By Amber Bourek Slater, Volunteer & Friends Engagement Coordinator
National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 20-26. It is a great time of the year to celebrate the contributions of the nearly 900 Johnson County Library volunteers. These volunteers help fill important roles at the Library, ensuring that patrons receive the highest level of quality and service. Volunteering isn’t just for adults; teens and young adults have been especially active in making a positive impact on our community.
In fact, teen volunteers make up 46% of all Johnson County Library volunteers. Teens can even earn the national Presidential Service Award by serving with the Library. For teen volunteers (11-15), award recognition begins at 50 service hours. For young adult volunteers (16-24 years old), the threshold for earning this award starts at 100 service hours. The Library is thrilled to share 13 volunteers who earned the Presidential Service Award for 2025. Together, they contributed 1,089 hours of service with the Library.
Teens Honorees
- Addison Foster – Earned the Bronze Award serving 57 hours helping with Summer Reading at our Blue Valley branch, participating in our Teen Advisory group, and helping with Friends book collections and sales.
- Callan Haas – Earned the Silver Award serving 92 hours helping almost every week accepted book donations at the Friends of Johnson County Library.
- Neil Joshi – Earned the Bronze Award serving 70 hours reading and reviewing 35 books in the Johnson County Library collection.
- Mia Maciula – Earned the Gold Award serving 102 hours between Johnson County Library, Heart-to-Heart International, Prairie Trail Middle School, and Ronald McDonald House. At the Library, Mia has been summer teen volunteer at our Lenexa City Center branch, reviewed books, made bookmarks for our HomeConnect readers, and assisted with Library Lets Loose.
- Sanay Mishra – Earn the Bronze Award serving 52 hours reading and reviewing 26 books in the Library collection.
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Karunya Nimmagadda, left, and Airhant Terala, right Karunya Nimmagadda – Earned the Gold Award serving 104 hours between Johnson County Library, Turnstyles, & the City of Overland Park. At the Library, he has reviewed books and assisted with Summer Reading at our Blue Valley branch.
- Tosha Patel – Earned the Gold Award serving 114 between Johnson County Library and AdventHealth. At the Library, she has served as a Blue Valley branch volunteer and helped with Tabletop Game Nights.
- Etina Roelofs – Earned the Silver Award serving 75 hours as a lead volunteer for the Friends Donation Drop-off events.
- Arihant Terala – Earned the Gold Award serving 100 hours between Johnson County Library and the Hindi Temple. At the Library, he has served on the Teen Advisory Group, been a book reviewer, and helped with donation drop-off events.
Young Adult Honorees
- Nithin Dheepak – Earned the Silver Award for serving 184 hours reading and reviewing 92 books in the Johnson County Library collection.
- Benny Lin – Earn the Bronze Award serving 112 hours between Johnson County Library and Harvesters. At the Library, he has helped with Juneteenth, Legislative Coffees, Foundation events, book reviewing, and accepting book donations at the Friends.
- Iqra Nadeem – Earned the Bronze Award serving 149 hours between Advent Health, and Blue Valley Northwest High School, and book reviewing at the Library.
- Mahad Zamir – Earned the Bronze Award serving 100 hours reading and reviewing 50 books in the Johnson County Library collection.
Johnson County Library would like to thank all of the volunteers for their time, talent and dedication to making an impact in the community. If you would like to join them, consider volunteering. One-time, short-term, and regular volunteer opportunities are available. View the list of opportunities to learn how you can become a Library volunteer.
Johnson County Library – Nurturing the Community’s Collective Wisdom
