Mission Thrift (June 9th, 2026)
Mission Thrift is a 100% non-profit thrift retailer across Canada. In 2025 alone, the organization raised $10.5 million, diverted 8,500 tonnes from landfill, and relied on a volunteer base of over 5,300 people to keep its stores running. That work funds more than 250 global ministry initiatives and supports over 500 local organizations, in partnership with Bible League Canada. We caught up with Yvonne Simms, Special Projects Coordinator at Mission Thrift, and Brent Humphrey, Associate VP – Canada at i3 International, to talk about that mission, a persistent challenge at one of Mission Thrift’s former locations, and what changed after i3 cameras went in.
Can you tell us a bit about Mission Thrift’s mission and how the organization works?
Yvonne Simms: We have 52 stores across Canada, and we’re a thrift business. In our stores we take in donations and care for them. We have volunteer-based organizations that take those donated goods, put them in our stores, and we’re able to sell those and make a profit. The profits we make from that we give to Bible League Canada, to help start churches globally, help train leaders, and do all those pieces. That’s pretty cool.
Have you come into contact with anyone who’s used the i3 product directly?
Yvonne Simms: Actually, in my career path with Mission Thrift, I used to manage two stores in London: London North and London South. It was an amazing experience, but the London South store had a huge problem with people in the dumpsters. That store has the i3 cameras installed now, and the current store manager there raves about it.
The problem was pretty much cleared up overnight since they had those cameras installed. Before that, you could pull up at eight o’clock in the morning and there would be garbage everywhere that you’d have to pick up. Not a great way to start your day. It was a significant problem, and the change has been absolutely amazing for them. It’s done wonders for that store, so we’re very excited about it.
What about growth potential? What’s the future look like for Mission Thrift?
Yvonne Simms: We would love to continue to grow. We’re in the middle of a corporate restructuring right now, so we’re working through some different things there, and we’re looking forward to helping our organization grow. We’d love to have more stores set up throughout the rest of the country and in different areas, and put more cameras in as we go.
In closing:
Brent Humphrey: Thank you so much for your time. And please, go shop at your local Mission Thrift store to help support the cause.
Overnight dumping and loitering are problems a lot of thrift retailers know well, and Mission Thrift’s experience shows what’s possible once the right technology is in place. If your stores are dealing with something similar, we’d love to talk about what a solution like this could look like for you.
For Mission Thrift, the work has never been just about individual stores. It’s about the volunteers who show up, the donors who give, and the causes it supports in more than 50 countries. A cleaner, safer storefront in London South is a small piece of that larger picture, but it’s one Yvonne and her team don’t take for granted. As Mission Thrift continues to grow across Canada, i3 International looks forward to growing alongside them.
Watch the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXRpJq2R9Po
