GM’s Corner
Growing Together: Recognized, Renewed, and Refreshed
This month’s article is a little different from what I usually write. Rather than reflecting on a theme or story, I want to share some exciting information about where we are headed together.
In the coming months, we are making significant changes to our retail area, and I am genuinely excited about what is ahead. While change can sometimes feel unsettling, my hope is that these changes will help us make better use of our space, improve the flow, and create a fresher, more welcoming experience for everyone.
The title of this article is intentional. Just as people need to be recognized, renewed, and refreshed, our physical spaces need that too. Our retail area is, in many ways, the face of MCC Care & Share. It is often the first-place customers experience the welcome, care, creativity, and quality each of you brings to the shop.
Retail is only one part of the whole. Receiving, processing, the kitchen and lunchroom, our office spaces, and all the behind-the-scenes areas matter deeply too. Each space supports our people, work, and mission in different ways. We are working behind the scenes towards improvements in all areas, particularly processing, recognizing how important that space to our daily operations.
This retail refresh is part of a larger vision of improvement. It is not change simply for the sake of change, but part of an honest and hopeful look at how we care for the space entrusted to us. Our hope is that these changes will reflect the care and quality already present in the shop.
And that is really where I want to begin: with gratitude.
MCC Care & Share is blessed with the best volunteers around, hands down. You are the heart and soul of our shop. Whether you serve at the tills, on the retail floor, in receiving, processing, or in one of the many behind-thescenes roles that often go unnoticed, you help make this place what it is.
I am also deeply grateful for our staff, who carry so much of the daily responsibility of keeping the shop moving and helping the pieces of the shop work together. Together, our volunteers and staff carry the everyday work of MCC Care & Share. Through that work, donated items are given new life, affordable goods are made available, waste is reduced, and funds are raised to support MCC.
As we move into this retail change, I want to invite you into the process. We will post information in the lunchroom about the proposed changes. Please take time to review it, ask questions, and share your thoughts. You know the shop like no one else does, and your perspective matters.
When the time comes, we will also need practical help to make this vision a reality. I hope many of you will be willing and able to lend a hand.
Finally, I ask for your prayers as we move forward: for our staff, those involved in planning, and our work and discernment throughout this process. May we approach this plan with hearts of service and minds focused on the work, mission, values, and vision of MCC and MCC Care & Share.
Thank you for all you bring to MCC Care & Share. I am excited about what is ahead, grateful for what has already been built, and hopeful about what we can continue to do together.
Brian Ingram General Manager MCC Care & Share
June
BIRTHDAYS
June Vliek
Vincent Kwok
Julia Baek
Mari Cannon
Joke of the Month
Why did the first restaurant on the moon fail?
Great food, no atmosphere
6/5
6/5
6/5
6/6
Jonathan Gewarges
Kent Wideman
Marcie Dercola
Patricia Readhead
Chris Colley
Jackson Taylor
Anne Neufeld
Dominique Satchell
Hadi Raza
6/8 6/9 6/9 6/14 6/15 6/18 6/20 6/27 6/27
Remember Sandra and Allan
As many of you know, Sandra was a long-time supporter and volunteer at MCC Care & Share. Sandra has been greatly missed since her passing in December. Her Celebration of Life took place on Saturday, May 9 and was attended by some of our staff and volunteers. An excerpt from Sanday’s obituary is shown below.
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Sandra Burke.
She passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of December 17th at the palliative care unit in Markham Stouffville Hospital. She leaves behind husband Gary and daughter Kathryn. Predeceased by mother Muriel and father Reginald.
Artist, Mother, Wife, Friend, Teacher, and Volunteer; she was a big proponent of helping those around her. As a volunteer with the Aphasia Centre, Latcham Gallery, and the Care & Share, she donated her time and energy championing various causes. In the community she was involved in many groups including the Red Hats, the Couple Club, the Roadside Painters, Music Mania, Stouffville Studio Tour, various iterations of book clubs, and of course Lemonville Group of Artists. She moved through life with a creative edge and lived full of colour. She was passionate about art and nature, as well as spending time with friends and animals. She lives on in her art, which is scattered across living rooms and cottages of friends and family.
Another of our volunteers, Rev. John Allan Shantz passed away peacefully early last month after a brief illness.
Allan pastored with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada in Colbourne, Stayner, Markham and Kitchener; as well as Christian Horizons. His innate ability to build, fix and repair prompted many projects.
Alan was our “watch guy” at MCC Care & Share and served with dedication and kindness. We remember him fondly and he will be greatly missed.
Around the shop
Wordsearch of the Month
Put on your detective hat and find all the hidden words! Have fun!
Spring into Summer Fashion Show
A special thanks to all who helped make our Fashion Show a success. We really appreciate your efforts and all you do.
Reasons to Celebrate
Last year, our total customer and transaction numbers increased by almost 9%. Sales were 12% over budget and 14.5% higher than 2024.
Care & Share also received the Stouffville Community Impact Award for Sustainability, and two Reader’s Choice Best of Stouffville 2025 awards: Best Consignment/Thrift Store and Best Children’s Store.
These numbers and recognitions reflect the faithful work of our volunteers and staff, the generosity of our donors, and the support of our customers. Thank you.
Strawberry Thanksgiving and Communion
Saturday, June 13 from 9am – 1pm at Six Nations Polytechnic in Oshweken, Ontario
You’re warmly invited to Strawberry Thanksgiving and Communion on Saturday, June 13, 2026. This year’s event will seek to build on the momentum of last year’s conversation about the Spiritual Covenant, which is a way to acknowledge Indigenous jurisdiction over lands through an annual token lease payment. $20 is recommended to help cover the cost of lunch. mcc.org/strawberry-thanksgiving
Lunch and Listen: MCC in Asia
Whether you can join live online at Facebook.com/ MCCOntario or in person at the MCC office in Kitchener, a Lunch and Listen is an opportunity to hear from workers in field internationally. On June 23, we’ll be joined by the area directors for MCC in Asia with a special update from Myanmar. No registration is required. Learn more at mcc.org/events
Learning Tour in Timmins, Ontario
Pack your bags and get ready to be inspired and learn as we embark on an exciting journey to connect and engage with organizations and partners of MCC Ontario’s Indigenous Neighbours program in Timmins, Ontario. mcc.org/events/timmins-learning-tour