, and staff in the United States, Canada, and other countries. MCC was formed in Chicago in 1920 after reports reached North American Mennonites about famine and devastation among Mennonite communities in Ukraine. The original intention was to assist fellow Mennonites, but the organization quickly broadened its mandate to help people in need regardless of religious identity. Its first major effort involved food distribution in Ukraine after the Russian Civil War. Once Soviet authorization was obtained, MCC-supported kitchens served tens of thousands of people each day over several years, while agricultural equipment was supplied to communities whose farming capacity had been destroyed. This early experience established a pattern that has continued throughout MCC's history: responding to immediate emergencies while also addressing the conditions needed for recovery. During the interwar period, MCC helped resettle Russian Mennonite and Bruderhof refugees in Paraguay and Brazil. From the late 1930s onward, its relief activity expanded into Europe, including Poland, England, and France. During and after the Second World War, MCC was closely involved in service by conscientious objectors. It administered Civilian Public Service in cooperation with the National Service Board for Religious Objectors and later helped administer the 1-W alternative-service program. These activities connected the organization's relief work with a broader theological and civic commitment to nonmilitary service. MCC developed a peacetime Voluntary Service program in 1946. The program gave young people opportunities to work in community development, social service, education, and relief projects, while cultivating a form of Christian witness centered on nonresistance and practical solidarity. Voluntary service became one of the organization's most recognizable forms of engagement and helped create a large constituency of workers, churches, and supporters. Today, MCC's program areas include disaster response, food security, livelihoods, health, education, peace and justice, migration-related support, and fair trade. Its projects are commonly delivered with local organizations rather than through an exclusively centralized model. MCC also maintains advocacy offices in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, and at the United Nations in New York. Its public-policy work has addressed poverty, violence, militarism, displacement, and conscientious-objection rights. The Mennonite Conciliation Service, founded in 1979, helped establish MCC as an early institutional participant in modern conflict-resolution practice before it was discontinued in 2004; peace advocacy and peacebuilding continue through MCC's broader programming. MCC's fundraising model includes independent Mennonite relief sales across the United States and Canada. These events often feature donated quilts, crafts, food, artwork, auctions, and community activities. The organization also became an early supporter of fair trade through Ten Thousand Villages, linking humanitarian fundraising with market access for artisans. MCC is not a conventional commercial brand: its identity is based on service credibility, church relationships, volunteer participation, and a public commitment to peace and humanitarian action. Its U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, while its Canadian headquarters are in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
History
Mennonite Central Committee was created in Chicago on September 27, 1920, after North American Mennonite leaders received urgent reports about famine among Mennonite communities in Ukraine. The founding coalition included representatives of several Mennonite conferences and was initially organized to channel aid to Russian Mennonites. P. C. Hiebert served as the first chair, while Levi Mumaw acted as secretary and Maxwell Kratz provided legal leadership. The organization soon expanded its mission beyond sectarian relief and began assisting people on the basis of need rather than denominational affiliation. MCC's first major operation took place in Ukraine during the aftermath of war and revolution. Volunteers connected with Mennonite relief work in Istanbul entered the region, and after a delay caused by political and military conditions, the Soviet government authorized relief operations. MCC-supported kitchens distributed food to approximately 25,000 people per day over a three-year period beginning in 1922, with substantially higher daily distribution at the peak of the effort. The organization also sent tractor-and-plow units to help restore agricultural production after the loss and confiscation of draft animals. The Ukraine program required a large mobilization of donations, personnel, equipment, and interchurch cooperation. MCC was largely inactive from 1925 to 1930. During the 1930s it shifted attention toward the resettlement of Russian Mennonite and Bruderhof refugees in Paraguay and Brazil. With the approach of the Second World War, relief work resumed and expanded into Europe, initially including Poland and later England and France. MCC volunteers and staff also participated in refugee and child-protection work. Lois Gunden, who served with MCC in France during the war, helped establish care for refugee children from the Spanish Civil War and Jewish children held at the Rivesaltes internment camp. Her wartime rescue work was later recognized by Yad Vashem with the designation Righteous Among the Nations. The organization's history is closely connected with conscientious objection and alternative service. Between 1941 and 1947, MCC administered Civilian Public Service projects as part of the broader U.S. system for religious objectors. When that program ended, MCC helped develop a peacetime service model. Its first Voluntary Service unit began in 1946 in association with a former Civilian Public Service unit in Gulfport, Mississippi. Voluntary Service provided young people with structured opportunities to work in relief, education, social welfare, and community development. The program was intended both to meet practical needs and to express a religious commitment to nonresistance, neighbor-love, and service. MCC's Canadian organization was established in 1963, creating a more formal institutional structure for work on both sides of the border. The U.S. and Canadian components maintain distinct headquarters but operate within the same wider MCC movement. Over subsequent decades, the organization broadened its international programming, working with local partners on food security, livelihoods, health, education, disaster response, and social justice. Rather than treating emergency relief as separate from development, MCC generally links immediate assistance with longer-term recovery and community resilience. Peace work became a major institutional focus in the late twentieth century. In 1979 MCC established the Mennonite Conciliation Service, which supported mediation and conflict-resolution practice in North America and internationally. Ronald S. Kraybill led important early mediation training, including work connected with Northern Ireland. John Paul Lederach later directed the service and helped move peacebuilding ideas into wider international practice. The Mennonite Conciliation Service was discontinued in 2004 as peacebuilding capacity became distributed among other Mennonite and Anabaptist institutions, while MCC's Peace Office continued advocacy and program work. MCC has also developed distinctive fundraising and public-engagement mechanisms. Approximately dozens of independent Mennonite relief sales are held in the United States and Canada, often featuring donated quilts, crafts, food, auctions, and music. These events connect congregational life with international relief fundraising. MCC was an early supporter of fair trade through Ten Thousand Villages, helping promote artisan-made goods as an alternative to exploitative trading arrangements. The organization maintains government-relations offices in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa and an international advocacy presence at the United Nations in New York. Its continuing work includes advocacy for peaceful conflict resolution, military-service exemptions for conscientious objectors, and policies addressing poverty, violence, and injustice.
