August 2026 Volunteer Newsletter Kitchener

Keeping our valued volunteers informed

GM’s Corner

A fun video reenactment illustrates the circumstances that led to the start up of MCC Thrift in the early 1970’s. You can view it on YouTube: The origins of MCC thrift shops l MCC. The four women who founded MCC Thrift

were hopeful that their idea would last for a few months and bring in a few thousand dollars for the work of MCC. That was almost 55 years ago! That’s a SUSTAINABLE enterprise.

“Sustainable - Making decisions that secure and grow the enterprise committed to care for creation.” This guiding MCC Thrift value contains a long-term focus that ensures its ongoing success.

Alistair Charters, one of our Canada Summer Jobs employees this summer, is enrolled in Sustainability and Financial Management at University of Waterloo. Here are his responses to some questions I put to him this month:

Tim: What does it mean to be sustainable?

Alistair: Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present while ensuring the needs of the future can be met as-well.

Tim: What makes an enterprise (business, etc.) sustainable?

Alistair: To be sustainable a business has to consider three aspects:

1. The people - the social side of sustainability, ensuring that everyone’s treated equal and has equal opportunity.

2. The planet - ensuring that we protect ecosystems and natural resources required for life.

3. Profit - so that a company can continue to operate and grow in the ways that they help the planet and the people within it.

Tim: What are you learning about sustainability in the context of your work at MCC Thrift?

Alistair: I’ve noticed that people can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that sustainability is a “lost” cause and that one person can’t meaningfully help with growing issues like climate change. Having the opportunity to work at Thrift on Kent has completely disproven this way of thinking.MCC’s story proves that even just a few individuals who are passionate enough about a cause can meaningfully improve the lives of others. Being in the workroom and seeing how much potential waste we’re able to save and reuse, as well as seeing how we’re helping people in the community, has demonstrated to me the importance every individual has in ensuring a sustainable future. No matter how daunting the issue may be, we can still all contribute to the solution.

Thanks, Alistair, for your contributions this summer and for reminding us that our work together is resulting sustainable solutions for the future!

Tim Albrecht General Manager MCC Thrift on Kent

Alistair Charters

CSJ Student

MCC Thrift on Kent

A big welcome to our new volunteers! We have included their pictures to help you identify them and the shifts they are on. Is there someone new volunteering on your shift? Make a point of finding them and saying hello!

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.

Volunteer Highlight: Why they keep coming (Part 2)

Last month we heard from Chris and Diane about why, after over 20 years, they keep volunteering with MCC. This month, we continue to hear from some other volunteers who have been volunteering with MCC for more than 20 years!

Lila Bender started as a volunteer at the Lancaster Shop (former MCC Thrift Shop in Kitchener). Her role was to do the laundry! When the stores amalgamated, she started volunteering in housewares, where she still is every week. When asked why she keeps coming, she said she enjoys it! She likes working with people, and the atmosphere is really friendly. She has made friends here, and sometimes they go out for lunch together. She has always been interested in MCC’s work. She enjoys shopping before or after her shift! Thanks Lila!

Shonn had been working in jewelry and was trained as a gemologist when she realized she didn’t like retail! So, she got a job at the University of Waterloo. A co-worker mentioned that she volunteered at an MCC store on Bridgeport that had just opened in 1998. In conversation, Shonn mentioned her expertise in jewelry, but they already had someone doing jewelry, so they started Shonn doing buttons! Yes, they would cut the buttons off clothes that were not good enough to sell, pull the threads out of the buttons, and sort them by colour to sell. Soon, the person doing jewelry stepped back, and Shonn took over. She had a lot to learn as she knew about gold, silver and gems. However, she

Staffing updates

was up for the challenge and bought books from Chapters about jewelry (since this was before the internet was big). She has since retired from the university but is glad that she found a way to keep working with jewelry and isn’t retiring from Thrift yet. She says, “it has been a challenge and an education ever since” and it is “the surprises that keep [me] coming back!”

