JANUARY 2026
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
Keeping our valued volunteers informed
GM’s Corner Happy New Year, Thrift on Kent volunteers! I am excited to join your team as your General Manager this month! My love for MCC and its work took root during a gap year from high school, as I served with Self Help Crafts, which became Ten Thousand Villages. At Thrift on Kent, we get to be the fundraising arm for MCC, a well-established, 105-year-old organization. We get to participate in meaningful work that makes a significant difference in our community, our province, and our world. My wife (Deb) and I have recently moved back to the KW region after years of living in other parts of Ontario and Canada. We spent our college days in Alberta, early parenting days in Saskatchewan, and the past 20 years in Niagara. My work experience includes a stint at the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (before it was Kindred), and over a decade of pastoral ministry, including providing client care and volunteer oversight at a food bank/drop-in centre.
For the past 11 years, I have served as General Manager at MCC Thrift in St. Catharines, one of six MCC Thrift Shops in Ontario. I led a team of seven staff and 175 active volunteers in this urban setting. The transition to a much larger Shop context will include a significant learning curve for me. I appreciate your patience and support as I find my way. My hope for my initial months with you is that I get to know the Thrift on Kent community well. You are a strong team with deep roots. I want to understand what “keeps you coming back” and what makes our work so important to you. Feel free to send me a message about why you invest your time at Thrift on Kent, using this email address: timalbrecht@mcco.ca I look forward to meeting each of you!
Tim Albrecht
General Manager MCC Thrift on Kent
Reminder: We have a prayer board! If you have circumstances in your life that you would like prayer for or are thankful for, please feel free to write it on a cue card and add it to the bulletin board outside Giselle’s office. • You can be as specific or as vague as you feel comfortable with. • We ask that you respect the confidentiality of the people you are asking for prayer for. • Also, please put a date on it, and we will clear requests every few weeks. We ask that this not become a source of gossip but be treated with the respect and confidentiality that is appropriate.
Heads-up January will have a Health and Safety focus for both staff and volunteers. Stay tuned!
JANUARY 2026
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
Welcome! Have you met any of our new volunteers? They started between November 15 and mid-December. Please join me in welcoming them!
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Brandon – receiving
Reynaldo hardware
Oma – retail fashion
Rick – books
Shawn – receiving
Damon – receiving
Ben – retail store
Levi - retail fashion
Monday
Tuesday
Ben – retail store
Reynaldo electrical Marvin – hardware
Jesse – receiving Felipe - toys
Oliver – retail fashion
January BIRTHDAYS Kaiming (retail fashion) Connie (toys) Arlene J. (retail fashion) Mihret (retail fashion) Paul K (receiving) Jim (furniture) Rachel (receiving/ retail store) Marylu (books) Nahla (retail fashion) Stephen (Friday class) Jude (books)
1/1 1/1 1/1 1/1 1/2 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/8 1/8 1/10
Gina (media) Judy (retail fashion) Donna Seifert (retail fashion) OG Taylor (clothing – hanging) Sue (clothing) Evelyn (cash) Owen (receiving) Betti (retail fashion) Kathleen (Cards) Shonn (jewelry) Gord (clothing – hanging) Jamal (cash) Brenda (retail fashion) Carin (Friday class) Jessica (media) Bernadette (retail fashion)
1/11 1/11 1/11 1/11 1/12 1/13 1/14 1/16 1/18 1/19 1/21 1/24 1/24 1/26 1/27 1/29
Community Coffee – Jan 5, 7 and 8 We have community coffee the first week of the month when there is important information to share. This month, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, we will meet our new general manager, Tim. We hope you will join us at 10:30 or 2:00 that week. For those of you who volunteer on Tuesdays and Fridays, you will meet Tim in February.
JANUARY 2026
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
Thoughts from Giselle As a child, I knew of MCC as a Christian organization that provided disaster relief and provided food and blankets to people in war-torn countries. Being raised in a Christian home, I knew that MCC was an organization that tangibly brought hope and comfort to people in need. I love the work they do – that is one of the big reasons I was excited to work here. Since working here, I continually learn more about MCC and the work they do. I find that what has the most impact on me is when I hear stories – stories of people whose lives and communities have been helped by MCC. • One of our volunteers was helped by MCC as a child when his family became refugees during World War II. MCC resettled families from worntorn Europe to Paraguay in the 1940s to give them a new start. • When I met a volunteer from Burundi and asked if she had heard about MCC, she said “of course - they have helped the people of my country.” • My cousin was on a trip to Cuba and witnessed an MCC truck arriving with supplies and saw firsthand all the people who had been lining up with anticipation waiting for the truck. • Heather from MCC Ontario shared at our Christmas celebration stories of MCC’s work around the world: • Peacebuilding in South Sudan. MCC is helping young people who’ve grown up surrounded by conflict learn skills in mediation and dialogue.
