October 18, 2023

Hello Jesse,


Dr. Earl King, my brother, a pulmonologist who lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, was featured in the news lately for giving a unique prescription. The prescription? “Go get a cat”— four simple words to the patient.  

 

According to the news account, my brother had been seeing the patient for the last number of years—a woman who gratefully acknowledges: “Dr. King has saved my life at least three times.”

 

In a recent visit, he noticed that she was very sad, so he got creative—and restorative—with his treatment. 

 

If you were a medical doctor, what unique prescription would you prescribe? For me, I would write a one-word script: “Volunteer!”

 

We know that volunteering benefits our health.

 

The Mayo Clinic states that volunteers report better physical health than nonvolunteers. Research also has shown that volunteering leads to lower rates of depression and anxiety, especially for people 65 and older. Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine.

 

This is confirmed by the end of story mentioned above: the patient now “would like to take ‘Earlene’ [the cat] on visits to facilities that help veterans or those dealing with limb loss.”

 

So, I urge you to take your prescription and give us a call.  We can help. 1-800-241-8111.

 

Kevin King

 

P.S. To read more about Earlene click here.


Executive Director

Mennonite Disaster Service in U.S.

Join the MDS team!

MDS currently has several positions open. Positions range from full-time to part-time, home based as well as traditional office positions.


We encourage you to take a look at the opportunities posted on our Employment page. Share these openings at your church and encourage others who might be interested.


Join the MDS team today and make a difference everyday.


Click here to see job openings.

The Housewarmer Project provides quilted wall hangings and prayer shawls to disaster survivors whose homes have been rebuilt or restored by Mennonite Disaster Service volunteers.


We invite you and your friends to participate.


Click here to learn more.

An old grocery store... transformed

An old grocery store near Red Lake, Minnesota, has been transformed into a “marketplace” of MDS service.


On Sept. 5, the Red Lake Nation held an open house at the old store—now the Red Lake MDS volunteer accommodations—a building familiar to many in the community.


Click here to read more.

"God turns things out for our better"

Elisa Humphreys was sitting on her couch in her home in Carstairs, Alberta when she got the emergency alert about the tornado.


After getting the alert, she looked out the window. “I could see it coming,” she said.


With no time to spare, she grabbed her dog and one of her three cats—she didn’t know where the other two were—and headed for her car.



Click here to read more.

MDS has volunteer opportunities for you this fall!

See the full list of volunteer opportunities when you click here.

  Contact volunteer@mds.org or 

call 1-800-241-8111 with any questions or to schedule a week. 

Click here to volunteer
Thank you for your support!

Your continued support helps with recruiting volunteers, moving equipment, setting up accommodations, replenishing supplies, and many other things needed to get going.

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MDS Office in U.S.

583 Airport Road,

Lititz, PA 17543 USA


T: (717) 735-3536

T (toll free): 1-800-241-8111

F: (717) 735-0809

mdsus@mds.org

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MDS Canada Office
200-600 Shaftesbury Blvd
Winnipeg, MB Canada R3P 2J1

T: (204) 261-1274
F: (204) 261-1279