MCC Manitoba's executive director is using his bicycle in an effort to create greater awareness for the restorative justice programs that MCC offers.

Ron Janzen set out Friday, August 21 from the MCC thrift store in the community of Rivers with the goal of visiting all the MCC thrift stores in the province as a way to celebrate restorative justice and the support that thrift stores provide to those programs.

"Sometimes we feel that we're very well recognized for our international work, but people need to know more about what we do right here in Manitoba and restorative justice is a big part of what MCC does."

MCC’S restorative justice programs help individuals and churches find healthy ways to deal with harm and conflict, as well as respond to and prevent violence and sexual abuse.

"This ride was a way to engage with that work, to talk about the significance of reaching out to people who are both inmates within the justice system and people coming out of the justice system, people suffering intellectual disabilities, fetal alcohol syndrome disorder and how we connect all those things in terms of relationship building and helping them turn their lives around," said Janzen.

This is the third year that Janzen has used a bike tour to celebrate what MCC Manitoba is accomplishing, specifically using the organization's 16 thrift shops located across the province to highlight the support those operations provide.

"I really appreciate tremendously what the thrift shops do for MCC and how they are so critical to us as a presence in local communities, a ministry outreach to local communities and a way of supporting our work.

Janzen has a passion for cycling and came up with the idea of connecting that passion to a bike route that would take him to every thrift shop in Manitoba, a distance of over 600 kilometres.

"Out of that thought we launched an initial ride three years ago and now this is the third year we're doing it and it's been going great."

Janzen wrapped up his 'Journey for Justice' bike ride in Friday, August 28 in Winnipeg.