Mennonite Disaster Service

{{Short description|Network for disaster relief in North America}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Mennonite Disaster Service

| logo = Mds-logo.png

| founded_date = 1950

| founder =

| location = Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA

| origins =

| key_people = Kevin King, Executive Director{{cite web|url=http://charityreports.bbb.org/public/report.aspx?charityid=2043|title=Charity Report - Mennonite Disaster Service - give.org|website=charityreports.bbb.org|accessdate=4 July 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://mds.mennonite.net/about_us/staff/ |title=Staff | Mennonite Disaster Service |accessdate=2009-05-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20080509135725/http://mds.mennonite.net/about_us/staff/ |archivedate=2008-05-09 }}

| area_served = United States, Canada{{Ref label|reference3|3}}

| product =

| focus = Disaster Relief

| method =

| revenue = $2,870,251 {{Ref label|reference1|1}}

| endowment =

| num_volunteers = 3,000+

| num_employees = 11 {{Ref label|reference1|1}}

| num_members =

| subsib =

| owner =

| homepage = http://www.mds.mennonite.net

| footnotes =

}}

The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is a volunteer network through which various groups within the Anabaptist tradition assist people affected by disasters in North America.{{cite web|url=http://www.mds.mennonite.net/|title=Home - Mennonite Disaster Service|website=Mennonite Disaster Service|accessdate=4 July 2018|archive-date=1 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601115555/http://www.mds.mennonite.net/|url-status=dead}} The organization was founded in 1950 and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1993.

The MDS currently involves more than 3,000 members of the Mennonite, Amish and Brethren in Christ churches (BIC).{{cite web |url=http://mds.mennonite.net/about_us/history/ |title=History | Mennonite Disaster Service |accessdate=2009-05-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20080509185153/http://mds.mennonite.net/about_us/history/ |archivedate=2008-05-09 }}{{cite book|last = Kraybill| first = Donald| title = The Riddle of Amish Culture | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press| year = 2001| isbn =0-8018-6772-X | pages =157–158}}{{cite book|last = Wittlinger| first = Carlton| title = Quest for Piety and Obedience: The Story of the Brethren in Christ| publisher = Evangel Press| year = 1978| isbn =0-916035-05-0|page=529}} The primary focus of the service is cleanup, repair, and the rebuilding of homes.{{cite web|url=http://www.kyham.net/downloads/library/training/mennonite.pdf |title=Mennonite Disaster Service |date= |accessdate=2018-07-04}} The work of the group supplements the disaster relief provided by the Red Cross.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M46656.html/?searchterm=mennonite%20disaster%20service |title=Mennonite Disaster Service — GAMEO |access-date=2009-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604010509/http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/M46656.html/?searchterm=mennonite%20disaster%20service |archive-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=dead }}https://www.crossnet.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_300_,00.html{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Mennonite Disaster Service also works closely with Mennonite Central Committee.{{Ref label|reference4|4}}

A quarterly newsletter called Behind the Hammer is published.{{cite web |url=http://mds.mennonite.net/news/newsletter |title=Newsletter | Mennonite Disaster Service |accessdate=2009-05-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120711201659/http://mds.mennonite.net/news/newsletter |archivedate=2012-07-11 }}

The volunteer amateur radio group Mennonet provides communication services for MDS.{{cite web|url=http://www.hesston.edu/newsport/archives/fall2007/070920ham.htm|title=News Releases Archives - Hesston College|website=Hesston College|accessdate=4 July 2018}}{{cite book|last = Detweiler| first = Lowell| title = The Hammer Rings Hope: Photos and Stories from Fifty Years of Mennonite Disaster Service | publisher = Herald Press| year = 2000| isbn =0-8361-9110-2| page =63}} Radio equipment was first deployed by MDS in 1960.{{Ref label|reference4|4}}