Columbia Re-Uzit Shop

In March of 1972, Linie Friesen, Selma Loewen, Susan Giesbrecht and Sara Stoesz (shown left to right above) opened the first MCC Thrift Shop in Altona, Manitoba with an expectation the project might last “three to six months.” The shop began to thrive and produced about $1,000. for MCC during the first six months of operation. More than forty years later, their vision for creative use of local clothing and household surpluses has grown to be a North American network of over 100 shops, producing income for the programs of Mennonite Central Committee – more than 16 million in the 2014/2015 fiscal year.