Volunteer Spotlight: Eleni Hub

Eleni Hub is an OLC volunteer superstar. She has contributed over 200 hours of school library service this past academic year. Eleni regularly volunteers at Bridges Academy at Melrose, assisting weekly with shelving and supporting additional projects such as weeding books at Montclair Elementary. 

Beyond the library, she also helps distribute books on the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus and finds joy in helping kids discover books they are truly excited about. When she is not volunteering, Eleni enjoys spending time with her family, reflecting on her New England roots, or possibly putting a lobster to sleep, a unique skill she learned growing up in her dad’s lobster pound. Read more about Eleni and the deep love of literacy and community that inspires her to give back so generously below:

Hi Eleni, What’s something people don’t know about you?

I can put a lobster to sleep!  I grew up in New England, and my dad owned a lobster pound, where he sold lobster, fish and other shellfish.  When I was a kid, I loved to go “to work” with him, playing with the lobsters and checking out customers with his old-fashioned cash register.  He taught me how (without injuring the animal) to put a lobster on his “nose,” or beaky part of its head, and encouraged it to take a short nap. 

Tell us about working at Glenview.  How did you get involved in early literacy?

Glenview is our local elementary school, and where my 3 kids (now in their 20s) went to school from 2002-2015. During that time, I volunteered through the PTA in many ways, including in the library. Our library wasn’t open at first, but eventually the PTA funded a librarian and updated the collection. In 2015, there was a need for literacy support, and the principal asked if I would like to work for OUSD doing what I had, up until that point, volunteered to do!  I conducted small-group sessions, both in and out of the classroom, and was trained in F&P’s Leveled Literacy Intervention program as well as SIPPS. From 2015-2023, I enjoyed supporting students–from pre-readers learning the alphabet and sounds to 4th graders developing their comprehension skills.

How did you get involved with the OLC? 

Once I left Glenview and OUSD, I wanted to continue working or volunteering in literacy in Oakland. OLC connected me with the OUSD’s District Teacher Librarian, who needed assistance in updating, organizing, and inventorying the catalogs at many of the school sites in the city. I have enjoyed meeting library staff from so many Oakland schools and helping fulfill their vision for collections that excite and represent Oakland kids.  Coincidentally, at the same time, a friend also gave me her ticket to the Literacy and Justice for All Symposium in 2024.  Recently, I have been at Bridges Academy at Melrose regularly, assisting the Teacher Librarian.  The breadth of OLC’s engagement in literacy in Oakland has been inspiring.  I was hooked from the beginning!

What is something you love about working with children and families?

I am an only child, adopted into a large, loud, and loving extended family.  Recently, I have connected with my birth family, as well.  Moreover, I have a “big tent” view, and consider close friends “chosen” family.   Previously, I worked for an Oakland non-profit adoption agency which placed CA kids from foster care into stable, loving homes.  I supported families in completing initial regulatory requirements for adoption, and delighted in watching them expand their families.

Being a mom is something I’m most proud of, my defining role. My own kids and the students I have worked with have been the best teachers and truth-tellers! It’s fascinating watching how other families navigate the joys and challenges of parenting and family life and dynamics.  I enjoy exploring that common experience, and supporting it through volunteering and work.

What would you like people to know about why volunteering is so valuable? 

My family believes in active, rather than passive, participation in our community.  Volunteering provides an opportunity not only to contribute positively and hopefully improve your community, but also to find commonality with and be drawn closer to others.  

What do you enjoy about volunteering on the Eat.Learn.Play. bus or doing book distributions?

It’s wonderful seeing the look on kids’ faces when they choose books that interest them or that they are choosing for a family member, so empowering.  And it’s a creative and thoughtful approach to offer both books and food at one event!

What is one of your favorite children’s books to share?

I especially loved reading these to my kids: Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel, Busytown by Richard Scarry, My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni.

What are you reading now?
I am reading James, by Percival Everett.  Love it!