Whiz Kid: Library Volunteers from RB High

Crying babies and attention-seeking children were no trouble at all for a group of youth volunteers at the on a recent Wednesday.

It was craft time, and despite the rainy weather, children and their parents visited the local library to join in the fun.

With several teen helpers, small children used paper and other supplies to create their version of Abraham Lincoln’s hat in celebration of Presidents Day.  

“We like coming up with different things every week,” said Jenny Tsai, a senior. “It’s something fun for the kids to do.”

Youth volunteers help with a variety of other tasks in addition to organizing and supervising arts and crafts activities every Wednesday evening.

Currently, there are 28 youth volunteers who assist the library with organizing, processing and cleaning books, as well as help with other children’s activities.

“They help us a lot,” Youth Services Librarian Zelda Santos-Sacro said. “There’s a lot of things we need to do. We don’t feel a lot of load because the volunteers are helping us a lot.”

Santos-Sacro said library volunteers are essential, especially because of budget cuts.

“With the budget cuts, people have been shuffled,” she said. “We don’t have much help anymore. With the volunteers here, I can put on many programs.”

In addition to the youth volunteers, there are currently 20 adult volunteers.

“We can’t live without their help,” Branch Manager David Nashelsky said. “It’s part of our daily livelihood. It enables us to interact with our customers.”

Before hiring volunteers to help with the children’s programs, Santos-Sacro interviews them to make sure they want to help.

“I ask ‘Is this coming from the heart, or is this because mommy wants you to do it?’” she said. “If you have someone who is not interested, it will disrupt the team just like any other work.”

Santos-Sacro hires eighth through 12th grade students.

Alexandra “Allie” Johnson began volunteering last summer.

“It’s fun,” said Johnson, an RB High senior. “You start recognizing kids and they start recognizing us.

“It’s like being 10 years old again."

Bahar Salehi, an RB High sophomore, agreed.

“But with more privileges added,” she said. “We get to use scissors.”

Salehi began volunteering at the library as a freshman. She said the experience has helped her gain important skills that will be useful for future jobs.

Knowing that her young volunteers help her, Santos-Sacro also tries to help them. In addition to providing work experience, she provides information about college. 

"A lot of them start in eighth grade or ninth grade," she said. "By the time they’re a junior, I’m just like a mother, 'Have you taken your SATs?'"

Nashelsky added that he and Santos-Sacro are parents, so they know how to work with youth.

“She’s really sensitive to teens,” he said. “They really learn a lot about test taking and the college application process and the FAFSA. I just call her an expert on that. She stays updated to help the kids.”

Many of the library’s former volunteers have gone to college, Santos-Sacro added.

“I’m so proud,” she said. “Most of them have went to very good schools, some Ivy League and others in the UC system. I’m just so proud.”

The youth volunteers encourage their peers to also help out at the library. More volunteers will be needed when summer approaches, which is a busy time for the library, Santos-Sacro said.

Johnson said volunteers must be outgoing. Salehi added they also should be patient.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Tsai, who began volunteering at the library when she was a freshman. “But it’s nice to help the little kids do their tasks. You just have to be willing to work.”

List of Teen Volunteers

Stella Au
Shubha Bhaskaran
Dhrishaj Bist
Alan Castro
Brian Chang
Ryan Enshaie
Rachel Ford
Alexandra Johnson
O'Hoon Kwon
Dawon Lee
Dayoung Lee
Fotty Manneh
Rama Manneh
Fatima McCabe
Karan Nagin
Shivanghi Nagin
Malini Nair
Harshitha Nalla
Rehitha Nalla
Emily Neai-Proeung
Steffanie Oh
Rubiga Prabakar
Bahar Salehi
Sharvari Soman
Jonathan Tran
Jenny Tsai
Emi Wong
Brooke Zampell