Lucca White

Volunteering at Shelby Farms was a positive experience. I spent the evening directing traffic and interacting with guests, answering questions and helping them get where they needed to go. The staff member who helped get me situated at the beginning was very kind and made the process easy to understand. Overall, the night went smoothly, and it was good to contribute to keeping the event organized.

Volunteering at the Lakeland Christmas Parade and Drone Show was a really fun experience, especially because the coordinator put me in charge of the volunteer group. I checked everyone in, gave out assignments, and helped direct both volunteers and guests while the event was getting set up. Once families started arriving, I helped kids get stickers and showed people where to go, which made the night feel more personal and festive. It was nice being trusted with responsibility and seeing everything run smoothly because of the work we did. Overall, it felt meaningful to be part of bringing the community together for a holiday event.

With this event, I helped set up all the booths for the Pupapalooza event in Lakeland. I was awarded the opportunity to interact with many different kinds of vendors, creating a beneficial learning opportunity that lead me to better understand how adoption events like this are set up as well as what their goals are. I am very passionate about animal wellbeing and adore dogs as well, so this experience was perfect for me. Another Emerging Leader attended the event with me which made volunteering even more enjoyable.