A Brief History

New Hamburg Thrift Shop began in April 1981 in the Riverside Brass building on Waterloo Street. This shop was supported by 18 churches in the New Hamburg area. This shop dealt mainly in clothing, housewares, footwear, and books. As well, a variety of services were provided, including the making of rag rugs and placemats, cutting up clothing for our industrial wipes program, and a number of other smaller recycling projects. In June 1990, the shop moved to 65 Heritage Drive, New Hamburg in the Ten Thousand Villages building.

In the summer of 2000, Mennonite Central Committee Ontario began to look for retail space in the Kitchener-Waterloo area to accommodate a used furniture store.  A suitable location was discovered in New Hamburg.  The board of the existing New Hamburg Thrift Store accepted the challenge to take on this project.  At a special meeting of the New Hamburg Thrift Shop Board on August 30, 2000, there was “discussion and unanimous agreement” to go ahead with a thrift store at 385 Waterloo Street, New Hamburg.

Furniture & More opened for business on February 19, 2001. The housewares department was transferred to this new store. At this time the name New Hamburg Thrift Shop was changed to Clothing & More. It was not long before the vision for a larger facility to house both Clothing & More and Furniture & More gained momentum.

The planning committee was formed and the search for a suitable location proved to be discouraging.  It was determined that the best alternative was to purchase land and to build a new building.  A parcel of land beside the existing Clothing & More was purchased, plans were completed, and building began in the spring of 2006.  By December 2006, the New Hamburg Thrift Centre was open for donations and on January 15, 2007, the Centre opened. The new centre included 16,000 square feet with 8,000 square feet dedicated to the retail area and 8,000 square feet for warehouse and receiving.

We have come a long way.  As many people work hard together, great things can be accomplished and dreams and visions can be realized.

MCC Connection

The New Hamburg Thrift Centre is part of Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC’s) family of thrift shops throughout North America. This shop is a Christian organization and service, focusing on meeting local needs as well as world wide needs. The MCC Thrift shop program began in Canada in the early ’70s with the first Ontario shop opening in 1974.

Mennonite Cental Committee (MCC) is a registered charitable organization. MCC was formed in 1920 to provide food for hungry people. Ninety years later, the mission of MCC includes development work around the world in areas such as education, health, agriculture, peace and justice issues, relief work, and job creation. In North America, MCC is involved with immigration, job creation, people with disabilities, offenders and victims of crime, and more. MCC offers help, regardless of race, religion or political orientation. MCC is sponsored by Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Over 1,000 people serve with MCC in more than 50 countries.

For more information on Mennonite Central Committee, visit www.mcc.org