Summer Volunteer Wrap Up

Now that Summer Reading Club is over we can take a huge deep breath--aaahh! Summer Reading Club is the most exciting time for our department, but it can also be the most tiring. However we have a huge help to us--our amazing teen volunteers!

We had 59 absolutely amazing, dedicated volunteers this summer. They range from 7th grade to high school seniors. They went through training to learn how to sign up kids using our new computer system. They had 2 hour shifts that they came to each week, ready to get kids excited about reading. They helped out at programs, refilled the book cart, and brought tons of enthusiasm and energy to our floor.

We celebrated our volunteers at our end of the summer party on Wednesday. Domino's donated delicious pizza and Potbelly's gave us fantastic sandwiches to feed our hungry volunteers. The teens got a chance to celebrate themselves as we congratulated them on a job well done. All our teens did an incredible job but we did pass out some awards to a few teens who went above and beyond, were extra enthusiastic, or were our super smiley volunteers. We honestly can't thank them enough!!

If you think your teen might be interested in helping out next year for Summer Reading, applications will go out in April and you can always check on the Kidding Around blog for a post announcing our call for volunteers.

If your teen is looking for service credit hours for school this year, they can still be a volunteer in the Youth Services department! Applications will go out on September 1st. Teens have to be in grades 6th-12th and have to be able to commit to doing 8 hours total (not in one day of course!). There's different jobs to be done depending on the needs of the department, but they can range from: folding brochures, making craft samples, assisting at programs, and general cleaning.

Want to know more about the volunteer program? You can (or better yet, have your teen) call us at the library. Our number is 847.376.2839 and we'd love to answer your questions.

Thanks again to our terrific teens! We hope that you guys decide to share your talents with us again next summer!