- 2004
Mennonite Conciliation Service is discontinued
[1]The dedicated service ended as peacebuilding work became distributed across other Mennonite and Anabaptist institutions; MCC continued peace advocacy through its Peace Office and international programs.
- 1979
Mennonite Conciliation Service is established
[1]MCC created a dedicated conciliation service to promote mediation and peaceful conflict resolution.
- 1963
MCC Canada is founded
[1]The Canadian component of MCC was formally established, strengthening the organization's binational structure.
- 1946
Voluntary Service is launched
[1]MCC began a peacetime voluntary-service program, with its first unit operating in Gulfport, Mississippi.
- 1941
Civilian Public Service administration begins
[1]MCC began administering Civilian Public Service assignments for conscientious objectors in cooperation with the National Service Board for Religious Objectors.
- 1939
European relief operations resume
[1]MCC renewed broad relief activity in Europe, first in Poland and subsequently in England and France.
- 1930
Refugee resettlement work expands
[1]MCC undertook the resettlement of Russian Mennonite and Bruderhof refugees in Paraguay and Brazil during the 1930s.
- 1922
Large-scale Ukraine relief begins
[1]After receiving Soviet authorization, MCC-supported kitchens began distributing food in Ukraine, serving tens of thousands of people daily over several years.
- 1920
MCC is established in Chicago
[1]Representatives of several Mennonite bodies formed Mennonite Central Committee on September 27 to coordinate relief for famine-stricken communities in Ukraine.
Products and positioning
A faith-based, non-governmental relief and peace organization distinguished by Anabaptist commitments to nonviolence, service, community partnership, and practical assistance to people affected by poverty, disaster, war, and injustice.
Relief services · 1920
Humanitarian relief and disaster response
MCC provides emergency assistance and recovery support after disasters, conflict, and displacement. Its relief work is delivered with local partners and can include food, shelter-related assistance, health support, material aid, and reconstruction-oriented activities. The organization also connects emergency response with longer-term community recovery rather than treating crisis relief as an isolated intervention.
Development programs · 1920
Food security and livelihoods
MCC supports programs intended to improve access to food, strengthen household livelihoods, and restore local productive capacity. Historically, this included agricultural equipment in Ukraine; in later work, the area has encompassed community development, economic resilience, and partner-led initiatives designed for local conditions.
Volunteer service · 1946
Voluntary Service
Voluntary Service places participants in Christian service and community projects for extended assignments. The program grew out of MCC's Civilian Public Service experience and combines practical work with education, cultural sensitivity, and reflection on nonviolence and service. Placements have historically addressed relief, education, social welfare, and community needs.
Peace services · 1979
Peacebuilding and conflict transformation
MCC's peace work supports nonviolent conflict resolution, mediation, peace education, and partnerships with organizations working in areas affected by war or communal violence. The former Mennonite Conciliation Service was an important institutional expression of this work, while the Peace Office and international partnerships continue the broader peacebuilding mission.
Fair trade
Ten Thousand Villages
Ten Thousand Villages is associated with MCC's early fair-trade activity and connects consumers with artisan-made goods. The program reflects MCC's effort to support dignified livelihoods and more equitable market relationships while raising awareness of international development issues.
Fundraising
Mennonite relief sales
Independent relief sales held across the United States and Canada raise money for MCC projects through community events featuring donated quilts, crafts, food, artwork, auctions, plants, and music. These sales are a major expression of congregational and volunteer participation in the MCC funding model.
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