As we look back at another wonderful year and get ready to welcome 2023, we’ve compiled 22 of our most memorable moments from 2022. What are your favourite memories from the past year?
1
Launching a new Impact Report with a greater focus on the environmental contributions of our guests, donors, and community partners, called “Caring for our communities and the planet we share.”
2
Diverting enough clothing and household items from local landfills to displace over 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions – equivalent to planting 37.1 million trees or removing over 175,000 cars from the road. Read more here.
3
Our Mount Pleasant Thrift Store employee Lily retiring after four decades of service. Read her story here.
4
Renaming our Buy Now section (formerly our Auction section) to our Featured Finds section back in January! Did you know it was almost called Collector’s Corner?
5
Celebrating the over 70% of our team across Canada who identify as female on International Women’s Day on March 8.
6
Sending 470 children to summer camp through our GoodWorks@Work Send a Kid to Camp Campaign. Some of our teams even had the opportunity to visit their local camp to see the impact of campaign donations in action.
7
The heartwarming submissions we received from our online community as part of our Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Giveaways.
8
Receiving a generous clothing donation from CN Railway in June as part of the annual Matthew Gordon Clothing Drive. You can read Matthew’s story here.
9
Saving over 9,949,350 litres of water on World Oceans Day on June 8 alongside our Guests by choosing pre-loved t-shirts and jeans rather than new. 🌊👏
10
The incredible generosity of our guests and donors in our stores to provide $101,260 to provide direct support to The Salvation Army’s relief efforts in Ukraine and surrounding countries. Visit SalvationArmy.ca/HelpEurope
11
Putting up our first-ever billboard outside our Kennedy Thrift Store in Scarborough.
12
Celebrating International Plastic Free Bag Day by removing plastic bags from our stores. BYOB or purchase one of our Refresh Recycle Restyle reusable bags to show off your thing for thrift! 💚
13
Hearing from so many of our thriftacular thrifters during our 2022 Best in Thrift Hall of Fame in honour of Thrift Shop Day 🏆👏. View our submissions here.
14
Reopening our Empress Thrift Store in September at a BRAND NEW location at 675 Empress Street in Winnipeg!
15
Participating in an Ethical Fashion Campaign in September to spread awareness of the dangers of the fast fashion industry and the benefits of making the shift to thrift. Read more here.
16
Welcoming Deborah Johnson from the Orange Shirt Society who graciously spoke to our team about Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as we continue our efforts to learn about different experiences, cultures, and backgrounds that reflect our staff and communities.
17
Adding a sustainable twist to Halloween with our HALLOWGREEN campaign – including a cameo by our Managing Director, Ted, who thrifted a spooktacular secondhand Mario costume as voted by our employees.
18
Santa’s viral statement addressing the breaking news of his spotting in our East York Thrift Store and announcing his shift to Thriftmas. Read more here.
19
Partnering with students from Humber College’s Merchandising Post-Grad Program in November to generate merchandising ideas through innovative 3D scanning and modeling technologies as part of their virtual wall merchandising projects. Watch the reel here.
20
Engaging with over 72,000 donors throughout our GoodWorks@Work Christmas Kettle campaign – and volunteering at Kettles along the way!
21
Being able to support the work of The Salvation Army for another year as they bring hope to communities across Canada, from assisting 1.4 million people with food, clothing, and practical assistance, to serving 3.7 million meals at shelters and feeding programs.
22
Our ongoing commitment to Equity, Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion as an official Employer Partner of CCDI. Read more here.
From all of us here at The Salvation Army Thrift Store, we wish you a safe and happy New Year.