Thrift shops surpass $5 million

Mennonite Central Committee’s 56 thrift shops in Canada contributed a record $5.1 million to the work of MCC this past fiscal year, up from $4.6 million the previous year.

Judy Dyck, MCC’s Canadian thrift shop coordinator, says a new emphasis on informing customers that every purchase is really a gift to the world, contributed to the increase in sales.

Carter Serva from Listowel in the toy section of the Elmira (Ont.) MCC Thrift Shop. MCC news photo: Joanie Peters

“We want to help our customers, donors, and volunteers understand why we do what we do,” said Dyck. “We want people to make the link between what we are doing locally and what MCC does with the money.”

One of the most effective communication tools, she said, is shelf cards that remind customers their purchases are supporting MCC projects.

These shelf cards, with colourful photographs, inform customers that their purchase of a $2 book provides a one-month supply of food supplements for one person living with AIDS in Rwanda; a $15 end table provides a full year of school supplies for one student in Congo; and an 85-cent mug provides an educational kit for one child in India.

Some shops now have large world maps to help communicate the message that donations and purchases support MCC projects throughout the world. Bag stuffers also highlight MCC projects.

A new DVD called Second Hand Pants promotes the idea of young people working together in a thrift shop for a meaningful and rewarding cause.

Families working together as family outings is another new idea for attracting younger volunteers, said Dyck.

In Ontario, Grade 8 student Cassandra Bauman started working in the Elmira MCC Thrift Shop three years ago with her grandmother, Ruth Ann Bauman. Her interest in working in the shop prompted her parents, Kathy and Brent, to schedule a family activity in the thrift shop the fourth Saturday of each month.

“It helps our children to think about serving others,” said Kathy. “It gives us a chance to talk about the mission of MCC and the importance of recycling.”

In addition to helping people in developing countries, MCC thrift shops provide affordable clothing and household items in local communities and help build healthy communities through promoting recycling, explained Dyck.

MCC has nine thrift shops in British Columbia, three in Alberta, 12 in Saskatchewan, 16 in Manitoba, and 16 in Ontario.

—Gladys Terichow, MCC Canada