Abigail Krepela

In this event, my sorority alongside with another fraternity worked in unison to clean up the street we live on. This was after the really bad storms so it made a big impact on the street because it had gotten really messy to where people could hardly walk on the sidewalk. Working alongside the other volunteers helped us get a lot more work done than I would have gotten done alone which helped the community because it maximized the outcome. The only challenge we faced was that some things were too wet to really clean because of all the rain but it was still manageable.

I improved my skills on how to talk to people while still maintaining getting the information needed for the drive thru to run smoothly. I learned more about the food insecurity in my community which helps me further grasp the impact that this makes. I made new connections with other volunteers and was able to guide them because I've done the Mobile Food Pantry before. My personal values were aligned with this a lot because the philanthropy of my sorority is "Fighting Hunger."

I learned a lot more about the history of the Memphis Botanical Garden and what is put into the park during this service event. These skills helped me have a deeper connection with my city and take deeper pride in it. I worked as a team which made this event so much more enjoyable. The organizer of our event was super helpful and checked on us multiple times. It made me feel much more confident in my service. The only challenge was that it began to get a little rainy but the sun ended up coming out and the volunteer organizer already had a plan in case of showers which was super helpful!

For this event we marketed and worked a table that was for a canned food drive. I worked alongside teammates which allowed me to build my teamwork skills greatly. This makes an impact on the community because it provides for those who cant provide for themselves. It means a lot to me because this is my sororities philanthropic focus. With that said, the service hours were very meaningful to me.

This volunteer work has impacted my future career because it allows me to get information quickly and also while having side talk with those who came to get food. In my career, I will likely be doing this so it is good practice for me to do this. I learned about the food scarcity in Memphis during this service event. I met a fellow emerging leader during this service event. Meeting her allows me to broaden my connections with other classes of emerging leaders. The organization I volunteered for helped me by guiding me through getting information, also they were great at communication during the whole event. This service event aligned with my morals and beliefs greatly which allowed me to be more passionate with my work.

Volunteering for the Mobile Food Bank was a very positive experience. It allowed me to further understand the financial instability within the city and the food scarcity that some families experience. This also allowed me to grow further in my gratitude towards my situation with my family and allowed me to feel very blessed. This experience improved my skill of being able to talk to people with different situations than me to just check on their well-being. I worked with a team of other volunteers which helped me tremendously because most of them had already done the service before and could guide me in the right direction. My service allowed families to get food in a timely manner without them having to pay anything. The only issue I faced that I didn't expect was when we ran out of food, some people were very upset that they didn't get any. I would love to do it again and had a great time helping the families.

Volunteering for the Memphis Animal Service was a very rewarding experience. I teamed up with a fellow emerging leader, Grace Starnes, and a sorority sister, Chloe Lewis, to take the sweet foster pup, "Cookie Crumble" for a fun day. Teaming up with them allowed me to feel a lot safer and ensured that we could really focus on the dog. We took her to Shelby Farms to play around in the park. We then ended her day at Starbucks so she could enjoy her first "pup cup." It was very rewarding because the timid dog's character changed right in front of my eyes. She was very shy at first but by the end of the field trip, she began to show her silly personality a lot more. I would recommend this service to anyone comfortable with dogs. Another major benefit is that the field trips they go on increase their likelihood to be adopted by a huge amount, this is because of the pictures and content the shelter gets from the volunteers. The media allows them to market the animals more. I developed skills to think of activities that are dog friendly and free to accomplish making the day great for Cookie Crumble. This event made me realize how much love these animals need that are in the shelters. I learned through this that the shelter is over 120 dogs over crowded and that they need as much help as they can get. The only challenge I faced was finding places that dogs were allowed to be, but thankfully shelby farms was only 12 minutes away making it an attainable activity.