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!