Still thrifty at fifty
Mennonite Central Committee Thrift shops celebrate golden anniversary
THAT ITS THRIFT STORES HAVE
helped fund Mennonite Central Committee projects around the world for 50 years is due to the dedication of volunteer workers, says the executive director of MCC Ontario.
“The way this kind of business model works is because a large effort is by volunteers that work in the back or they’re working in the front. So the costs are very low, which just means that the net proceeds from the operation provide a significant amount of our overall budget and allow us to do what we do around the world,” said John Head as the organization celebrates the golden anniversary of its thrift-store operation.
Debbie Siertsema, general manager of the Elmira location, agreed.
“Our stores are 98 per cent run by volunteers. They’re a great community that comes together that are not all Mennonites, because they want to work towards this end focus of relief, development and peace,” Siertsema said.
MCC Thrift was started by four Manitoban women who opened what they thought would be a temporary location to receive clothing donations and raise money selling the items. Since that first shop opened in Altona, Man. in March of 1972, MCC Thrift has raised more than $300 million to help fund the myriad of activities undertaken by the charitable organization.
“We thought after about six months, everyone would have cleaned out their closets and we’d be out of business, but as you can see, that’s not the case,” said Susan Giesbrecht, one of the founders in a release marking 50 thrifty years.
“It grew much beyond what I or any of the four of