It was an extra special Wednesday at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Material Resources Center (MRC) in Ephrata, Pa. Cars packed the parking lot and overflowed into the grass. Over 100 volunteers exuded bubbly energy as they went about their tasks in the warehouse. In the dining hall, staff carefully lined up small bowls of homemade dirt pudding, complete with colorful gummy worms.
Twenty-five years and two days after the last MRC warehouse expansion in 1999, volunteers and staff were gathered for an MRC expansion groundbreaking ceremony on July 10, 2024. MCC is a global relief, development and peacebuilding organization, with U.S. headquarters based in Akron, Pennsylvania.
While MCC's first humanitarian efforts began in 1920 in southern Russia (present-day Ukraine), the first MCC clothing center was birthed in 1943 in Ephrata, Pa. at the original Ephrata Mennonite Church building. At that time, clothing was sent internationally to people in need.
By 1970, more room was necessary to continue providing international relief. That year, MCC received a land donation from Bertha and Mahlon Stauffer to build a center at the present 517 West Trout Run Road location. For a time, that center accommodated both MCC and Self-Help Crafts, now known as fair trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages.
Today, the Ephrata MRC is a bustling volunteer hub and collection point for donated material resources, like hygiene supplies, comforter blankets and school supplies. Volunteers pack and check kits, bale comforters for shipment and process recycling.
In the sewing room, volunteers work at rows of steadily humming sewing machines, putting together handmade comforters and dignity kits, which contain reusable menstrual hygiene products. A quilt room hosts volunteers who serenely hand-stitch beautiful quilts and sort donated fabrics. The quilts are sold at MCC relief sales to benefit MCC.
Throughout the year, 8 staff manage the work of over 9,000 volunteers, many of whom are Amish. Of the Amish, about 242 unique church districts volunteer on an annual basis, often arriving in buses from their communities in Lancaster, Lebanon, York, Chester and Centre Counties in Pennsylvania.
In MCC's 2023-2024 fiscal year, MRC staff and volunteers in Ephrata prepared and shipped 43 containers of material resources to MCC partners around the world, valued at $6 million. Some of the material resources are also shared with churches and partners in MCC's East Coast region, which stretches from Maine to Puerto Rico.
In the same fiscal year, volunteers processed 2,700 tons of cardboard, paper, clothing, shoes and more for recycling, which generated $360,000 for MCC's ministries. A network of MCC Thrift shops in the area, along with local businesses and households, drop off items at the MRC for recycling.
MCC's worldwide ministry of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ is critically dependent on the functions that take place at the MRC. However, the current space, including the warehouse and volunteer work areas, is packed to overflowing. This creates a challenging environment for staff and volunteers.
Carol Zook, Ephrata Material Resources Center manager, says, "This expansion project is very important because it provides greater safety for volunteers. It provides more space in the warehouse to keep things manageable and relieve congestion."
Increasing calls for material resources from MCC's partners around the world are straining the storage and staging capabilities of the MRC warehouse space. Recycling activities have also increased and diversified, requiring increased storage and workspace.
To address these needs, MCC is adding a 68-foot by 175-foot warehouse to the existing MRC complex. The addition will add 11,000 square feet of warehouse space. More space will also allow staff to stage humanitarian aid shipments away from volunteer workspaces. The sewing room will be expanded to better accommodate volunteers. More warehouse space will eliminate the need to rent storage trailers, and it will give shelter to the MCC Mobile Meat Canner and MCC trucks.
The project will include a renovation which will separate volunteer workspaces from warehouse storage spaces. It will also create two small soundproof meeting rooms for MCC staff who work in the MRC and in the MCC East Coast Ephrata office, which is adjacent to the warehouse. Currently 13 MCC East Coast staff work in the building regularly.
Overall, staff hope that the expansion will create a safer and more comfortable environment for those who work and volunteer at the Ephrata location.
Rudi Niessen, warehouse manager at the MRC, says, "It will give us some breathing space."
The expansion groundbreaking event welcomed MCC staff, volunteers and alumni to the MRC. The ceremony included a symbolic groundbreaking outdoors in bright sun and 80% humidity.
As the groundbreaking began, complete with hard hats and shovels, Hyacinth Stevens, executive director of MCC East Coast, expressed gratitude for the expansion. She prayed, "We thank you God today for your showers of blessings. We pray that showers of blessings would fall, refreshing our neighbors near and far."
A brief program was then held indoors, which offered refreshments including dirt pudding. In typical MRC fashion, a weekly volunteer also brought six homemade pies to share in celebration of her birthday. Before the formal program could begin, she received a round of applause and about 130 voices sang 'Happy Birthday' in her honor. The MRC welcomes around 100 regular volunteers weekly, and hospitality is a core feature of the MRC volunteer experience.
The MRC expansion project cost is estimated to be $1 million. MCC East Coast has $500,000 in reserves and invites supporters to give towards the expansion. So far, MCC has raised over $150,371 towards the project.
MCC also invites supporters to pray for a successful and timely completion of the building project, safety for construction workers and for the volunteers and staff who will make the transition to the expanded space.
During the program, Niessen reflected on the lives of thousands of people, near and far, who will receive the donated kits, comforters, canned meat and other material resources that are sent out from the humble warehouse tucked away in Ephrata, Pa. He says, "We can only do this in the name of Christ."
Zook agreed, "We pray that everything that we are trying to accomplish will be done in [Jesus'] name."