A thrift store operated by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta reopened in a new location in south Edmonton on Friday. MCC Thrift, located at 105 Street and 51 Avenue, opened its doors at 10 a.m. and it is now the largest store out of four in the province. The other locations are in Taber, Lethbridge and Calgary. The Alberta locations are part of a network of 85 thrift stores across North America, which has raised about $40-million for mennonite work internationally, according to MCC Alberta. “Thrift began in 1972 when four women in Altona looked at their old husband suits in their closets and said, ‘Hey, they don’t know they’re there. We can sell these and give that money to MCC to help,’” executive director for MCC Alberta Ryan Siemens told CTV News Edmonton before the grand opening. The thrift stores are now run by almost 400 volunteers in Alberta with about 80 volunteers working on a weekly basis at the Edmonton location. Sherry Galan, general manager at MCC Thrift Edmonton, provided a tour of several parts of the store which is supplied with items from volunteers. “This Radio Flyer wagon that’s up here belonged to one of my volunteers, who is 80, and he actually rode in this thing,” Galan said while in the vintage area of the store. “That was really cool and he used it for his children and his grandchildren.” A library art gallery area has pictures for sale and books priced at $2 or less. Galan says her favourite thing about the store is the inspiration wall which showcases how thrifted items can be turned into something new. “We’re committed to making sure there’s less waste in the landfill. So we look for ways of reusing, recycling, upcycling, and just demonstrating what you can do with items from a thrift (store) rather than go to waste,” she added, while pointing out a quilt made from a donated jacket and other clothes. Money raised from the thrift store goes towards the preparation of MCC resource kits for things like school, sewing, and infant care that are distributed to people suffering from natural disasters in more than 45 countries. The Friday grand opening of MCC Thrift will have live music and guest speakers starting at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. There are also draws and orange-tagged items that are 75 per cent off as part of the opening day sale. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Kimberly Wynn and Bruce Wiggins
