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First Mennonite Church of San Francisco (FMCSF) supports a Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) unit in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco. The unit, a rented five-bedroom flat, is home for a group of volunteers who serve full-time in local non-profit agencies. Monthly stipends, paid to the unit by the agencies, cover rent, utilities, food, medical insurance and transportation.
Since 1975, over 100 volunteers have served in the San Francisco MVS program. They have worked with agencies helping people who are homeless or disadvantaged in obtaining housing, medical care and legal aid, assisting people living with HIV/AIDS, campaigning against the death penalty, working for a cleaner, sustainable environment, and nurturing children through arts and recreation.
To ensure the future of the San Francisco MVS program, FMCSF launched a capital campaign (Building the Future Together) in the fall of 2002 to purchase the building where the unit resides.
"For me, MVS was a natural step from my community back home. It's allowed me to follow a path of service and simple living. I'm glad for the chance to "give back" on behalf o my own past opportunities, while at the same time exploring career directions that hope will reflect my values." - Norm Kaethler, MVS volunteer at Pesticide Action Network North America, 2001-2003
"Besides the opportunity that MVS provided to expand my horizons by stepping out of my comfort zone, the chance to serve in this way has taught me so much about myself, true compassion, boundaries, seeing beyond my stereotypes and generalizations, the human body's resilience. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to do MVS and learn and grow as much as I have!" - Amy Krehbiel, MVS volunteer at Tom Waddell Health Center, 2001-2003 (currently working at the same agency as a nurse, and an active member of FMCSF)
