This month, we are celebrating library volunteers. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities available at locations across the county. Adults can join the Friends of the Orange County Library System, a non-profit, independent volunteer and advocacy organization that helps us improve the quality and scope of our services. Adult volunteers help in a variety of ways, including giving building tours and helping in the bookstore at Orlando Public Library, sharing information about library programs at community events and prepping crafts and shelving books at branches. To learn more about volunteering opportunities at OCLS, visit friends.ocls.org/volunteer.
Today we are highlighting the Friends of the Library’s 2026 Jo Anne Feldstein Legacy Award winner Sandi Trainor and her years of dedication to the Friends Bookstore.
Each year, the Volunteer Coordinator and past recipients present the Feldstein Legacy Award to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication to the mission of the Friends and has served as a volunteer for a minimum of five years.
For Sandi, what began as a search for a nearby volunteer opportunity turned into seven years of service, friendship, and countless conversations about books. Sandi’s favorite aspect of volunteering at the Friends Bookstore is “talking about books with the customers and helping them find what they are looking for.”
Volunteer Coordinator Brett Wagner shared that Sandi “brings a friendly smile to the bookstore and is always going out of her way to help our bookstore customers and her fellow volunteers.”
Sandi is known around the bookstore for her kind spirit and eagerness to help, no matter the task. Wagner reflects, “It is a tradition every year at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon for me to have to tell her she is not allowed to help set up and then clean up the room because the event is specifically being held to recognize the hard work of the volunteer team!”
We are so grateful for Sandi and the passion she brings to our bookstore and the library. Congratulations on being the 2026 Jo Anne Feldstein Legacy Award winner!
The Jo Anne Feldstein Award was established in 2022 to honor the late Jo Anne Feldstein, a longtime Friends of the Library Member, and volunteer for the Friends Bookstore. She was a New York fashion model in the 1940s and ’50s and later became an addiction counselor. Feldstein unexpectedly passed away after volunteering one afternoon in 2016, leaving behind a legacy of community service, love of books and passion for the library. Read more about Feldstein and her legacy here: https://orlandomemory.org/people/jo-anne-feldstein/
Past Recipients:
2022: Jane Poche
2023: Almeda Sun
2024: Ed Wieder
2025: Carol Decker
