HUNTINGTON — Even thrift stores can’t beat the prices at It Takes a Village.
Located in what had formerly been St. Thomas Catholic Church in Huntington, the altar and statues were put to the side to make room for couches, chairs and a play space with a changing area in what had been the sanctuary. Where there had been pews are aisles of donated clothes, bins of shoes, piles of toys, shelves of DVDs and books, equipment for babies like car seats, and an endless list of family necessities — all free for the taking, without any questions asked with regards to residency, income or immigration status.
Shopping there this month in the 1890s church was Julia Manley, who has been returning for the past three years.
“It really helped when my daughter was born and I couldn’t breastfeed. I’d get formula from here all the time,” said the Chester resident.
Manley said what she picks up from the village closet leaves breathing room in her budget for groceries and other bills, especially with news of a second child on the way. A memory that sticks with her is the first Christmas with her daughter.
“She was still a little baby, but we didn’t have much for Christmas. So they do a little Christmas gift and we were able to get her a blanket and a stuffed animal,” she said.
Dan Meadow, a stay-at-home parent by day, librarian and tutor by night, was eager to share his thoughts about the concept of the closet.
“I think that this place is rad and should be copied everywhere,” Meadow said while perusing items on a recent visit. “I think it’s a tremendous service to the community — like upcycling, saving people money, making use of things, and even just teaching a lesson to my kids right now that you don’t have to get something shiny and in a package in order to find things that are worthwhile and valuable.”
He and his wife, who is a public school teacher, work “scraping to keep our house together.”
He said, “This place just provides a small buffer so that they can do special things sometimes as a family, and keep clothes on the kids’ backs.”
Manley and Meadow are just two of hundreds of people who shop at It Takes a Village every year. Founded in 2009, the nonprofit follows a thrift shop model where it receives donations of gently-used clothes, toys, household items and more from people who bring the items to the old church. Those items are then sorted and put on display.
After 11 years of bouncing around in different locations, It Takes a Village found a permanent home in the old church in 2020, which it bought last fall. Officials have recently launched a capital campaign to raise money for needed repairs to the building. They say demand, which has grown rapidly over the past few years, is expected to continue.
The total inventory of goods “sold” last year exceeded $713,000, according to Program Director Lisa Dana Goding.
That number represents hundreds of dollars in savings for moms like Dari Gambino.
During a recent visit, Gambino and her 5-year-old son took a break from shopping for clothes to set up a cash register to play store in the sanctuary. A volunteer introduced her to the village closet a couple years back and she has been returning ever since.
“Coming here provides clothes, toys, formulas, sometimes baby food, appliances, some small furniture — it all adds up to hundreds of dollars,” she said. “I go to the store I get three outfits and its a hundred-something dollars.”
She continued, “Then when he outgrows it, bring it back, redonate it, and come back and get more stuff,” Gambino said.
But in addition to the closet giving her pocketbook a needed break, she also praised the staff.
“It’s family friendly — very helpful, very good people,” she said.
Inside the operation
This is an above the surface view of the closet. Below, volunteers work tirelessly in the basement to sort through the mounds of donated goods that come in through the church’s door on a daily basis.
Cathy Bruce, or, “toy queen Cathy,” as her fellow volunteer Kim Kuntz calls her, makes the trek from Westfield to work in the closet’s “dungeon” — the sorting area where donated goods start their journey into new hands. Bruce is in charge of toys, and instead of simply putting the toys in buckets and letting kids weed through them, she looks up the toys and tries to collect entire sets before they go upstairs in the village closet.
“What I do is a lot of times is things don’t come in complete sets. So then I have a bin and these bins are all the stuff I can fill the sets with, likes shapes or figures or stuff, because sometimes they come without and you need them to be able to play with,” says Bruce, noting that the several mornings a week she volunteers is her “escape.”
In charge of clothing is Missy Nowak of Huntington, who works part-time — one of the 13 part-time staffers who together run the operation with the help of volunteers.
Among the memories of the impact that the village closet makes on the community, one mom in particular came to mind.
“This mom, she was due in a week, so we put together a spa package for her. We had stuff leftover from Christmas , so we put it together for her, and she ended up in tears,” she said. “I think that’s why we do it — to help the moms, because I’ve been there, I know how it goes.”
Nowak spends 35 hour a week working. Permission to bring her children along is what made the job the ideal fit for her.
“I had my second child. My first one was in school and I needed some place where they would let me bring my kid. So it’s one of the super amazing benefits — they let me bring my kids during summer vacation, and then my other daughter comes with me all year long. So it’s amazing that I can be a working mom and provide for my family,” she said.
More than a closet
The village closet was originally a village basement in Cummington, where Maureen Shea stored up items in her spare barn and garage after realizing that rural families needed more support during the postpartum period. Locations have bounced over the years, going from the Berkshire Trail School, to Gateway Regional School for a time, then landing in the Huntington church in 2020 due to a need for space during the pandemic.
It Takes a Village bought the church was bought for $190,000 last September. The village closet is open Sundays and Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. To adjust to community needs, hours may expand to Tuesday nights in the near future, as the closet is open once a month from 5 to 7 p.m.
It takes a village is currently in the midst of a capital campaign that seeks to raise $790,000. Some $280,000 has already been raised in a drive to make the church a permanent home. Funding for the closet is typically supported by grants and community partners.
Among fixes that will be introduced with these funds are insulating the windows, installing a ductless system since there is no air conditioning, upgrading electrical, and fixes to the steeple. The church is in the middle of a historical district so its church-like features will remain intact, said Goding.
Since its founding, programming has expanded to include a home visit program to assist with chores and babysitting, so that moms can do things like take a nap or a shower, said Kenzie Kinsella, communications and development manager. There is a team of 25 to 30 core volunteers, most with a background in childhood education or labor and delivery that go on calls to assist mothers.
The village closet is also gathering resources for a back-to-school drive, which will give kids backpacks, school supplies, and even haircuts from Williamsburg Hair professionals. Donations of backpacks are currently needed.
Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.
