We’ve had such a wonderful response to our current initiative for teen volunteers, writing original book reviews for books in our YA collection. However, we know teens are really looking for more volunteering opportunities, so I have a few upcoming projects for teens to earn some community service credit. These are pilot programs with a low beginning capacity as we test them out, but we hope to be able to offer more hours over time.

Knitting for a Cause
We’re working toward a goal of knitting handmade accessories to donate to Knit the Rainbow, an organization that donates warm clothing to homeless LGBTQ+ youth in NYC. Teens and adults are welcome to participate in this initiative. We’ll have Learn to Knit kits available for pickup beginning Monday, October 18th. Each kit will contain knitting needles and yarn to make a practice square, and some links to tutorial videos from creativebug. After you’ve made your square, email Kat (kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org) to pick up another kit with materials to make a hat, scarf, or fingerless gloves. Teen volunteers will receive two hours of community service for returning your Learn to Knit square, and additional community service credit for returning a finished item that we can donate to Knit the Rainbow. If you already know how to knit, email Kat (kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org) to coordinate picking up some yarn to make something for Knit the Rainbow.

Tactile Picture Books
A few years back, a group of teen volunteers created a tactile picture book in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder’s Build a Better Book (BBB) initiative, which helps libraries create books and games for visually impaired patrons. When we created an interactive display of our pages in the Trove, they were a huge hit with patrons of all ages. Now we’re looking to add tactile board books to our library collection. We’re looking for teens who volunteer to take an existing board book and add texture to the pages, making the book more accessible to children with visual impairments. Ideally this will be a fairly involved and almost entirely self-directed project. If you’re interested, email Kat (kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org) to discuss details.

Library Tasks
We’re looking for a few teens to help with various tasks around the library, including preparing supplies for craft kits and packing materials. If you’re interested, email Kat (kcarroll@whiteplainslibrary.org) with your availability.