Canada and the United States are home to the largest communities of Mennonites around the world; as of 2012, there were approximately 1.7 million Mennonites worldwide. The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) certainly has plenty of members able and willing to provide assistance including resources to its noble cause.

Organized in Chicago on 27 September 1920, MCC was established as a food relief response to the starving Mennonites in Ukraine. But its founders soon realized that its exclusive approach will be against their Christian beliefs (i.e., help all those who are in need) and, thus, was born the international non-profit organization we know today.

Nowadays, MCC is well-known and well-respected as one of the premier Anabaptist organizations actively involved in the relief, service and peace efforts across several countries with headquarters in Akron, Pennsylvania and Winnipeg, Manitoba. With 15 Mennonite, Amish and Brethren in Christ bodies represented by the organization, it has lived up to the high expectations set upon it by its stakeholders.

MCC, for example, has a well-deserved reputation of cost-efficiency with 78.2% of its funds raised used directly for its field operations. These include a wide range of areas including fair trade, health and education, and peace and justice; the organization is considered a pioneer in fair trade with its Ten Thousand Villages program.

The organization generally does not solicit for private and public sector funds in keeping with its mission. Instead, its funds for its global relief, services and peace projects come from independent relief sales conducted by its Mennonite members, such as sales featuring handmade quilts, homemade foods, arts and crafts, and artwork as well as musical programs and children’s activities. Even the goods for relief and the labour for their distribution are donated by members.

But MCC has its share of controversies with its military exemption advocacy as contained in its conscientious objector registry being one of them.