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MCC Programs by length of term
- Volunteer in Spare Time
- Short Term Opportunities (one week to several months)
- 11 months or longer
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Volunteer in Spare Time
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Circle of Friends
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Age
18 +
(female)
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Description
Circle of Friends supports women at Mary's Place, YWCA Kitchener-Waterloo, as they transition from homelessness back into independent living in the K-W community.
Circle consist of 2-3 volunteers and one woman transitioning from Mary's Place. Each week, a Circle may assist a woman with daily living or provide access to community resources, such as food hampers and community centres. Most importantly, Circle will create new and healthy relationships!
Circle of Friends is looking for mature and caring women to provide weekly support to some of our community's most vulnerable people: homeless women.
Contact info
Circle of Friends
c/o Mary's Place/YWCA K-W
84 Frederick Street
Kitchener, ON N2H 2L7
(519) 744-6507 ext. 243
More Info
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Length
1 year, weekly meetings
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Where: Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)
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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Program
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Age
adult
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Description
MCC Manitoba's Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Program provides staff and volunteer support for adults living with FASD. FASD is a term used to describe a continuum of alcohol related birth defects, occurring when alcohol is consumed during pregnancy. The program directly supports individuals as they plan for their futures, manage difficult circumstances and navigate systems such as EIA, Probation, etc. The FASD Program is looking for women and men in Winnipeg and surrounding areas to spend 1-3 hours per week providing visits, assistance with food preparation, rides to appointments, playing sports, on-going reminders and financial guidance.
The majority of the program's participants have been involved with the criminal justice system and many of them struggle with depression, substance use/abuse and other health issues. With regular, positive support from a circle of people, the quality of life could be increased dramatically for these individuals as well as their communities. Training will be provided as necessary.
These positions could be filled by anyone with an interest in learning about the life of one person living with FASD.
"I need a lot of reminders in order to stay focused" says Joseph, who lives with FASD, "and supports help me to live the life that I want."
Contact Info
Jewel or Debra
(204) 783-0897
More Info
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Length
1-3 hours per week
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Where: Manitoba (Canada)
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House Against Hunger
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Age
any age
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Description
Collect volunteers and materials and build a house to raise funds for MCC.
Business and tradespeople have generously donated materials and labor, and hundreds of volunteers have worked together to build 37 houses
since 1986.
More Info
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Length
spare time
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Where: local communities (North America)
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Material Resource Center
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Age
any age
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Description
Volunteers are the lifeblood of MCC material resource centers and warehouses across the United States and Canada. Here materials are assembled, sorted, checked and even made for sending to crisis situations throughout the world. These crises may be economic or natural or sometimes the product of war.
All items shipped from material resource centers are donated. They come to the centers in small amounts, but as many people give, the numbers mount up quite quickly. Volunteers sort and pack clothes, check health, relief, school, sewing and newborn kits, pack soap, and make quilts, along with many other tasks.
Church districts, school groups, family groups and individuals volunteer on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis.
Contact your nearest MCC U.S. regional office or MCC Canada provincial office.
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Length
spare time
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Where: North America
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Meat Canning
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Age
15 +
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Description
With the help of four long-term volunteers, the meat canner travels from October to April, to 34 North American communities. A volunteer crew of 18 to 20 people is needed for each canning shift. The first shift begins early, with some people arriving before 5:30 a.m. to prepare meat so that cooking can begin around 6 a.m.
Other jobs include stirring the meat, cleaning and drying the cans after they are pressurized, putting together the boxes, boxing the canned meat and preparing food for the volunteers. Last year, more than 15,000 volunteers helped out during the canners' various stops.
More Info
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Length
spare time
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Where: Mennonite communities in North America
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Relief Sales
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Age
any age
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Description
Relief sales have been a tradition in Mennonite communities for more than four decades. With their standard format of a quilt and crafts auction and food, the sales provide a concrete way for church members to support MCC's relief and service work. New sales are added every year, and Latin American tamales and Ethiopian injera now join traditional shoo-fly pie and borscht as food booth favorites. From February through November each year, some 45 relief sales in the United States and Canada generate around $6 million Cdn./$4 million U.S. for MCC programs around the world.
Just as important as the money raised is the role relief sales play as places for communities to connect and learn more about the mission of MCC.
Relief sale volunteers help organize food and craft sales, coordinate children's events or music, publicize sales and set up facilities.
More Info
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Length
spare time
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Where: Mennonite communities in North America
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Ten Thousand Villages
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Age
any age
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Description
Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit marketing program of MCC providing vital, fair income for Third World artisans, provides work opportunities for people seeking a service and awareness-building experience in North America.
