Keeping our valued volunteers informed
GM’s Corner
March into Spring with Fresh Starts and New Opportunities!
As we step into the month of March, it’s the perfect time to embrace the changing seasons and a new chapter of growth. I don’t know if the snow of the past month has got you craving the new season. We can only look ahead to the crisp air, awaiting the budding flowers and the longer days which are all reminders of renewal and the possibilities that lie ahead.
March is often the month when people begin to shake off the winter blues and start setting fresh goals for the year. The staff will soon have new goals set to begin the new fiscal year, and you may see us working toward a variety of tangible goals. We will hope that our reports will show an increase in donors, customers and
BIRTHDAYS March
Save the Date
connections in community. Over this year we have increased partnerships that help us to keep some items from going into the landfill. It is not always easy to come to a balance of the right partnerships who also have the same goals as MCC and who also need the items that can be picked up at a time that keeps us from having to store items for any length of time. If there is a partner that you are aware of, please let me know. This year we had three new partners sign up with us. Some of the partnerships are for a one-time need or a weekly need. I would be happy to chat.
March is also the end of our fiscal year and a time when we celebrate our successes and look to the new year. Budgets have been set, and staff are working to find ways to help the shop raise funds so that we can help our local and international partners. We are thankful for the ways that your work has supported us in the successes that we have had and that we will have in the future.
Many blessings,
Debbie Siertsema General Manager MCC Thrift & Gift
April 21 5:30–7:30 to Celebrate Betty—Elmira Mennonite Church. If you have photos of Betty throughout the years, please send them to debbiesiertsema@mcco.ca
Birthday Celebrations!
At an event near you? Possibly!
This past week I had the opportunity to attend the University of Waterloo Volunteer Fair to speak with students about volunteering with us here at MCC Thrift & Gift. My main role that day was to bring exposure to just how accessible our store has become to students by using Grand River Transit. I had conversations with around 25 students in the 3 hours I was there and only 2 had ever heard of MCCO and our Thrift Network! I would like to say that I found that hard to believe however prior to my job application, I too, had never heard of MCCO.
A report I read recently stated that the greatest recruitment tool is simply word of mouth. Letting people know about the work MCCO does is one thing. Allowing them to hear about how MCC Thrift & Gift and the work that YOU do is another. It is my personal goal this year to increase the number of opportunities I give myself to speak about what I do at MCC Thrift & Gift and to boast about what an amazing Volunteer family we have here.
So if you would like me to come to speak to your youth group, bible study, coffee chat group, backyard BBQ or any other event, please let me know! I know moving forward that speaking out about what it is we can accomplish together is going to be vital to the health and well-being of our volunteers: both new and old. Also, if you know of any events that you feel we should be a part of, please don’t hesitate to reach out. This summer I was present at our local multicultural festival and as someone who is not super familiar with the surrounding area (I live in South Cambridge), I would happily make myself available.
Greg Krauss Volunteer Manager
Hope Starts at Home: Exciting Developments at the MCC Hub
The MCC Hub in New Hamburg is buzzing with activity as volunteers continue to make a lasting impact on vulnerable communities here in Ontario and around the world. On January 18, the MCC Hub was filled with excitement as over 700 people gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new MCC Meat Cannery. This state-of-the-art facility will produce 50,000 cans of nutritious food annually for families facing crisis. The 10,000-square-foot facility marks a new chapter in MCC’s long-standing commitment to humanitarian aid.
Local officials, community members and volunteers joined the festivities, with Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis and Region of Waterloo Chair Karen Redman helping celebrate the milestone. “We’ve got the space, the logistical efficiencies, and when we
scale up, the impact will be huge,” said Jon Lebold, MCC’s Material Resources coordinator.
This facility will strengthen MCC’s ability to meet food needs in disaster zones and areas facing food insecurity. For example, in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, MCC provides 11,520 cans of meat annually to families like that of Samuel Haki Innocent, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We only eat meat when there is a distribution of canned meat,” Samuel shared, underscoring the significance of this new facility in meeting critical needs.
The event also featured tours of the facility, where visitors learned about the meat-canning process. They were invited to add messages of support to fabric squares that will be sewn into comforters, connecting this new chapter in MCC’s work with the comfort and care that volunteers create.
Just one week later, the MCC Hub was once again alive with the spirit of giving as 140 volunteers gathered for the Great Winter Warm-Up (GWW) on January 25. These volunteers knotted 30 comforters, working together to meet the goal of 7,000 comforters by March 31. The comforters will be sent to communities in need around the world, offering warmth and compassion.
“What a wonderful outpouring of community support,” said Michelle Brenneman, MCC Ontario’s executive director. The comforters are more than just blankets—they represent love, care and the power of community. As Leah Brown, MCC Ontario’s Material Resources program associate, said, “The more hands we have, the more comfort we can share.”
From the canning facility to the comforter frames, the MCC Hub continues to be a place where volunteers come together to make a difference. Whether you’re contributing to the meat-canning process or knotting comforters, there’s always room for more hands to join in these efforts of compassion and community.
