A new community closet has sprung up in Guelph with a simple concept: if you’re cold take any articles of clothing you need and if you have anything you can donate, place it on the rack.
The donation-based rack of clothing sits outside Outpost Vintage on Woolwich Street and is open during the store's regular hours with all clothing items on the rack offered free of charge to those who are in need.
Carolyn Fielding, the owner of Outpost Vintage, said the idea sprouted from seeing other do-it-yourself mutual aid initiatives in the community, such as the Guelph Community Pantry and The Common Flea’s Soup on Sunday.
“I hope people will see the community closet and feel empowered to either start their own or engage in some other form of small-scale community action. While this doesn’t solve the root issues of inequality in our community, it helps those who have been left behind by the ever-growing wealth gap in Guelph,” said Fielding.
The community closet is a rack with hangers to hang any donated jackets, parkas or outerwear with a basket beside the rack to collect any pants or miscellaneous items such as hats and gloves.
Above the rack, a handmade sign hangs informing any passersby they are free to take whatever they need.
After the holidays any items that have yet to be claimed will be donated to The Bench.
Extremely humble and creating the community closet for the community and not the recognition, Fielding said this was a baseline initiative that she introduced to help those less fortunate within the Guelph community.
“I have to be honest I do feel a bit uncomfortable and overwhelmed by the attention this project has received already, said Fielding. “What I am doing isn’t radical and feels like the bare minimum. There are so many other organizations out there who have been doing this for years and deserve the attention and credit.”
Another organization in Guelph that has done a similar idea is Clothing Closet, which is dedicated to offering quality clothing from a community.
Several people showed support for the community closet online, with dozens of people commenting on items they had available to donate.
One poster on Instagram said: “Wonderful!! I have a couple winter coats I can donate. I’ll pop them off next week.”
