The program

Mennonite Urban Corps was founded in 1994 by Rev. Dr. John Stahl-Wert to connect human resources to urban need by matching talented university graduates with challenging urban work placements.

The MennoCorps model, which is founded in Mennonite-Anabaptist traditions of voluntary service and cross-cultural learning, recruits university graduates for a one-year term at work placements arranged through MennoCorps. MennoCorps then pools participants' earnings from their placements to provide room and board, transportation expenses, and a small monthly stipend. Participants also take part in a weekly urban studies seminar, which explores the impact of urban life on their career, lifestyle, and faith.

Since its inception, MennoCorps/PULSE has placed more than 90 participants in education, small business, arts, social sector, scientific, and religious agencies all over Pittsburgh and Louisville, contributing in excess of 145,000 hours of service.

Our name

MennoCorps began life in Pittsburgh, Pa., under the name "PULSE," which stands for the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience. PULSE changed its name to Mennonite Urban Corps in 2000 to better reflect its Mennonite identity.

In 2004, the Pittsburgh program was joined by the newly-inaugurated Lousiville (Ky.) Urban Corps, and the Board of Directors decided to that it would be appropriate reshuffle the program's name again. Starting Sept. 1, 2004, "MennoCorps" refers to the national organization which encompasses the Louisville Urban Corps and the original Pittsburgh program, once again known as PULSE.