March 2025 Volunteer Newsletter Kitchener

Keeping our valued volunteers informed

AM’s Corner

Warm greetings!

I have been working with MCC for a long time, in a few different roles. During that time, the reasons I have enjoyed my work have remained the same:

1-The mission of MCC – walking with marginalized communities at home and around the world in the name of Christ. Our work in Thrift, raising funds, has a lot to do with making these projects possible. It is meaningful work.

2-You, the volunteers – ordinary people sharing their time, energy, abilities, kindness, ideas, laughter, concerns. It has been an absolute joy getting to know many of you. It has been an inspiration to observe you extending kindness to customers, developing community amongst yourselves in the workroom and breakroom, and welcoming new volunteers.

3-Re-using and Recycling – Our MCC Thrift Shops provide a way for hundreds of thousands of items to find new homes when they are no longer needed by their original owners. It makes me very happy that thrifting is not only environmentally wise, but also now trendy as well!

As I write we have snowbanks all around that we can hardly see over. I am one of those Canadians that enjoys all the seasons (yes, even winter) :) The flower arrangements brightening up our retail area remind us that spring is coming. Thank you, precious volunteers, for your commitment each season. Thank you for your partnership in this work. Your work is meaningful and impactful!

Jan Adams Assistant Manager MCC Thrift on Kent

Liz and Mary with the flowers—ready for spring!

Sandra, Amber and Zoreena who provide excellent customer service on Wednesday afternoons!

Dean, faithfully bundling hangers to sell

Brittany, always with a smile, hanging clothes

BIRTHDAYS

Tony Borghese

Bukade Erayanmen

Peter Woolner

Britany Kennedy

Linda Turton

Bill Brubacher

Lucas Perez

Winger

Where We Are From

We are a wonderfully diverse group of volunteers in many ways! This month, as we celebrate our volunteers, we invite you to share where in the world you come from by adding stickers to the world map now displayed in our break room. Thank you for all you bring to our shop!

Volunteer Information and AODA

As we continue updating the volunteer information in our database, we have noticed that some of our volunteers are missing important documents, such as updating their contact information. The key piece I often find has changed is someone’s emergency contact—which is important that we have! If you haven’t completed this yet through the online form sent to you by Holly, look for an email from me.

As of January 2025, all stores need to be compliant with the AODA legislation. Part of this is our volunteers being aware of the purpose of the legislation and how it impacts their work. For those who have not done any AODA training as a volunteer, I will be gathering groups to watch it during your shift. Thank you for your patience as we work to ensure all our volunteers are up to date.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new volunteers! We are grateful that you are joining us at TOK, and we hope that you feel welcome!

Onyekachi, Jasmine, Maja, Laura and Liliana –retail fashion

Ian – workroom pricing

Bruce – workroom assistant

Arlene, Mercy, Bukade and Dianne – retail store

Cai – media

Karan – electrical

St. Mary’s students – Wendy, Shawna, Chelsea and Kevin

Many of you saw that we had a “Guess how many are in the jar?” activity during Valentine’s week. Here are our winners!

Terry S. won the M&Ms!

Liz T. won the sugar hearts!

Helen won the corn chips!

Jane L won the sesame snaps!

Mercy won the chocolate covered pretzels!

Volunteer Roles Available

Please help us to spread the word about MCC and the opportunities to volunteer here.

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.