Volunteer Spotlight: Gery Gilbert

OLC volunteer Gery (pronounced like “Gary”) Gilbert has been a friendly face at numerous OLC events and volunteer opportunities over the past year. We interviewed her about what brings her to this work.

OLC: What’s something people don’t know about you?
Gery: That I retired from OPD after 25 years of service as a Police Records Specialist.

OLC: How did you get involved with the OLC?
Gery: I started looking on Volunteer Match to see what would be a good fit for me, and that is how I found FOPSL, Friends of the Oakland Public School Libraries. I worked at East Oakland Pride Elementary School and I loved it!

OLC: Tell us about your volunteering in schools. How did you get involved?
Gery: I always tried to support early childhood literacy. When I retired, I decided that I would try to volunteer for OUSD. I wanted to do something for students who might need a little extra help.

OLC: What is something you love about working with children and families?
Gery: I love to see their smiles when they learn something new. I love putting a book in their hands. I love seeing their parents be proud of their accomplishments. I love seeing the children be proud of themselves.

OLC: What would you like people to know about why volunteering is so valuable?
Gery: That you may think you are doing something worthwhile for others, but you may not realize that you are doing something worthwhile for yourself at the same time. I always try to get young people involved in community service. It makes them see that they are quite capable of making a positive change.

OLC: What do you enjoy about volunteering in school libraries, classroom Glow Ups, and OLC community events?
Gery: I am in my personal happy place when I volunteer in a school library. I enjoy doing Glow Ups because it makes the students happy to see someone come to their classroom and do something special for them. The community event that I attended [Social Justice Children’s Book Fair in December] was like going to Heaven for me!! It was so much fun talking to kids and their parents about books and literacy!!!

OLC: What is one of your favorite children’s books to share?
Gery: Charlotte’s Web

OLC: What are you reading now?
Gery: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates