Mennonite Voluntary Service

Serve in Community

Join an intentional community with peers, serve with a local nonprofit, and plug into your neighborhood and local congregation.

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Mennonite Voluntary Service

Be part of the bigger picture. Plug into a community. Join the neighborhood. Grow somewhere new.

Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) is a one-year volunteer service experience for individuals age 20+, with the opportunity for a placement extension for an additional one to two years.

MVSers play integral roles in transforming community social systems relating to health, education, immigration, food, housing and more. Join in this shared mission of actively working toward a more peaceful and just world. No pressure, though — after applying, we’ll work alongside you to determine which placement is your perfect fit.

Experience service in a new way

MVSers engage in instant community through two ways:

MVS participants live in a house together, sharing joys and challenges, meals and adventures while mutually supporting each other.
MVS units are hosted by local Mennonite churches that encourage, challenge, and work alongside MVS volunteers.

Making it work:

Student loan scholarships are available to all volunteers who have college debt and complete a term of service. Most loans can also be deferred during a term of service.
Throughout the service term, all basic needs such as food, housing, health care, transportation, and a personal stipend are provided.
Placements provide opportunities to develop skills and gain real-world experience that help you stand out to future employers. Engage your passion or try something new – MVS placements connect you with grassroot nonprofits and their vital, everyday work in the local community.

Solidarity Scholarship Fund

The Solidarity Fund was created to equalize opportunities and remove financial barriers for individuals who identify as BIPOC (including anyone from Asian, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities) and are interested in participating in serving through Mennonite Mission Network.

We recognize that it is also important to bring white allies along for this work. While funds will be prioritized for BIPOC participants, if there are available scholarships, white allies who are committed to racial and social justice may also be considered.

Solidarity Fund details

MVS Placements

Educational Gardens Coordinator

Alamosa, Colorado

Intake and Clinic Assistant/Legal Advocate

San Francisco, California

Communications Coordinator and Indigenous Solidarity Organizer

Tucson, Arizona

Local Foods Project Associate

Alamosa, Colorado

Rio Grande Farm Park (RGFP) Program Assistant

Alamosa, Colorado

Communications and Marketing Assistant

Alamosa, Colorado

Immigration Advocate

Chicago, Illinois

ESL or youth program assistant

Chicago, Illinois

Special Ed Student Support Services

Alamosa, Colorado

MVS Units

Chicago

Illinois

Join life in the diverse Pilsen neighborhood and enjoy fellowship with Chicago Community Mennonite Church. Explore God’s call to serve those affected by political, social, and economic injustice.

Alamosa

Colorado

Enjoy the mountains of rural Colorado and a small Anabaptist fellowship, while meeting critical community needs such as immigration, housing, restorative justice, and environmental restoration.

San Francisco

California

MVSers engage with issues of poverty, homelessness and housing in a vibrant urban setting. They also support mothers and children, work with people on the street, and advocate for nonviolent change in society.

Tucson

Arizona

Nestled between four mountain ranges and buzzing with the energy of a university city, Tucson offers enriching service opportunities with the enchanting Sonoran Desert as its backdrop. Volunteers work with low-income home repair, teach English literacy, help the community food bank, and more – all while learning about issues surrounding the borderlands and indigenous people.