Individuals can work as volunteers at a local store. There are also short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities in the Akron, Pennsylvania, and New Hamburg, Ontario, warehouses and offices. Housing and food allowances are provided in most longer-term situations.
www.tenthousandvillages.org
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Length
spare time
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Where: North America
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Thrift Shop Network
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Age
17 +
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Description
Throughout the North American network of 108 shops, thousands of volunteers as well as paid managers help with the day-to-day operations of MCC's thrift shops.
Volunteers are needed to sort and price items, work with customers and contribute to creative "thrifty to nifty" ideas such as recycling no longer useful items of fabric, wool, and wood into blankets and garden projects.
More Info
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Length
spare time
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Where: North America
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Short Term Opportunities (one week to several months)
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Chalo
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Age
13 - 30
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Description
Chalo (the Hindi word for Go!) is a short-term
exposure & service
experience for groups, in the city of Saskatoon.
Chalo has two main emphases to choose from:
- Refugee and New Comers
- Urban Culture
More Info
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Length
3 - 6 days
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Where: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada)
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Harmonie
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Age
18 - 24
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Description
Service/learning for french speaking young adults, Harmonie is ideal for those wanting a multicultural experience in the context of community living and voluntary service. Theology, service, and music are the three central aspects of the Harmonie program.
More Info
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Length
8 months
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Where: Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
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Learning thru Service
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Age
14 +
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Description
A service/learning opportunity for youth groups to understand cultural diversity and the circumstances of poverty. Participants contribute to costs.
Contact MCC Quebec.
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Length
6 days +
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Where: Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
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Service Opportunities for Older People (SOOP)
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Age
50 +
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Description
SOOP appeals to singles, couples and groups from Mennonite and non-Mennonite churches. SOOP gives adults seasoned by life a chance to give something back, to use their gifts to help others, to make a difference in another's life. There are 70 locations to choose from within North America, where participants choose length of service and time of year.
It is assumed the applicants are Christian, active in a local congregation and committed to the Anabaptist peace position.
More Info
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Length
1 week +
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Where: North America
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Sharing With Appalachian People (SWAP)
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Age
14 +
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Description
SWAP provides opportunities for groups to repair homes for people in Kentucky's beautiful Appalachian Mountains, where many families face severe economic hardship. Participants learn about the dynamics of poverty, strengths of the people they have come to help and importance of service.
More Info
SWAP also provides short-term service opportunities for individuals.
Summer/Short-term Assignments
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Length
1 week +
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Where: West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky (United States)
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Summerbridge
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Age
17 +
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Description
Summerbridge is a Canada-wide summer service program for people attending a Mennonite congregation of diverse cultural background, such as Hispanic, Indo-Canadian, Francophone or Laotian. This program allows participants to stay in their home areas while reaching out to meet the needs of their community. MCC and local congregations support participants.
Application deadline is May 1 each year.
Contact your nearest MCC Canada provincial office.
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Length
10 - 16 weeks
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Where: local communities (Canada)
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Summer Service — Canada
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Age
18 +
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Description
Canada Summer Service provides assignments between early May and late August. Recent volunteers have worked with inner-city immersion programs in Vancouver and Winnipeg, and in Montreal working alongside a church in an effort to reach out to the people of Montreal. Participants contribute to costs.
Deadline for applications is March 1 each year.
Summer/Short-term Assignments.
Contact your nearest MCC Canada provincial office.
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Length
2 - 4 months
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Where: Canada
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Summer Service — United States
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Age
18 - 30
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Description
The Summer Service program enables African-American, Native American, Asian American and Latino youth in the United States to work with a church or service agency in their home community. MCC and local congregations support participants and pay a salary equivalent to minimum wage.
Application deadline is mid-March each year.
Contact your nearest MCC U.S. regional office.
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Length
10 weeks
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Where: Local communities (United States)
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Toronto Ontario Opportunities for Learning and Service (TOOLS)
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Age
13 +
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Description
An urban immersion experience in Toronto, Ontario. Participants learn through short-term (weekend to two weeks) service and exposure experiences. Emphasis is on beginning to understand circumstances of poverty and reflecting on the call to Christian service.
Participants contribute to costs.
More Info
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Length
weekend to one week
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Where: Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
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Urban Plunge
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Age
14 +
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Description:
Groups of up to 15 people "plunge" into an inner-city environment. Participants are hosted in an inner-city Mennonite church and are led through various service and learning opportunities designed to stretch their concept of what it means to be poor in an urban Canadian setting, and to challenge their understanding of what the "good news" is for people who live in poverty.
Opportunities to serve with various local organizations include soup kitchens, food banks, youth drop-in centres, community outreach programs and physical resource programs.
