Meet our Volunteers: Giselle Wong

A few times a month, Giselle Wong brings the Library directly to others. She’s a long time volunteer with Homebound Readers, a program for people of all ages with mobility or health concerns.

The Library program is more than just a book delivery service. “It’s about companionship,” Wong says. The Calgarians she helps are delighted to have fresh books to read and a friendly face to talk to.

Wong’s responsibilities include picking up holds or choosing materials, delivering those resources to elderly Library members, and returning their borrowed items. Often, she sticks around for a visit over tea. Wong enjoys those conversations; listening to stories from seniors gives her understanding into another generation, she says.

The Homebound Readers program started in 1974, and continues to this day because of volunteers like Wong. Over the past 13 years, Wong has volunteered about 500 hours with the program.

Wong works as a library assistant at an elementary school, and says volunteering is another way to share her deep love of libraries with others. That passion started when Wong was a youngster who spent extensive time at a public library in Ontario, learning English as a second language. “Libraries have changed me,” Wong says. “They opened my eyes to the world.”

If you are interested in volunteering with the Library, please visit the Volunteers page.