During the next few months, each of our staff members will be visiting Material Resources program and taking time to work in the Meat Cannery. We will be working alongside others who work within MCC and not only Thrift teams.
This experience will be more than simply learning how the cannery operates. It is an opportunity to engage more deeply with our mission…to see, touch, and participate in work that makes a tangible difference both locally and globally. Our hope is that this day strengthens our shared understanding of the impact of MCC and deepens our role as ambassadors for the organization. We will engage more deeply with the mission of MCC, and we will see, touch and participate in this work that makes a tangible difference both locally and globally. Our hope is that this day strengthens a shared understanding of MCC’s impact and deepens our role as ambassadors for the organization.
Finished cans are then shipped to our partners, providing important nutrients when meat is hard to purchase. In refugee camps in Ethiopia, a lack of sufficient food sources leaves many young children malnourished. MCC’s canned turkey and chicken
Rummage Sale Bag Count!
help combat undernutrition for 6,000 children under 2 years of age.
Last year, MCC shipped 453,800 kg (1,000,440 lbs) of canned meat to Burundi, Canada, Chad, Cuba, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Sudan, Ukraine, the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Zambia.
We are very excited to be able to participate and learn in this process. And to be able to place orders to purchase cans of meat until the end of August. Material Resources staff will come in September to deliver the cans of meat and the profits from our purchasing this meat will help to support the other cans that will be sent around the world.
Orders can be made in the shop or at online: mcc-kit-supplies.square.site
Debbie Siertsema General Manager MCC Thrift
& Gift
Our annual rummage sale continues to be a favourite, and it’s fun to see how many bags of treasures find new homes each year!
• 2022: 161 bags sold
• 2023: 215 bags sold (our record!)
• 2024: 156 bags sold
We’re keeping track again this year and can’t wait to see how many bags we sell. With the help of our amazing volunteers, we’re hoping to beat our 2023 record of 215 bags! Thank you for all your hard work in making this event such a success.
Chrissy’s Corner
Summer has arrived, bringing sunshine, fresh local produce, and plenty of activity at the store! Our annual Rummage Sale has been a wonderful success, and we are grateful for the enthusiasm and support of our volunteers and customers.
To help keep quality items out of the landfill, we’re trying something new this year. We’ve introduced a Last Chance section in the Garden Centre, open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. This extension of the rummage sale features housewares and other hard goods that deserve one more opportunity to find a new home. As this is a trial, we’ll continue to adjust and improve it as we learn the best ways to organize, advertise, and move products. Your
ideas are always welcome! If you have suggestions, please drop them in the suggestion box beside the sign-in iPad.
Summer is a season of abundance! A time to enjoy good food, warm weather, and time spent with family and friends. Here at the MCC Thrift & Gift, we’re also harvesting kindness. Every donation sorted, every customer greeted, and every hour volunteered helps cultivate generosity that is shared throughout our community. Thank you for being part of this harvest and for helping kindness continue to grow.
Chrissy Bauman Volunteer Engagement Manager MCC Thrift & Gift
Welcome!
New volunteers, we’re excited to have you with us. If you have questions or need a hand, any member of our staff is happy to help. We look forward to working with you!
Harvesting Kindness: Celebrity Status and Customer Conversations
In early May, Debbie visited a Grade 6 class at Wellesley Public School to speak about relief kits that are sent to partners around the world. The students were beginning a persuasive writing project to raise funds for these kits. In June, just before the end of the school year, Debbie was invited back so the class could present her with a cheque for $1,886 raised through their project. During her first visit, the students made Debbie feel like a celebrity, asking for autographs on papers, booklets, and even shoes. One student also drew a dinosaur picture that is now framed in Debbie’s office. When Debbie returned in June, she was able to share that same excitement and gratitude as she accepted the
Looking Ahead
cheque. It was a sweet and meaningful visit, filled with kindness that was truly harvested.
In mid-July, a customer shared joy with Debbie at the cash register that she had recently spent time speaking with a young Mennonite mom in the toy area of the shop. Through their conversation, the customer learned more about local customs and the young mother’s family. Inspired by the kindness and openness of this mom, who was holding her six-month-old baby, the customer chose a small outfit as a thankyou gift for the child. This thoughtful exchange is a beautiful reminder that kindness can be harvested through simple conversations and shared moments of understanding.