• Floating gardens in Bangladesh. MCC is helping families adapt through an innovative solution: floating gardens. Raised beds, built from natural materials like water hyacinth and bamboo, rise with the floodwaters, allowing vegetables to grow even during the monsoon season. Hearing these stories brings the work of MCC closer and makes it more real as I hear how the work of MCC transforms lives for people around the world. At Christmas I think a lot about peace and justice. After all, Jesus came to bring Good News to all, and in so many places in the world there is not a lot of good news. Many Christmas songs express our longing for peace and justice for our world. As we enter a new year, let us keep in mind that we are working to help respond to some of the needs in the world. Whether you hang clothes, sort goods, or check out customers at cash, know that every bit of work you do here at Thrift on Kent is part of the small puzzle of MCC that works together to fulfill the mission of “Sharing God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and work for peace and justice.” I look forward to seeing what another year brings both here at the shop and as MCC works around the world! Thank you for your part in the work of MCC!
Giselle Carter Volunteer Manager MCC Thrift on Kent
Staffing updates Tomi was our full-time community safety and outreach associate working in the store to connect with vulnerable customers. She has accepted a position with Circle of Friends. We will miss her and wish her well in her new role. We are happy that we will still see her around the building. Jane who was our part time staff in this role, will start full time as of January. We want to say a big thank you to Tetiana, Amber and Tianna – our seasonal staff - for all their help over the busy holiday time! We so much appreciate the extra staff and they all did a wonderful job! Welcome back Luke! Luke was off as he and his wife welcomed their third child. We are happy to hear they are doing well, and glad to have Luke back at work with us.
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2026
Pictures of the month Here are a couple of pictures from our holiday events.
Your Voice Matters: Share Your Volunteer Experience! The MCC Ontario Volunteer Survey is Still Open! Thank you to everyone who has already completed the MCC Ontario Volunteer Survey. If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to share your thoughts and experiences as a volunteer with MCC Ontario. How to participate: • Complete the survey online: www.surveymonkey.com/r/MCCOVolunteerSurvey2025 • Or ask your MCC staff contact for a printed copy. The survey closes on January 31, 2026. Your feedback helps us shape an excellent volunteer experience. Thank you for all you do with MCC Ontario!
Sewing help needed! MCC recently received a donation of matched tops and backs that require extra fabric to be sewn on the back in order for comforters to be prepared for shipment. Volunteers have been working through them at the MCC Hub, but we need some help! If you or your sewing group would like to help, please contact Alecia Weber (aleciaweber@mcco.ca) or stop by the MCC Hub (65 Heritage Dr., New Hamburg) to pick up material while supplies last. Thanks in advance!
JANUARY 2026
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
Yulia’s Story of Resilience and Giving Back Yulia came to Canada very recently after the war in Ukraine made it nearly impossible for her family to remain in their home. She was grateful to find work quickly and began building a new life with her husband and young daughter. Although Yulia had never heard of MCC before, when her employer, Sony Interactive Entertainment, offered an opportunity to volunteer by packing hygiene kits, she felt strongly drawn to participate. During her visit and tour in 2025, she was deeply moved by MCC’s ongoing work to support those affected by the crisis in Ukraine. Through tears, Yulia shared her own experience of being on the receiving end of emergency supplies like these. She thanked MCC many times and explained that you cannot truly understand what it means to receive such items in a time of great need. The work you are doing in our Thrift shop is making it possible for Yulia and others in Ukraine to receive relief and hygiene kits, comforters and canned meat in a time of uncertainty.
Anna and her son receive food relief through an MCC partner in Ukraine, similar to Yulia’s experience. New Life Charitable Fund Photo/Pavlo Dariichuk
Be an Active Bystander Join our Training Active Bystanders (TAB) workshop and learn practical ways to respond to harmful or isolating behaviour in everyday life. Date: January 19, 2026 | Time: 1:30–4:00 PM ET | Online - Zoom MCC Ontario does not expect volunteers to enter unsafe situations— TAB is about building confidence for everyday scenarios. Register here: bit.ly/TABJan2026
New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale Feature Quilt Reveal Each year, a talented individual or team creates a feature quilt for the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale, where hundreds of quilts are auctioned off in support of MCC. On January 27 at 9:30 a.m., the 2026 feature quilt will be unveiled! Join us in person in the foyer of Thrift on Kent in Kitchener for this exciting moment.