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