Pre-Med Texas Tech senior Whitney Shaffer stays very busy.
Not only does she have her classes, but she’s also president of Tech’s volunteer organization, Raiders Helping Others.
The group of students volunteer all over the community.
This time around, Shaffer and a few other students are helping at the Special Olympics Spring Games.
“We just got done running the shot put ring,” Shaffer said. “It was awesome! A lot of these kids are great, enthusiastic and have a lot of family support.”
Shaffer has been volunteering for as long as she can remember but it wasn’t until she got to college that she realized the impact she’s making.
“We teach people about the social issues we deal with on a daily basis and we try to encourage our members to be the reason for that change we see and look into issues and say how do you fix that,” Shaffer explains.
She’s volunteered in other cities in Florida, Utah and Kentucky and also made an impact here at home.
“We had a drive last year and we ended up taking a van full of stuff over to the Children’s Home which was super exciting because I didn’t expect it to be as big,” Shaffer explains. “We had 350 drawstring Texas Tech bags that we gave to these kids and wrote encouraging notes to them and handed it to them when we delivered and they were just so excited.”
And even though her undergrad college career is about to come to a close she says she hopes she made an impact while she was here.
“I’m sad I’m about to graudate because what am I going to do without this organization? They’re half of my life,” Shaffer exclaims. “I’ve learned how to be a leader and how to be a part of my community. You can do something to change someone’s life in a way and that’s the biggest reward you could ever get.”
The Volunteer Center of Lubbock is always looking for volunteers.
Contact them at (806) 747-0551 to find the perfect place for you or your family to help out.
