MARCH 2025
THRIFT VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
Keeping our valued volunteers informed
GM’s Corner I was invited to speak at a chapel service at Pleasant Manor Retirement Village in Niagara-on-the-Lake on a recent Thursday morning. I asked the group, “How many of you have donated or shopped at the Benefit Shop?” (as our Shop has colloquially been known over our 51-year history). Of the 40-50 people there, most raised their hands. Then I asked former “legacy” volunteers to share the tasks they had committed themselves during their tenure. Oh, the stories that our former volunteers can tell! Marlies served in the book department. Annelies sorted clothes for over 40 years. Jake tested electronics. Liese served customers at cash. Someone reminded me that our Shop’s very first collection of donations had been stored in her dining room. Another said, “I still send money to MCC regularly.” Another told me, “I’m still volunteering … people give me their donations and I deliver them to the Shop.” What great passion and excitement for the work of MCC Thrift exuded from these residents! These folks have NOT forgotten the joy of volunteering. Their lives were better and richer because they gave, and continue to give, their heart to the work of the Shop.
March
BIRTHDAYS
These verses from the Bible provide an accurate description of these “legacy volunteers …”: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream … It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jer. 17:7–14). The fruit of these volunteers continues to grow in you, our current volunteers. This past month we also celebrated Trudy’s good work among us as she prepares for the “Retirement” chapter in her life. In an interview posted to our social media pages recently, Trudy made the parting comment that echoes the above thoughts: “I want to live full and die empty.” Our hope is that the work you commit to during your shifts at MCC Thrift brings you joy and purpose and inspires you for years to come!
Tim Albrecht
General Manager MCC Thrift, St. Catharines
Rowena Wilson 6 Ella Andres 8 Laurence Steven 9 Asil Mohamed 11 Vidusha Somnandara 12
Shelley Bench Sara Friesen Bill Braun
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