Story by Jessica Burtnick
February 24, 2026
It’s a summer morning at Sargent MCC Thrift shop in Winnipeg, and the back room is bustling with activity. Boxes are opened. Someone wheels a cart past the sorting area. Volunteers talk as they work, calling out quick questions, reminders and small jokes.
In the middle of it all is Linda Little. She has volunteered at the shop since about 2016, with a short break in between. She knows her areas well: shoes, bags, blankets, pillows, socks and suitcases. She also knows how quickly things can pile up — and how good it feels when the shelves look ready for shoppers.
Today, Linda is not working alone. Her husband Marc and grandson Max Little are volunteering with her again. Max is 13, and this is his third summer helping out at the shop. He travels from Marquette, Michigan, to spend part of his summer in Winnipeg with his grandparents.
When Max talks about volunteering, he does not make it sound like a chore.
“It just seems good to do, and it makes you feel good,” he says. He adds that at the shop, you’re never alone. There is always something to do and someone nearby.
Max has tried many tasks. But he lights up when he talks about tools. His favorite job is helping Abe, a volunteer in hardware. He is proud when someone trusts him with a task and lets him learn as he goes.
Linda smiles when she talks about Max in the shop and says he has done it all. When the shop gets busy, she can hand him a job and trust him to finish it. Sometimes, if she is running behind, she sends him to price cushions and gives him a simple range — from $1 to $3 — and she’s confident his work doesn’t need to be double-checked. Volunteers nearby pipe in, saying “we love having him” and “he’s a good kid”.
In a thrift shop, that kind of help matters. And it shows a wider shift, too.
Kristine Heinrichs, MCC Manitoba’s thrift coordinator, says intergenerational volunteering is becoming more common — especially in the summer, when families travel and visit each other. She also notes that many people think volunteering must be long-term or for long hours. But short-term volunteers “add flavour”, she says — and every gift of time and skill helps the thrift community and MCC’s work.
Volunteering across ages helps everyone. Young volunteers often know trends and products that puzzle older volunteers. Older volunteers, in turn, teach the value of hard work, consistency and generosity.
“Intergenerational volunteering makes us all better,” she says. “It reminds us that we are all the same and a little different.”
Linda sees that mix, too. She calls thrift a “social thing.” At the shop, she says, you meet people from different generations. And for a young person, it can be a place to make friends of many ages. For her, bringing Max is also about passing something on. She wants Max to learn that helping others is part of a good life.
Max already has a sense of the bigger picture. When asked how MCC Thrift impacts others, he connects the store to people around the world who need support.
“There are donations to other countries — to people who don't have much stuff, and they need help and food,” he says. “MCC helps with that.”
That link is real. When people shop, donate or volunteer with MCC Thrift shops, they support MCC’s relief, development and peace work around the world. In Manitoba alone, there are 16 MCC Thrift shop locations, powered by over 1,600 volunteers. Last year, Manitoba MCC Thrift shops contributed more than $3.2 million to MCC’s work.
MCC Manitoba’s director of social enterprise, Josué Figueroa, describes MCC Thrift shops as “hubs of community connection, learning and opportunity” — where people can gain work experience, learn new skills and find a sense of belonging through volunteer work and paid roles.
“MCC Thrift is a place where people, including newcomers, can integrate into the workforce, retirees can continue contributing their expertise, and anyone can volunteer in a welcoming, inclusive space,” he says. “We’re not simply running stores ... We’re helping to build fairer economies, stronger communities and a network of care that reaches from Manitoba across the globe.”
At MCC Thrift, Linda and Max see that connection in small ways. It looks like a priced pair of shoes. A sorted box of socks. A set of tools ready for a new owner. It also looks like a grandchild learning what it means to show up, help out and treat people well, every day.