We are thru our first quarter of our financial year (year: Apr – Mar) and I am just amazed at how well the shop continues to do. For those that like numbers, sales are running 15% higher than budget. While I know I shouldn’t be surprised, this shop just keeps on growing.
We know where thanks are due – your efforts, your passion and your dedication makes all this happen. For that I offer humble thanks for all you do.
You may have heard at our BBQ on June 11, we are doubling the volunteer discount to 20% until the end of August. This is a simple token of appreciation. Simply show your volunteer discount card, same rules & disclaimers apply, only difference is the discount is 20% at the shop.
MCC Thrift on Kent is already off to a record setting year – I hope you can share in the joy that your work is contributing to something bigger than us all.
Kent Buhrke
General Manager MCC Thrift on Kent
Thank you for coming to our BBQ!
We had a great turn-out and the weather was just what I ordered. We appreciate Liz Tauvette and Etta Miller their help with our June barbeque. If you are interested in helping build our community through assisting in event planning, food prep or decorating, please let me know. We will have another BBQ at the end of the summer – hope you can make it on Thursday August 21.
Coming this summer … Ice Cream Week!
As a thank you for volunteering with us, and to cool you off in the summer, we will be making soft ice cream. Each day after lunch (M-Sat) and at 4:30 (M-F), we will be making soft ice cream. Bananas, sauce and sprinkles will be provided to top off your sundae!
July 28 - August 2
Dairy free frozen treats will be purchased as well, so hopefully most people can find a treat that their stomachs enjoy.
On June 3rd there was a small celebration at morning coffee for Marie Burkholder in honour of her upcoming marriage this July. Congratulations Marie! We wish you all the best!
BIRTHDAYS
Eleanor Neufeld
Mary Lou Justason
Ryan Steele
Liz Tauvette 1 2 5 6
Sheena Kobe
Vahideh Kamrani
Welcome!
Welcome to all our new volunteers! We are thankful for your willingness to help with our mission here at MCC TOK! This month I have listed them by the shift when they volunteer, so that you can make note of who is new when you are in, and can make a point to welcome them!
Monday
Tammy –greeter in receiving
Naomi – retail fashion
Veronica –retail fashion
Cing –receiving
Lauren – retail fashion
Kerrie-Ann –frames/crafts
Ruth – retail fashion
Habtamwa –tidying store
Ben – fashion
Habtamwa –hanging clothes
Masrra – cash
Tammy –electrical
Kerrie-Ann –Christmas
Noviehardware
Novie – toys
Naomi – retail fashion
Luis - electrical
Duncan –receiving
Cing – receiving
Naomiseasonal
João was a volunteer with thrift from 2023-2024. Staying well over his 40 hours required for high school, he volunteered 140 hours in sports! He will be joining us as a summer high school co-op student for the month of July. Join me in welcoming him! Welcome João!
Volunteer Highlights!
Meet Trent – one of our amazing high school volunteers. When I met him, he told me that his parents instill in him the importance of volunteering and helping in the community. He started with us in August of last year and has volunteered over 100 hours. He says “volunteering is great work experience, and I love being part of the community of staff and other volunteers. My favourite thing to do is help people solve any problems they might have.” Thanks Trent for all the time you are investing here!
Have you met Penny? Penny has been a volunteer here since this store opened and has given over 2000 hours to volunteering with MCC! She has volunteered putting out merchandise, in jewelry and in books and is presently a weekly volunteer in crafts and stationery. When she was a jewelry volunteer, she noticed a lot of jewelry that was unsaleable. As someone who paints, and is generally artsy and creative, she looked on Pinterest and saw pictures made from repurposed jewelry. So, she started making jewelry art. Using frames (we get far too many), broadcloth, and jewelry that we can’t sell, she makes unique beautiful pieces of art. That was over four years ago. When I asked how many she makes, she said between 50-60 each year! Thanks, Penny, for using your creative gifts to turn unsalable things into pictures customers enjoy!
Are you interested in learning a new role here?
I know when I interviewed some of you, you said you may be interested in another role in the future. Also, in the survey that went out in April, one question was “Are you interested in learning a new role”? Unfortunately, the survey online didn’t ask for your name, so if you answered “yes” to this question, we have no idea who you are! Oops! So, we would love to hear from you! Please come by and see Giselle if you would like to learn a new role here.
