March 2025 Volunteer Newsletter Stouffville

Keeping our valued volunteers informed

GM’s Corner

March brings us closer to the end of the fiscal year which officially ends on March 31. This year has been turbulent, but with your support and guidance, we have been able to continue to provide quality service to our customers and community. Thank you for your continued dedication and investment into making the Care & Share successful!

In February, the staff all participated in professional development days which were tailored to their specific roles. They met with their peers in Kitchener from the five other MCC Thrift Shops to encourage one another, gain new ideas and perspectives and learn best practices.

We also were able to welcome two different school groups to our shop. One group came from St. Andrews College in Aurora. They are in the middle of a three-visit program where they come to learn workplace skills, help where needed and learn about MCC. The second school group is now a weekly group of students from Stouffville District Secondary School. They will be coming to gain experience in a professional setting and support the work we do in the shop.

Thank you for the commitment that you show and the work that you do!

Dave Chellaiah General Manager MCC Care & Share

Daria A.

Elaheh H.

Elise P.

Matthew G.

Amira. A

Welcome!

We are excited to welcome 26 new volunteers!

Thevani S.

Kayandra M.

Rashnika A.

Tyler K.

Drew W.

Philip M.

Alan B.

Damita D.

Jake B.

Malcom C.

BIRTHDAYS March

Adela S.

Karen W.

Liam K. 3/1 3/2 3/2

Mary T. B.J. R.

Klaus R.

Nesha P.

Ateeb M.

Jill O.

Scott S.

Slaiman N.

Renee W.

Jeremy F.

Hsing-Yeh H.

Mirunan A.

Stefanie R. 3/4 3/5 3/5 3/6 3/6 3/7 3/7 3/9

Joel’s Last Day

My last day at the Care & Share will be March 31. I am sadly leaving Care & Share to pursue volunteer missions work as an international disaster responder. It has been my pleasure to work at the Care & Share and serve in the role of Volunteer Manager. I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside each of you as you support the tremendous work of the Mennonite Central Committee. As some of you may know, MCC brought my grandfather (as a baby) and his family

Diroshanth D.

Isabelle G.

Sanushan M.

Karolina D.

Ereny I.

Kurtis B.

Dina N.

Naz K.

Estelle R.

Alex R.

Oakley N.

Lianne S.

Danielle W.

to Canada from what is now Ukraine because they were fleeing famine and conflict. I am thankful to be a part of this organization and the work that it does across Canada and around the world as it is invaluable to the lives of many. Thank you for making a difference by volunteering and making my time here at the shop so enjoyable!

-Joel Knights

Winter/Indoor Shoes

To help keep our floors clean and safe, please bring a pair of comfortable covered footwear to wear while volunteering. Help us keep the salt and snow outside!

Health & Safety

Due to the nature of the donation area in the backroom, we are asking all volunteers to not enter or exit from the donation doors. With the small work area, fast-paced environment and constant flow of donations, we need to give the necessary space to Greg and our receiving volunteers. This also includes not “shopping” from the donation area as this can be a health and safety hazard.

Staff Absences We Work Hard & Play Hard!

Joel – March 7–16

Lauren – March 7

Greg – March 12 –14, 19, 20, 26

Sean – March 10,19, 26

Brian – March 3, 4, 17, 28

Youth Group Visit

The Stouffville Pentecostal Church Youth Group visited on January 30 to help out! A group of 17 youth and three adults came to experience what

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.