Mennonite Central Committee British Columbia and Mennonite Disaster Service Canada have entered a partnership to respond to floods that hit the West Coast province in November.

“When the full scope of the flooding became known, it was apparent we needed more resources to help our B.C. unit to respond,” said Ross Penner, who directs operations for MDS Canada.

MCC B.C. agreed to lend Shelley Dueck, its church relations and events manager, to MDS Canada to serve as operations coordinator for flood response in the Fraser Valley.

“MDS brings a special expertise in mobilizing volunteers to repair and rebuild homes, while MCC can mobilize resources,” said MCC B.C. executive director Wayne Bremner. “Together we can do more.”

The two organizations expect to be involved in responding to needs in Princeton, where MDS Canada is doing cleanup, and in the Fraser Valley itself.

More than $600,000 has been donated for flood relief through the two organizations. In addition to the flood needs, the organizations are looking for ways to help those who lost their homes to wildfires last summer.

The last time the two organizations worked together was in 2017, when they responded to wildfires in the Williams Lake area of northern B.C.