Bucket of Thanks
Have you seen the jolly couple in their red suits around the shop yet – the time is coming …
The MCC Hub in New Hamburg is also the national headquarters for all shipments of kits sent to countries such as Ukraine, Zambia and others.
On August 29, join MCC at Bucket of Thanks, a familyfriendly event where you can:
• Taste a sample of meat prepared in the cannery
• Pack a relief kit that will be shipped overseas
• Enjoy a bouncy castle, face painting and snacks (for the young and young at heart!)
• Purchase canned meat in support of the cannery
This year, participate in a fun and meaningful Soap Structure Contest! Form a team, purchase as many individually wrapped bars of soap as you need for your structure and let your creativity shine as you craft a masterpiece that shows what peace looks like to you. For details, visit mcc.org/events/bucket-thanks-0.
MCC Picks Up Updates
MCC Picks Up, launched in January 2024, provides free household goods donation pick-up throughout Waterloo Region, helping keep MCC thrift shops in Kitchener, New Hamburg, and Elmira stocked with quality items. Since launch, the program has served more than 1,000 households and brought an estimated $300,000 in donated goods into the shops. A furniture pick-up service was added in 2025, serving more than 400 homes. While demand for furniture pick-ups remains strong, we have found that the program is not sustainable over the long term due to operational, staffing, health and safety, and financial considerations and therefore furniture pick-ups will end on September 1, 2026.
The team will focus on growing household goods collections, expanding community awareness, and building local business partnerships.
How you can help
Tell your family, friends, customers and neighbours in the Waterloo Region about our free household goods pick-up service. If you know of a retirement community, business, charitable organization, apartment building or other community group that may benefit from regular donation pick-ups, we’d love to hear from you. Thank you for your supporting the work of MCC in our communities and around the world.
Heather Krotz
Thrift Project Lead mccpicksup@mcco.ca
Peace Conference: Nourishing Peace Together
Saturday, November 7, Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener
If you’re hungry for connection, meaning and practical ways to resist despair in a world that feels overwhelming, plan to be at this year’s Peace Conference. MCC Ontario is hosting an in person event for people who don’t have everything figured out but who want to build peace. Attendees will:
• Learn how to practice peace in everyday life
• Hear from courageous people pursuing justice, reconciliation and care in hard places
• Share food, stories and space
• Take action, like knotting comforters and sending advocacy letters, to remind us we’re not powerless Register at mcc.org/Ontario-Peace-Conference
Volunteer Story: One Comforter at a Time: Christa Bender’s cross-Canada journey by bicycle
What do a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a dream have in common? For Christa Bender, a volunteer with MCC New Hamburg Thrift Centre, they became part of an inspiring 10,600-kilometre journey across Canada. As Christa cycled from the Pacific to the Atlantic, she collected fabric from thrift stores along the way and created 15 comforter tops for MCC, combining her love of quilting with a commitment to serving others. Her story is a beautiful reminder of how faith, community, and simple acts of care can make a lasting impact. Read more about Christa’s remarkable adventure at the following: mcec.ca/article/26142-one-comforter-at-a-time-christa-benders-cross-canada-journey-by-bicycle.
Help Spread the Word About MCC Ontario’s Local Programs
Dear MCC Volunteers,
Thank you for generously sharing your skills and time to further MCC’s mission. Your dedication makes a real difference in the lives of many.
We invite you to help amplify the impact of our local programs. By spreading the word, you can inspire more people to join us in sharing God’s compassion for all through relief, development, and peace-building efforts in Ontario.
Please complete the survey below. Your feedback will help us understand your knowledge of MCC’s Ontario programs. As a thank you, you’ll be entered into a random draw for a $50 MCC Thrift Shop gift card. Respond by Friday, August 28th.
www.surveymonkey.com/r/5BY7GJS
Join the Soup of the Month Club!
The Raw Carrot Soup of the Month Subscription is available for preorder. By joining, you will receive one of 10 delicious, exclusive soups each month (from September 2026 to June 2027). Purchases support the Raw Carrot program and provide meaningful employment to individuals with disAbilities. For more information or to preorder, visit the website: shop.therawcarrot.com/collections/kitchener/products/soup-of-the-month-club or email mcco@therawcarrot.com.
