Local teens create platform to help students looking to volunteer in their community

Alexa Lorenzo,James Tutten

April 26, 2024 at 10:31 AM·1 min read

Thousands of people will fill the streets of downtown Orlando on Saturday for this year’s Florida Puerto Rican Parade.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

This year’s theme is civic engagement, highlighting the importance of volunteering and community service.

Channel 9 spoke with a Puerto Rican student and a Venezuelan student at Celebration High School who started a new platform connecting teens to more opportunities to volunteer.

Read: Watch the Florida Puerto Rican Parade on Channel 9

If children are our future, then Florida is in good hands with Alexa Perez and Francesca Erdody.

Both have always had a calling to serve their communities.

However, when volunteering opportunities proved hard to come by, they took matters into their own hands by creating Volunteering Orlando.

Read: 2024 Florida Puerto Rican Parade & Festival to spotlight the town of Juncos

Its an online platform that connects high school students to community service with groups like Osceola History and AdventHealth.

From community clean-ups to hospital help, volunteering has made an impact.

Watch: Hope Community Center helps engagement with Central Florida’s Puerto Rican community

They are now working to expand the program to other parts of Florida.

See more in the video above.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

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Local teens create platform to help students looking to volunteer in their community

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