The Altona MCC Gift and Thrift store had another strong financial year in 2018.

The store finished the year with a total income of $640,000, down slightly from 2017 when the store recorded net earnings of $653,000

Manager Corny Fehr says it was still a very good year for the operation.

"I think the difference has to do with the Gardens On Tenth building. There were a lot of people moving there and they didn't want to have an auction sale, so they brought a lot of their stuff here. I think that's why the income in 2017 was a little higher."

Collectibles in 2018 totalled about $27,000, similar to the year previous.

Fehr credits the store's solid performance each year to the many men and women who give of their time and energy to volunteer at the store.

"We have so many volunteers who are will to work here and keep the store looking attractive. There are a number of thrift stores that already have a paid manager. Here we have all volunteers except for a shipper-receiver in the back who we pay and some cleaning people."

The MCC store was able to pay down the mortgage on its expansion project several months earlier than scheduled, which was one of the major highlights for the operation in 2018.

Fehr says no firm decision has been made yet, but the Altona store will likely donate about $200,000 of its earnings to MCC Manitoba.