Connect your Church to MCC
Does your church know about MCC? If not, would you like to see your church engage with MCC? If the answer is yes, consider introducing Stephen Roy to your pastor or another church leader. This could be the first step in starting a conversation about introducing MCC to your church and exploring ways to get involved. If this opportunity interests you, please get in touch with Stephen Roy, Church and Community Relations Associate, at stephenroy@mcco.ca or 226-978-6124.
The 2025 Club!
Some volunteers have committed thousands of hours to volunteering at MCC Thrift on Kent. I thought it would be fun to see who has volunteered over 2025 hours at Thrift on Kent. When you see these individuals around the shop, please join me in congratulating them! Thank you for your commitment!
• Karl Bergen (Specialty pricing)
• Diane Bohonoski (clothes sorting)
• Fred Brock (metal recycling)
• Glenn Brubacher (receiving and electrical)
• Rosemary Fisher (clothes sorting)
• Jane Golem (housewares)
• Susan Hughes (Christmas)
• Mary Lou Justason (retail store)
• Gloria Lebold (housewares/ clothes pricing)
• Blair Linstrum (receiving)
• Italia Loffredi (cash)
• Elaine MacDonald (cash)
• Penny MacVicar (crafts/stationary)
• Shonn Martin (jewelry)
• Etta Miller (housewares)
• Vanessa Miller (retail fashion)
• Anne Mintha (clothes – sorting/hanging)
• Eleanor Neufeld (clothes pricing)
• Merv Richardson (electrical)
• Dean Schmidt (accessories)
• Shirley Sivyer (housewares/ cash)
• Vicki Steele (cash)
• Mary Lou Thompson (housewares)
Building Tomorrow Our Strategic Plan 2025-2030
MCC Ontario Peace Conference
November 1, 2025 at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener
The MCC Peace Conference is your chance to learn the art of everyday peace and experience firsthand how you and MCC are changing lives and communities through peacebuilding. This event will inspire and inform through general sessions and conversations with messengers of peace. Save the date (November 1) and stay tuned for more details!
A Strawberry Thanksgiving to Remember
Your work in MCC’s thrift shops is supporting the important work of building relationships with and walking alongside Indigenous communities on the path of truth and reconciliation.
On June 14, more than 170 people gathered at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener to take part in an event co-hosted by MCC that blended learning, relationship-building and celebration: the fourth Strawberry Thanksgiving & Communion. The day was led by Adrian Jacobs, Ganosono of the Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation and Senior Leader for Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
For nearly two decades, Adrian has invited churches to reflect deeply on land, relationship and reconciliation. Through the “Spiritual Covenant,”— an idea he received from his elder Rick Hill at Six Nations — Adrian encourages non-Indigenous Christians to work toward tangible land justice. The Spiritual Covenant has three parts: to acknowledgement First Nations jurisdiction over their land, to pay annual token lease payments to First Nations, and a pledge that if the church ever closed, that the land would revert back to First Nations.
organizations including Mennonite, Christian Reformed, United, Lutheran churches sat side by side to listen, share, and take part in learning and ceremony that honoured both Indigenous and Christian traditions. This included the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, which is a prayer of gratitude to Creator for all that he provides us; and a communion service with strawberry juice to represent the union with Christ.
Saturday’s event brought those teachings to life. Participants from many denominations and have dancing… well, this year we’re dancing!” Adrian Jacobs leads participants in a closing ceremony dance.
Undercurrents Episode
Representatives from Southridge Community Church, Meadowlands Christian Reformed Church, Nations Uniting, Waterloo North Mennonite Church, and Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church shared about their journey toward the Spiritual Covenant. With the support of a multi-denominational planning team and the partnership of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, the event brought together generations to learn, reflect and act. In the spirit of the Strawberry Thanksgiving, the day was a heartfelt expression of thanksgiving to the Creator—and a step forward on the path of reconciliation.
To learn more of Adrian’s story and the Spiritual Covenant, listen to MCC’s Undercurrent’s podcast at mcc.org/undercurrents
In last month’s newsletter, you read a short version of Justin’s powerful story - now listen to the full story in his own voice in the new Undercurrents podcast! You’ll also hear the voice of Esther, a young woman from the DR Congo who shares her greatest hope with us.
