While reflecting on my first six months at Thrift on Kent, I’ve been continually amazed by the passion of team that I get to work with. My interactions with volunteers and staff while walking through our Shop or sitting down to chat regularly include conversations about a new IDEA!
I’ve learned that the work we do together is very important to you and that you think a lot about it and how to make it better. That’s INNOVATION. And it’s one of our values.
An historical timeline was recently installed in the MCC Ontario offices (upstairs in our building). It highlights how our organization has boldly and innovatively responded to the needs of its time. One example:
Beginning in 1976, MCC Ontario organized grassroots recycling drives in Kitchener, mobilizing congregations and volunteers to divert waste from landfills. Their success helped pave the way for municipal programs. In 1983, Kitchener-Waterloo became the first Canadian
community to introduce regular curbside recycling. Today, we’re faced with addressing the ongoing challenge that our cultural obsession with “fast fashion” has created. As a Thrift Shop, we are already part of the solution. However, we are forced to reckon with increased unusable donations. A recent CBC article noted that, “When people treat thrift stores as recycling centres, it creates extra work for employees who are left to sort through and dispose of junk.” (Thrifting is everywhere — but is it actually better for the planet?)
You will notice a change in the way we sort textiles in the days ahead. Rather than passing along unsellable textiles (i.e. garbage) along to a textile recycler, we need to deal with it ourselves. This highlights a problem that is much bigger than ourselves. We’re not alone in our attempts to respond to this concern. But passionate people and organizations are innovative.
Please know that your ideas are welcome and heard. We may not be able to act on each one, but our collective IDEAS can lead to big INNOVATIONS.
Tim Albrecht General Manager MCC Thrift on Kent
Welcome to our summer students, Henna and Alastair!
Alistair will be working in the workroom, so if you are a processing volunteer, you will likely see him around every day! He has just completed his first year studying Finance at UW. He has lived in Waterloo his whole life. His hobbies include fashion, collecting clothes, thrifting, and sewing. His favourite food is tacos – from where? His step-aunt is from Mexico and makes the best tacos. His favourite movie is Lahaine, about people in Paris during an era of conflict and unrest. He did a project on this movie and thus knows and understands it really well. Welcome Alistair! Henna has just finished her first year of child studies at the University of Guelph, and hopes to go into speech language pathology when she graduates. Her hobbies include sewing, water colours and playing guitar. She loves any Korean food. There is a family at her church who is from Korea, and Henna has really enjoyed the food they make. She has been to Germany on a family trip, and enjoyed noticing the differences in countries and cultures. Henna will be working in the retail store this summer. Welcome Henna!
Welcome!
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 us for Community Coffee the week of July 6-11!
We will meet together as a team at 10:30 and 2:30 to be informed, build community, and be inspired to keep doing the good work that we do! Hope you will join us!
You’re Invited: Bucket of Thanks
From the MCC Hub in New Hamburg, thousands of kits, cans and comforters get shipped around the world. Discover the care that goes into a kit and pack one yourself for someone affected by conflict or disaster. See how we meet urgent needs and make a global impact — one kit at a time. Join us on August 29 at the MCC Hub (65 Heritage Dr., New Hamburg).
Margaret - sorting clothes (Mon)
Logan - retailhousehold (Fri/ Sat)
Sarah - receiving - sorting (Mon)
Dave Shardware (Mon)
Lyndahousewares (Thurs); cash (Sat)
Messiach - retailfashion (M/T)
Dhwani - retailfashion (F)
Why we keep volunteering: Part 1
We have five volunteers who have been volunteering with MCC for over 20 years! This month, I took a few minutes to ask two of them “Why do you keep volunteering with MCC?” Next month, we will hear from the others.
Chris Brubacher has a long history with MCC! As a child, she was the oldest of the kids in the neighbourhood and organized a rummage sale with donations from the neighbours, and then invited them back to shop. Her mom donated the proceeds to MCC.
