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Jasmine Gabriel top teen volunteer at Chelsea library

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Edith Donnell for the information in this story.)

The Chelsea District Library (CDL) recently named Beach Middle School eighth-grade student, Jasmine Gabriel, as its 2019 Youth Service Group (YSG) Volunteer of the Year.

This award celebrates teens who demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment while volunteering at the library.

She will be recognized by her peers at this year’s YSG orientation sessions and a custom-designed READ poster commemorating her award will be on display in the library lobby.

Gabriel has been volunteering at the library since the end of her sixth-grade year in 2017.

“Jasmine only volunteered for a couple of hours that first summer,” said Youth Librarian Jessica Zubik, “but then she signed up again the following fall and we started to see her regularly.”

Edith Donnell, head of YSG at the library, was thrilled when she began asking for more volunteer hours, which led to her becoming one of the most reliable volunteers in the group.

“Jasmine had the dependability and quick understanding that I usually expect from my high school junior and senior volunteers. When we ran out of youth and teen tasks for her to do after school last year, I reached out to the adult department to fill her time,” Donnell said.

This year, Gabriel has been helping twice a week, regularly spending two to three hours at the library doing everything from filing forms, preparing books for the Friends Used Book Sale to assisting with afternoon and evening programs.

She was overjoyed when she heard that she had received the award.

“I can’t tell you how much the library means to me,” she told Patty Roberts, head of marketing, as she was getting her photo taken for her READ poster.

“Chelsea District Library is basically my castle,” Gabriel said. “If it were legal, I would live in a library.”

When asked about her YSG volunteer experience, she said, “What I love most about being a YSG volunteer is the feeling of community I get whenever I see a group of moms chatting while their kids play in KidSpot; or when I spy competition between siblings during the Summer Reading Program—trying to see who can get the most prize slips. Everything about the Chelsea District Library embodies community, knowledge, and fun; and is what made me decide to become a YSG volunteer.”

Gabriel said she hopes other people notice this as well and decide that they, too, would like to become part of our welcoming library community.

The library is always looking for new YSG members who are entering seventh grade or above. If you are an interested student or parent and want to find out more about YSG volunteer opportunities at CDL, visit the library website at www.chelseadistrictlibrary.org, and click on the How Do I…Become a Volunteer tab.

The library is currently taking applications for summer volunteer positions. Sign up today by filling out an application online and attending one of our YSG Orientation sessions on June 3, 5 or 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the McKune room.

YSG volunteers help set up and clean up library programs, assist with running the Summer Reading Program, and support the Youth & Teen Librarians. YSG volunteering is a great way to serve our community and meet new friends. As an added bonus, the group will finish the summer off with a fun party at Pierce Park.

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