Mennonite Central Committee broke ground July 10 for a $1 million expansion of its East Coast Material Resources Center in Ephrata, Pa.

The center 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 sewing machines, putting together handmade comforters and dignity kits, which contain reusable menstrual hygiene products. A quilt room hosts volunteers who hand-stitch quilts to be sold at relief sales and sort donated fabrics.

Eight staff manage the work of over 9,000 volunteers, many of whom are Amish. Members of about 242 Amish church districts volunteer, often arriving in buses from Lancaster, Lebanon, York, Chester and Centre counties in Pennsylvania.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, staff and volunteers in Ephrata prepared and shipped 47 containers of material resources to partners around the world, valued at $6 million.

Some of the resources are 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.

The current space, including the warehouse and volunteer work areas, is packed to overflowing. This creates a challenging environment for staff and volunteers.

Increasing calls for material resources from MCC’s partners around the world are straining the storage and staging capabilities of the warehouse space. Recycling activities have increased and diversified, requiring increased storage and workspace.

The expansion will add 11,000 square feet of warehouse space. This will allow staff to stage 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 will give shelter to the mobile meat canner and MCC trucks.

The renovation will separate volunteer workspaces from warehouse storage. It will create two meeting rooms for MCC staff who work in the Material Resources Center and the MCC East Coast Ephrata office, adjacent to the warehouse. Currently, 13 MCC East Coast staff work in the building.

MCC East Coast has $500,000 in reserves and invites supporters to give to the expansion project. So far, MCC has raised over $87,000.