MCC Thrift Shops Thriving As They Raise Funds, Connect People

Mennonite Central Committee
Wednesday, 11 April 2001

WINNIPEG, Man. -- There's no doubt in Martha Klassen's mind. Without the MCC thrift stores, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) would be hard-pressed to continue its mission in many parts of the world.

"I definitely think the thrift stores play a major role in keeping many MCC programs going," said Klassen, who recently resigned from her position as thrift store coordinator for MCC Manitoba.

Approximately 2,500 people in Manitoba volunteer time at thrift stores. They help 17 stores in the province raise $1.5 million (Cdn.) annually to support the work of MCC.

"Besides raising all this money, I think the thrift stores are such a strong contact with MCC's constituency," said Klassen. "In the last years, I've seen the thrift stores become mini MCC centres. They connect the local constituency and church people with MCC."

For instance, the stores are used to pick up MCC information fliers on disaster responses and then become drop-off depots for material aid, like the relief buckets following Hurricane Mitch.

Klassen's own connection with MCC goes back many years. The first year she and her husband John were married--in 1960--they served with MCC for one year at a school for delinquent boys in Ohio.

Later, they farmed in the Interlake region of Manitoba for 25 years. While raising five children, Klassen regularly sewed blankets and layettes for MCC. She would gather together neighbours and friends--many with no other connection to MCC or Mennonites--to make blankets, pulling apart old clothes and sewing them into new bed coverings.

Klassen said she often aimed to sew 100 refugee blankets a year, either by herself or with a group, although she didn't always meet her goal. "I always thought refugee blankets were important because blankets bring such comfort to people," she said. "It seems the very least we can do. So I have strongly promoted that wherever I go."

After leaving farming in 1986 and moving to Winnipeg, Klassen joined the MCC Manitoba board, representing Women for MCC for four years in the early '90s. She and John also spent four months in 1994 at the Ten Thousand Villages warehouse in Akron, Penn. Then in 1995, the board asked her to coordinate the thrift stores in Manitoba on a part-time volunteer basis. (As of the end of March, Paul Friesen is taking over Klassen's provincial responsibilities).

During her tenure, she served as a resource person for the 17 thrift stores, hosted manager meetings, attended and often spoke at store meetings and events in various communities, and produced "Shop Talk," a quarterly publication filled with news on the various stores and MCC activities.

"It has become a tool to connect thrift stores with each other as well as connecting MCC projects and people with the thrift store volunteers who are raising money for them," said Klassen.

As soon as she assumed the Manitoba position, Klassen realized she also needed to connect with thrift store coordinators from other provinces. So MCC Canada provided some funding to help put on an annual national meeting.

"I think the most rewarding thing for me has been getting to know so many volunteers--just to realize how many people dedicate so much time to the stores," she said. "These are definitely the do-ers. The people who make things happen."

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org