Back in grade 3, Matthew Tse signed up for the Computer Buddies program through Calgary Public Library and the experience altered the course of his young life.“I remember when I was one of those small buddies, not knowing anything about computers,” says Matthew. “My big buddy taught me everything I wanted to know and more. It was probably one of the best things that had happened in those dreary elementary school days. And so, I like to share with all my 'little buddies' this awesome feeling that I had felt when I was their age.”Soon to start Grade 10 at Western Canada High School, Matthew has been volunteering with the library for three years in the Computer Buddies program.Along with his early positive foray into volunteer supported programs at the Library, his two older siblings spoke highly of their own experience as Library Volunteers. With his mom’s encouragement, Matthew filled out the Volunteer Application.“It’s fun. I meet new people, and I learn new things through coaching,” shares Matthew. “Kids are used to using iPhones, not computers, so it’s great to see their typing improve and to see them having fun learning.”With a love of math and science, Matthew feels that being able to volunteer in a program that matches his interests is more like an extension of his hobbies. While it can be a balancing act to make his schedule work, he believes that it’s not about finding time; it’s about planning ahead and enjoying what he does with every moment of his time.Matthew is not alone. Forty-five per cent of Library Volunteers are between the ages of 12-17. Together with their adult counterparts, they contribute 53,000+ volunteer hours annually and so much more. “I want to demonstrate values like love, patience, commitment, and determination. I show these by patiently coaching my little buddies, and helping them with any challenges they face."
Read more about "Stories Meet our Volunteers: Matthew Tse From little buddy to big buddy, Matthew has a long history with the Computer Buddies program"Norma High, a volunteer who joined the Library in 1974, is so passionate about bringing books to people who can not otherwise access them that she got her whole family involved in the cause.For nearly 44 years, Norma has volunteered with the Libraries in Residence program, delivering books to people in a continuing care facility. Norma, 85, is one of the Library’s longest-serving volunteers.“I have always had a love for books,” Norma said. She loves visiting and bringing books to residents at Carewest Glenmore Park, an Alberta Health Services facility in southwest Calgary. With her background in nursing, Norma is a perfect fit for delivering books to the hospital’s residents.“Volunteering is giving, giving back to the community, giving back because I can,” she said. “We want to put a little bit of sunshine into people’s lives.”Norma’s husband, Bob High, started volunteering with Libraries in Residence in 1985.“Besides delivering books, it was an opportunity to talk about local history and events with the residents,” said Bob, 88. He would sometimes go in place of Norma and went on to build his own relationships with the long-term care residents.“It gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Bob said.Hearing stories from residents and discussing books with them led Norma to share her experiences with her children, and later her grandchildren. Norma started to bring her son and daughter to volunteer with her when they were 13 and 11.During their days off from school and over summer break, Alan High and Glenna High Bagley started to love volunteering. Norma saw her children learn how to share, and in Glenna’s case, she came out of her shell.“I absolutely loved it,” Glenna said. She remembers being initially nervous around elderly people as a child, but she soon came to love delivering books and visiting with people. She said her son, Matthew, was as shy as she was when he started volunteering at the age of eight with his sister Taylor, age ten.“I am so proud of my children and grandchildren,” Norma said.Norma, who is called the “book lady” by hospital residents, found that residents rely on her book delivery every two weeks. One resident said books were more important than her bath, because books were what kept her at peace while in the hospital.Norma and Bob, who have lived in Calgary for 48 years, keep a private collection of every genre of book you can think of. They enjoy travelling and have visited many places in Canada and around the world. On their travels, they pick up books to add to their catalogued collection — the oldest one being from the 1850s.That extensive home library is popular with Norma’s children and grandchildren, who regularly borrow books from it. When they find a book they like and want to “inherit”, they mark it with their own coloured dot.Norma continues to share her love of reading with hospital residents, and plans to for as long as she can — “until I fall over, or until I can’t push the cart anymore,” she said.The High and Bagley families are leaving their three-generation legacy in another way, too. They are commemorating their love of reading and dedication to volunteering with two windows at the new Central Library.We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories ‘I Give Back Because I Can’ Norma High delivers the joy of reading to others in her Library Story"Growing up near Fish Creek Library, Lindsay Hracs would visit the pyramidal building often. “It’s just somewhere I always gravitated to,” she says.Through university — a bachelor’s and master’s degree in linguistics — Lindsay would travel out of her way to study at the Library. Today, Lindsay is a PhD candidate in linguistics, and Fish Creek Library continues to be an important part of her life.It’s now where Lindsay volunteers with the Library’s Learning Advantage program, helping an adult learner. Over weekly meetups in Fish Creek Library’s breakout rooms, Lindsay and her learner work towards her learner’s goal of attending university.These days, they’re reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and working on information processing. When the pair was matched three years ago, the learner was getting by in daily life but struggling with reading and writing."There’s so much stigma around not having perfect literacy skills that the acknowledgment of needing help is a huge hurdle in itself," Lindsay says.Patricia Stephenson, Learning Advantage Program Coordinator, says people are often shocked to learn how prevalent low literacy rates are. Data from Statistics Canada shows that 17% of adults in Canada are essentially illiterate, scoring at level one or below on a system with five proficiency levels.Through one-on-one coaching and support, volunteers with the free Learning Advantage program help others. Lindsay has seen her learner’s literacy skills — as well as her independence and confidence — blossom.For Lindsay, the meetups have become a favourite part of her week. "When you have a personal connection with someone and you can help them meet their goals, it’s just so worth it," she says.While Lindsay brings a deep interest in language and the mind to the volunteer role, such a background is not necessary."Anyone who has time and enjoys books and reading can do this, and I think they should do it," Lindsay says. "It’s awesome."If you’d like to join the Library’s team of youth or adult volunteers,
Read more about "Stories Meet our Volunteers: Lindsay Hracs Helping others meet their goals inspires Lindsay to volunteer"Shelly McElroy is the curator of Pioneer Acres Museum in Irricana, Alberta, and her work focuses strongly on agricultural history in the Calgary area.
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