She started volunteering in 1991, and two years later was asked to be the manager of the Lancaster shop (a former MCC Thrift Shop in Kitchener). She was unsure, but was sent to a manager training in Pennsylvania where she was really touched by the work of MCC, and agreed to take the job. She managed the store for 10 years, and came back as a volunteer within a few months of resigning. “MCC is in my blood” she says. As a manager, she recruited many volunteers, and when she volunteers, she enjoys staying in touch with those who are still volunteering here.
She has been the chair of the board, and was on the task force that wrote the letter to MCC asking them to include a thrift shop at 50 Kent in the new building. When this shop had its grand opening, she was the first one through the doors! She says, “MCC has become part of who I am; it means so much to me. I consider it a privilege to have been involved with MCC all these years.” Thank you, Chris, for all your work for MCC – volunteer and otherwise!
Diane Walsh started volunteering at the Lancaster shop because her Aunt Jo worked there and suggested she would be a perfect fit. At that time, they were trained to do everything from retail to laundry to sorting and cleaning. She flourished and loved it there!
When the stores amalgamated, she continued to volunteer and worked in sorting clothes. At that time, we shared the space with Material Resources, so clothing was done very differently. It was kept in bags, and then sorted into banana boxes by type: women’s shorts, men’s pants, women’s dresses, etc. They would see what was low in the shop and then find the box with what they needed to fill up stock. After covid, the way clothing was sorted changed as there was more space.
As there was a need, Diane was happy to help in jewelry, which she had also done at the Lancaster store. Diane had noticed that sometimes rosaries, cross necklaces and religious cards don’t sell, so she takes them to the Carmelites, who are happy to have them and send them all over the world!
Diane loves to work! She loved her job, and she needs to get out of the house to interact with people and have purposeful work. Diane has a real sense of commitment to her work here. She loves the community and thinks that the mix of people she gets to work with here is really lovely. She talks about MCC with family and friends and sees herself as an ambassador for MCC. And of course, “the shopping is excellent”!
Here’s the scoop: We are grateful for all you do!
During the week of July 13-18, there will be soft serve ice cream with bananas, sauce and sprinkles! Why? Because the shop couldn’t run without you! Thank you for volunteering with us!
Note: we are closed for Civic Holiday
We will be closed on Monday, August 3rd for the long weekend.
If you are able to help with pull on Tuesday, August 4th, please let Giselle know. Thank you!
Where our stuff goes: The Pregnancy
Centre
The Pregnancy Centre is a local organization whose mission it is to “provide practical resources and emotional support…for those who are pregnant or parenting through crisis.” They accomplish this mission by providing counselling, supportive communities, meal planning and budgeting programs, clothing and care packages to people who are in need.
The connection between Thrift on Kent and the Pregnancy Centre has felt like a very natural one: they are an entity built on values that are similar to our own, they work to meet the needs of vulnerable people in our community and they are able to make use of a variety of products that we receive as donations but are not able to sell. These products include formula, open diaper packages, feeding aids and other items we cannot use. A Pregnancy Centre volunteer regularly comes by Thrift on Kent to pick up these donations and bring them to be distributed, as needed, to the Centre’s clientele.
June Volunteer BBQ
A big thanks to Etta, Liz, Deborah and Bernadette for all the work they did for the BBQ! This committee is so helpful in taking the lead in organizing events like this! And a shout-out to Spencer and Bruce for cooking!
Your chance to taste (and order) your own canned meat!
MCC’s Material Resources (MR) and Thrift are partnering for an exciting pilot in July and August.
This is a short, learning focused pilot designed to build awareness, test customer interest, and gather insights before considering any longer-term direction.
What the pilot includes:
• Volunteer taste testing and introduction of canned meat in each shop during July.
• Pre-orders from volunteers, staff, and shoppers will be taken.
• A dedicated in shop engagement will happen in August.
Key timelines:
• Early June–mid July: Volunteer taste testing and education
• Mid-July–Aug 31: Pre-orders open
• Week of Sept 14: In-shop pick-ups, engagement, and same-day sales (supported by MR)
Some recipes to try are included!
This is a great opportunity to deepen our connection to MCC’s global relief work and support our story locally in Ontario. We look forward to the feedback.
