Hinda Chalew is one of our newest board members, having joined the board in May of 2018. Before joining RCLF she served on the library board, and has brought invaluable perspective to the board.
What inspires you to get involved in the community? Are you involved in any other organizations?
When working with the Taproot Foundation on some pro-bono marketing projects, I was introduced to Project Read. The work that Project Read does, teaching people to read, inspired me to do more with my local community.
The Redwood City Library Foundation’s mission states “Our mission is to support the Redwood City Library in cultivating literacy, life-long learning, and community connections.” What do those words mean to you?
As I learned from my work with Project Read, the ability to read makes one visible. We all want to be seen. Reading opens a world not only of learning, but of curiosity. Curiosity opens us to the world.
Reading opens a world not only of learning, but of curiosity. Curiosity opens us to the world.
- Hinda Chalew
You were a board member of the Redwood City Library before joining the foundation. What made you decide to join the foundation? How do you envision your experience on the library board contributing to the foundation?
I wanted to join the library foundation board because I wanted to support the library in a different way. The city board is an administrative board, which is very important, but I wanted to engage with the community differently.
You recently set up a Facebook fundraiser on your personal account to raise money for the foundation. How much did you raise? What inspired you to set up the fundraiser? What was the experience like?
I raised $1000. First, let me publicly thank my friends and family for supporting me. I was surprised by who gave, many were people from out of state, and thrilled to have the support. I thought it was interesting how connected people were to the library. I have reached a point in my life where I don’t need anything. I am not wealthy, but I have the things I need. My friends are, for the most part, in the same position. Why not reach out and help others? By helping and supporting the library, we are helping others.
Are you a native of Redwood City? If not, what brought here?
I moved to Redwood City a little more than 10 years ago. Redwood City is an ideal place to live if you commute North or South. That is what brought me here – my commute.
Tell us about your professional background and how you use it in your work with the foundation.
I have been a technology marketing executive for my whole career. I hope I can help the foundation by getting the word out, re-packaging the message and interacting with different people to promote the great work the library does. It’s what I have done my entire career.
How do you explain the Redwood City Library Foundation to someone who has never heard of it before?
Simply put, it’s the library foundation’s job to raise money to support library programs. We work for the library.