A fee of $10/person/night will be charged.
Contact MCC Manitoba.
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Length
2 - 7 days
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Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)
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Top
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11 months or longer
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Akron Connection
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Age
any age
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Description
Volunteers serve in areas such as communications, reception, housekeeping and alumni relations. Opportunities are available for volunteers of all ages, including families with children.
Service unit assignments will be for one or two years and include specific educational components. All expenses are covered, including food and lodging, travel to your assignment, medical insurance, assistance with education loans and a monthly stipend for personal expenses.
More Info
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Length
1-2 years
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Where: Akron, PA (United States)
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Church Community Worker Program
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Age
18 - 35
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Description
For people of color who relate to Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in the United States. The two-year program allows them to serve in their home communities. Projects are developed by participants in consultation with their local church or organization. Participants receive medical benefits, vacation and financial support equal to about minimum wage.
Examples of assignments include assisting immigrants in New York City, running an after-school program in Alabama and strengthening church administration in Lancaster, Pa.
Church Community Worker Assignments.
Contact your nearest MCC U.S. regional office.
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Length
2 years
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Where: local communities (United States)
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International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP)
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Age
18 - 30
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Description
IVEP is a vocational and cultural exchange program. International young adults from 30 countries, come to Canada and the United States for one year.
More Info
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Length
1 year
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Where: North America
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Lancaster County Service Program
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Age
adult
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Description
Akron, a borough of 5,000 people in the heart of scenic Lancaster County, is the center of MCC's offices in United States. Some 15 service workers — including singles, couples and families with children from North America, South America and Europe — are essential to MCC's daily operations.
Service workers live in MCC households with other single adults or as a family. Most work in MCC headquarters offices, the Ten Thousand Villages warehouse and store or the Material Resource Center. In addition to full-time service workers, assignments at MCC offices in Akron are filled by local service workers, reduced salary and salaried staff. Having these various categories of service helps keep MCC one of the most cost-effective charitable organizations in the United States.
Contact MCC U.S., or email
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Length
2 years
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Where: Akron, Pennsylvania (United States)
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Mennonite Partners in China (MPC)
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Age
adult
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Description
A program of four Mennonite church agencies, Mennonite Partners in China (formerly China Educational Exchange) builds relationships and carries out projects with Chinese partners in educational institutions, local government organizations and Protestant churches. MPC carries out various exchange and assistance programs, seeking to be a Christian presence in the spirit and manner of Jesus.
www.mennonitepartnerschina.org
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Length
3 years
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Where: China
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Service Workers — Canada
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Age
18 +
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Description
Service workers are active in communities all across Canada. Current assignments include working with Aboriginal people in Labrador, working with inner-city women's groups in Manitoba, assisting newcomers to Canada in British Columbia, serving in thrift stores across Canada or with Ten Thousand Villages. Wherever they are, service workers learn from and grow with those around them.
Assignments are available for single adults, couples and families with children.
Assignments listed under Open Assignments.
Contact your nearest MCC Canada provincial office.
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Length
2 years
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Where: Canada
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Service Workers — International
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Age
adult
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Description
Service workers serve in 50 countries outside of the United States and Canada. Assignments include agricultural development, water conservation, health, formal and informal education, economic and church-related programs, relief administration, social services, peacemaking and reconciliation.
Assignments listed under Open Assignments.
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Length
3 years +
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Where: outside North America
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Service Workers — United States
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Age
adult
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Description
From Capitol Hill to the mountains of Appalachia, United States service workers share their gifts and learn from the people they live and work among. Some United States service workers live in community with other volunteers and commit to regular social, spiritual and educational unit activities. Arrangements are also available for those serving in their home communities.
Current assignments include assisting immigrants in Miami, Florida; helping would-be entrepreneurs learn small business savvy in Philadelphia; and working with youth of the Oglala Lakota Nation in Pine Ridge, S.D.
Assignments are available for single adults, couples and families with children. A college degree is required for most assignments.
Assignments listed under Open Assignments.
Contact MCC U.S.
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Length
2 - 3 years
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Where: United States Service Unit Locations
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Serving and Learning Together (SALT)
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Age
18 - 27
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Description
An 11-month cross-cultural living and service experience for young adults from the United States and Canada. Assignments are available in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
More Info
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Length
11 months
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Where: outside North America
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Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN!)
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Age
18 - 30
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Description:
Young adults are selected by their local Anabaptist church and approved by YAMEN! to spend one year in a cross-cultural assignment serving and learning in an Anabaptist host congregation.
More Info
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Length
1 year
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Where: Any country with a Mennonite World Conference affiliated church.
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