NORTHFIELD — By joining forces, volunteer Tierney Sodders and Librarian Linda Chapin were able to create a space that’s not only a library, but a place where people of all ages can get clothing, expanding the library’s capacity as a community resource.

The Field Library at 243 Millers Falls Road has been home to the Northfield Clothing Closet since August 2022, and ever since, Chapin said, it’s been “totally amazing.”

“The amount of people we get and the donations are amazing,” Chapin said. “It’s reduce, reuse, recycle ... instead of going out and buying new stuff.”

The Northfield Clothing Closet offers free donated items and products for anyone to take. A variety of clothing can be found in all sizes, whether it be for a newborn, teenager or adult. Maternity and nursing clothes, footwear, diapers, strollers, car seats, baby formula, parenting books and toys are also available.

As of Aug. 22, the Northfield Clothing Closet’s one-year anniversary, it had served 527 families in western Massachusetts as well as southern New Hampshire and southern Vermont. Sodders said the average age of children served by the resource is 6 years old.

“I think it’s just so important. It’s not necessary to be buying new clothes if you can come to a space like this and get clothing that is just as usable in your kid’s size,” said Sodders, a Northfield resident. “I think that puts more money in people’s budgets in other areas like groceries. ... It’s one of those ways in which I felt like I could easily help other parents.”

The Northfield Clothing Closet is driven by the Ladies Benevolent Society of Northfield Farms, a charity that’s been operating since the 19th century and has worked on various projects, such as soup kitchens and food pantries.

Gill resident Jen McComb discovered the resource shortly after it opened last year. She’d heard the Northfield Clothing Closet was looking for donations and decided to give away her children’s baby clothes that she’d been holding onto for a while.

In May, McComb decided to become a volunteer so she can “feel like I’m giving back and doing my part to keep [the clothing closet] going.”

“I was kind of viewing the closet as a true closet — you go and give what you don’t need at that moment,” McComb said. “I’m so thankful to God for it. Being able to feel like I can give and not just take ... I just love it.”

The inspiration for the Northfield Clothing Closet came from It Takes a Village in Huntington, where Sodders still volunteers at times. It Takes a Village was founded in 2009 to support families with babies and young children living in rural hilltowns.

“I think that this has just been such a great resource in our area,” Sodders said about the Northfield Clothing Closet. “I think it’s so important.”

In addition to distributing donated items to new families, volunteers also have lists to help connect residents with various resources, such as diaper banks, playgroups and story times, nursing and formula feeding support groups, parenting support groups and infant loss support groups.

Donations — provided they are not stained, smoky or ripped — are welcome, Sodders said, and can be dropped off in Field Library’s entryway.

The Northfield Clothing Closet is open Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m., the first Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and by appointment.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering at the Northfield Clothing Closet, is seeking more information or wishes to make an appointment to pick up clothes outside of regular hours can call or text 413-239-4990. More information is also available at facebook.com/NorthfieldClothingCloset.