Volunteer of the month

Grethel Matthews

👏🤩 Congratulations to our November volunteer of the month, Grethel, who has been an amazing storytime animator. Here’s what she had to say about her volunteer experience:

“I started volunteering with MinibiblioPLUS almost two years ago and I can confidently say it has been the most wonderful experiences of my life! Not only did I truly realize the importance of early literacy in our society and how much of a struggle it still is for many families to have the necessary resources to develop it in their children, I also realized how rewarding and fulfilling it is to try to do my part in making it better. Programs like these are SO necessary to make sure every child has access to develop their full potential from an early age. I feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to combine my own passion for reading with my personal mission of doing what I can to make our community grow stronger. I have made lifelong friends not only in the daycares with the beautiful children that every day amaze me with their ability to retain and process information but also in the wonderful family that is the minibiblioPLUS staff. Volunteering with them has also helped me develop my own skills and grow more confident and I have seen that same impact in the children I work with. I am forever grateful I took the leap to try something new and can only encourage anyone that might be hesitating to join : Do it, it’s 1000% worth it!” 

We are delighted to announce our volunteer of the month for June 2023: Luna Zhang! She worked with us for a few weeks as part of a partnership with UQAM. In the photo Luna Zhang (right) with our Executive Director, Asha Dixit (left). Here is what Luna had to say about her experience:

” I am deeply honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer with MinibiblioPLUS for over a month. Storytime at the local kindergarten has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and assisting the marketing team in the office has been equally fulfilling. I would like to extend my appreciation to the staff for their warm welcome and assistance. Their teamwork and collaborative spirit have made my volunteer experience both enjoyable and educational. Their teamwork and collaborative spirit have made my volunteer experience both enjoyable and educational. This recognition motivates me even more to put my best foot forward and make a positive impact on my future life.”

Isabel Meadowcroft

We are delighted to announce our volunteer of the month for March 2023: Isabel Meadowcroft! Here’s a message from her:

“I fondly remember my favourite children’s books – mostly because my dad was an energetic reader who delighted in animating them and because of the enduring lessons I learned from these stories. As a child I learned to read later than my peers, but I believe it was this early connection to literacy that meant I picked it up quickly once I had help, becoming an avid reader. I now take pride in supporting minibiblioPLUS’ mission to develop early literacy skills through instilling in children a lifelong love of reading and learning. I enjoy using puppets, props, and imagination-based games to actively engage the children with the content of the book. I’m delighted when, after story-time, the children initiate play based on the characters and themes from the books. Now, without prompting, the four-year-olds make predictions about what might happen in the story and ask questions about the material during the read-aloud! Most of all, I love it when the children rush to the bookshelves after story-time to pick out their favourite books to read individually. Through volunteering with minibiblioPLUS I’ve witnessed how reading stories aloud to children encourages their problem-solving and creative skills as well as their empathy.”

Anna Savulescu

We are delighted to announce our volunteer of the month for February 2023: Anna Savulescu! Here’s a message from her:

“Following the suggestions of my brother, who is also a volunteer with minibiblioPLUS, I joined this team, as a Video storyteller, four months ago. Even if I was somewhat reluctant at the beginning, for fear of disappointing young listeners who might browse my videos, it took only three videos to gradually acquire self-confidence and find the satisfaction of feeling useful while creating, animating and having fun. I feel even more valued knowing that the diversity of themes covered in my readings makes it possible to reach children with different curiosities and preferences. Triggering smiles and arousing the interest of toddlers in reading, brings me a lot of pleasure. Thanks to my contribution, I hope that I succeeded in helping minibiblioPLUS to carry out its activities of awareness and early literacy and that more and more children will take their first steps in reading.”