Emma Penner grew up knowing about the work of MCC – sending food to other nations, sending knotted comforters to keep kids warm, and helping Mennonites in the Ukraine get to safe places in the early 1900s. When Emma moved to KW in 2005, she was retired and had time to volunteer, so she started at the Bridgeport store. She did a variety of jobs, including sorting, categorizing, hanging and pricing bags of clothing donations. Now at Thrift on Kent, with more room and more volunteers, she focuses on hanging women’s clothing. She continues to volunteer at Thrift on Kent because she wants to be a vehicle of service to help others, both here in KW and abroad. She says, “Working here is a thank you to God for the blessings He has showered on our family. It gives purpose to my life. Working with such a variety of people helps me to keep growing and learning. My life is enriched!”

Ravish R., who was hired on a part-time contract early this year, has recently accepted a full-time position with us in our Workroom/Production area. His work focus is logistics, supporting various departments to ensure that our workroom functions as smoothly as possible. We are happy to welcome Ravish as a permanent member of our team!

Priya M., one of our Retail Team Members since 2024, has accepted a contract position to cover Spencer’s maternity leave in our Processing area (Hardline/Housewares). Priya will work alongside Spencer for a few weeks, beginning September 1.

Labour Day Closure

We are closed on Monday, Sept. 7th for Labour Day. Please let Giselle know if you are able to help out on Tuesday, Sept. 8th.

Thank you!

A big thank you to our two high school coop students who helped us out in July. Evelyn and Dinah both helped us out in the store, with receiving and in the workroom. We are grateful for their flexibility and willingness to learn. We appreciate all that Evelyn and Dinah brought to the team!

BIRTHDAYS August

Sandy (retail evenings)

Jordie (toys/ cash)

Ben M (retail)

Barb (purses/shoes)

Shelley A (retail)

Deborah (cashier)

Vanessa (retail)

Karl (specialty pricing)

Liam (retail)

Ingrid (retail)

Cameron (receiving)

Cailin (retail/ books)

Laura (retail)

Rick (cashier)

Aymen (books)

Alexis (retail)

Jane (housewares)

8/5

8/7

8/7

8/8

8/8

8/9

8/11

8/12

8/13

8/13

8/17

Norm (receiving)

Mary (housewares)

Alysha (fashion)

Peter (books)

Lorraine (retail)

Arlene (books)

Dawn (fashion)

Brittany (fashion)

Paul N (receiving)

Faces of Hope: An evening with MCC in Uganda

Thursday, August 6 at 7pm; 2nd floor of 50 Kent Ave., Kitchener

MCC Ontario staff members Beth Hovius, Dennis Flaming and Kim Lester will share reflections from their recent visit to MCC programs in Uganda. Through photos, stories and conversation, you’ll get a glimpse of the people and communities MCC is partnering with, and the impact being made together. Join us for an inspiring evening with refreshments (including peaches and ice cream)! No registration is required.

Community Coffee

Join us the week of August 10-16 to get updates and hear what is going on at Thrift on Kent!

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

Bucket of Thanks

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 family-friendly 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

Where taste meets impact

For nearly 80 years, MCC has been canning meat and shipping it to countries facing food insecurity and hunger crises. Now you can cook up recipes with a can (or case) of your very own. From now until September 1, place an order for a can of delicious chicken breast, fully cooked in its own juices with just a pinch of salt. Every purchase directly supports future shipments of meat to neighbours in Ontario and around the world.

Visit any of the six Ontario Thrift shops today to place an order place your order directly on the website: mcc-kit-supplies.square.site

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

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

Buy MCC Industrial Rags for cleaning

Do you need a reliable, cost-effective supply of rags? In a new pilot project, MCC Thrift is turning reclaimed textiles into industrial rags. Sourced from donations to our MCC Thrift shops, our rags provide practical cleaning solutions for home, construction sites, auto shops, manufacturing plants and more. Best of all, the project employs people who have barriers to traditional employment. Purchase packages of 10 rags for $3.00, 5 lbs for $8.00 or 24 lbs for $24. For sale at MCC Thrift on Kent or contact jodivannord@mcco.ca for quantity purchases.

Do you enjoy planning events?

We are looking for two more people to join our Volunteer Events Committee. This committee meets every few months to plan events such as ice cream week, BBQs, and the Christmas event. If you are interested, please let Giselle know!