Tuesday 18 March 2008

Care and Share

This is just one corner of the local Care and Share Thrift Store.

You can buy just about anything here, at reasonable prices.

About 70 volunteers turn mountains of good quality donations into help for people locally and in war-torn or disaster-stricken countries overseas.

Volunteers recycle used clothing into colourful quilts and blankets. The blankets are sent overseas for disaster relief while the quilts usually are sold at a spring quilt sale.

Each year, between $170,000 to $190,000 is sent to the Mennonite Central Committee, which operates the Care & Share and 16 other thrift stores in Ontario. That’s the net amount earned after rent, hydro and other expenses are paid.

A great place to buy needles and yarn for knitting projects.

23 comments:

  1. I love this kind of shop, I have a great collection of books bought from such shops. We also collect items from friends to take to a Hospice Shop which helps to raise funds.
    Great post about great little shops.
    Tom

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  2. That thrift shop looks worth a trip to your part of the world! I've gotten so many many great things at thrift shops over the years; many of my knitting needles are a result of a search through a thrift shop.

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  3. How absolutely wonderful! Are the quilts ever sold online?

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  4. I think some of the quilts are sold at the new Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale every spring.
    see this link
    http://www.nhmrs.com/quilts.html

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  5. Hi, Here in the UK we have similar Charity shops all over the place, including RSPCA our animal help and NSPCC a childrens charity plus dozens more.

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  6. That's my absolute favorite kind of shop. I have a favorite place in Wisconsin where I shop once a year for my jeans. They're pre-worn and perfectly comfortable though my nieces and daughter always suggest they're too short, too narrow, too long - something is just a bit out of fashion about them. I always laugh and wear them in perfect bliss - my $2.00 jeans.

    By the way, did you ever crochet all the knitted squares together?

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  7. Hi Annie:
    I've moved onto knitting baby bootees and string shopping bags until I can figure out how to crochet the squares together. I always have more than one project on the go!

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  8. I love this kind of shop too. Its the best kind of recycling. Good bargins and helping those less fortunate also.

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  9. It's a pity that you don't really see that many of these shops in Switzerland.

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  10. That puts me in mind of community yard sales.. often run by churches or scout groups. I love my summer Saturday morning outings.. especially when my found treasures result in a charitable donation. Great post, ex-S.

    Do you know if any of those other 16 shops are out my way? (Mississauga)

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  11. I think we call them charity shops over here! We have lots in that case. In our small town there are 3 but sadly not always any good bits!

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  12. I too love this kind of shop! I often donate but bring home more! LOL!

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  13. What a wonderful thing this Thrift Shop is...! And boy, it sure does well! I think that is fantastic!
    We have some Thrift Shops here that are run by AIDS Health Care Foundation....And They do fabtastically well, too....! I think this is a wonderful way to raise funds and helps everyone involvded!

    I cannot believe your dear Grandchild is already a month old!
    Time is flying, isn't it?

    Sorry it took me so long to get here---We had a 10 hour power outage yesterday....The WHOLER DAY, gone....!

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  14. I love the people who run these kind of thrift shops! It is a lot of hard work, but benefits many needy persons, and it is good for Mother Earth too, seeing how things get recycled and reused.

    Regarding your Viennese pen pal,
    I looked for the street you mentioned. The official Vienna map doesn't give me any Wasserburgerstrasse, but a Wasserburgergasse (click here). If you'd send a postcard, somebody at the old address may know of the whereabouts of your pen pal. Good luck!

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  15. Nice initiative! ... and I can see that Callum is now a big boy - you calculate in months instead of days!

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  16. Very good post, with small beloved objects, useful in each household!

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  17. Aladdin’s cave!! Wow, I could spend hours rooting about in there.
    Many a bargain to be had. My guilty secret is Mills & Boon love stories and the best place to find them is at a local charity shop!

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  18. What a wonderful shop and great mission. I see about 10 things I would just have to buy. I'm going to check out the quilt link too.

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  19. I would love to come and shop around in the thrift store, and it sounds like the proceeds go to some great things. Ranger and Lloyd

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  20. What a great project this is. I'm impressed.

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  21. I buy lots of things from our local charity shop. They always have a good selection of books too, so often I buy one, read it and then just slip it back on the shelves when I have finished it. Bit like a library really.

    Joe and Kerry haven't phoned for a few days but I don't expect them to really. It's enough that they keep in touch.

    When you googled Jeremy Clarkson, did you see any video of him? He runs a programme called Top Gear with two other lunatics called Richard Hammond and James May. This is a really good programme, a lot is testing cars and things but the three of them get up to such mischief it is a good programme to watch. Three 'men' who have never got past the little boy stage.

    Give Callum a kiss from me. I have just been watching Allan on skype while talking to Jack and Miki. They will be here in just over a fortnight!

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  22. love thrift shops i find many things there, we have the GoodWill here and altho i love shopping there i have sort of stopped becuase many of there things now have gotten so expensive, things you can buy new for the same price.

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  23. What a brilliant idea and a great cause!

    I saw this guy, a former VP at Microsoft, who gave up his job to concentrate on collecting books and building libraries around the world, especially in places like Nepal.

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