Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship for The North Star Monthly
Groton’s Re-Treasured Community Closet fills several niches in this small, rural town. It’s a gathering space, a secondhand clothing swap, and a provider of food and clothing for anyone who needs them.
While the Closet is open to thrifters and window-shoppers, its main goal is to support people in need, as well as members of the unhoused community and Groton’s aging residents, said founder Jodi Fleurie-Wohlleb.
“Either if they’re in crisis, just starting out, or we just have some sifting enthusiasts that love to come in and find that one coffee mug that they’ve been looking for,” Fleurie-Wohlleb said.
This isn’t Fleurie-Wohlleb’s first experience managing something like the Closet. Fifteen years ago, she began a free prom dress giveaway – something she continues to this day.
Eight years ago, she moved to Groton and started working at the Groton Free Public Library. That’s when she realized the needs of some people in the community.
“It’s always been a dream to have a free store. And when I first thought about it, the thought was for teen moms. And then, I became a mom, then I saw COVID and what our community was lacking during my time at the library,” Fleurie-Wohlleb said.
She started purchasing essentials and delivering them to people desperately in need of them. Soon, Fleurie-Wohlleb realized that creating a hub that people could come to on their own made more sense than making individual pickups.
Not only was it more efficient, but it allowed residents that had been helped to give back. Someone who is in desperate need of clothing or toiletries might end up coming back in the future, to help out someone who’s in a similar spot.
Last year, she transformed the former Artesano Meadery into a community-wide secondhand clothing swap, as well as an impromptu soup kitchen and gathering space.
A former butcher’s shop, the inside of the closet is modest. With several racks and shelves for clothes, jars, mugs, and other small necessities, there’s only enough comfortable standing room for a dozen people—any more, and the space quickly becomes cramped.
Its purpose is varied and utilitarian, accommodating many of the basic needs of the Groton community.
The Closet offers clothing of all sizes to people of all genders and ages. The shop has a wide array of secondhand clothing – shirts, dresses, socks, underwear, ties, even shoes – as well as cooking utensils, cups, and bags.
While the space is primarily for exchanging clothes and other small, everyday essentials, there is always a crockpot full of home-cooked food in the back. Often, a patron will bring in other little treats, like cookies or other baked goods. Folks are always gathering to eat and talk, as well as shop, Fleurie-Wohlleb said.
“Every Thursday, for sure there’s something in the crock pot,” she said.
When you enter the Closet, Fleurie-Wohlleb is usually standing by the door, grinning and ready to greet you. If your donation needs an extra pair of hands, her son walks from the back door of the shop to your car, helping take any donation bins or boxes of clothing. He takes these to the back room, where they will be sorted and processed.
While primarily being used as storage space, the room also has an oak table, which Fleurie-Wohlleb uses to serve dinner for special events. It’s one of the only communal gathering spaces in the area for people to sit down and eat.
“I have to be careful about how I advertise, because sometimes I get a bunch of teenagers who are hanging out. As much as I would love that, that becomes really difficult when I have someone else who comes in that’s unhoused and has a laundry list of stuff that they need,” Fleurie-Wohlleb said.
In a smaller community like Groton, which has a population of approximately 1,000 people, the Closet is one of the only so-called third spaces in town, spots for people to gather.
“You’re either coming to the library or you’re coming here,” she said.
Fleurie-Wohlleb is proud of how the shop has turned out. After cuts to the federal SNAP program caused by the Big Beautiful Bill, the Closet had an uptick in hungry visitors. The Closet rose to the occasion, helped by volunteers and small Vermont-based organizations like Northeast Kingdom Community Action.
“These are my people. These are the people of my community.” Fleurie-Wohlleb said.