By B.C. Manion
One day, she’s picking up trash in a community cleanup.
Another day, she’s out trick-or-treating for UNICEF.
On other days she’s helping at Special Olympics events, walking in Relay for Life, building a fence for Habitat for Humanity or helping elementary school children with homework or crafts.
Shelby Thompson, 16, has logged thousands of volunteer hours – and really can’t recall a time when she wasn’t pitching in.
“It’s what I like to do. It’s practically my life,” said the young woman from Wesley Chapel, who credits her mother for inspiring her to help others.
“I used to take her down to Metropolitan Ministries with me,” said Sandy Thompson, Shelby’s mom. “We used to do big baskets for the corporation I worked for,” she said. “I’d go off to Wal-Mart and load up 30 turkeys,” she said.
“We’d have three carts full,” said Shelby, who will be a senior at Wesley Chapel High.
Over the years, as Sandy volunteered at schools, Shelby helped, too.
“You name the event, I probably have been there,” Shelby said.
She’s helped to assemble bags of candy, to count T-shirts, to hand out forms on registration day.
She loves it.
“It’s important to me. I like knowing that I’m making a difference in someone’s life. I like helping people,” Shelby said.
Her efforts to help others have not gone unnoticed.
She’s garnered a number of awards for her good works.
Most recently, she was one of the recipients of the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award bestowed by the Florida Holocaust Museum to students “who make a conscious decision to spend their time improving the lives of others.”
Before that, Pasco County Public Schools named her the volunteer of the year in the youth category, and she went on to be named by the Florida Department of Education as one of the state’s seven regional finalists.
For years, she trailed her mom to various volunteer functions and did her part to chip in, but then she began branching out on her own.
She has been a Special Olympics volunteer for years, working at local, regional and statewide events. She’s done the Autism Walk twice. She raised $70 by trick-or-treating in her neighborhood for UNICEF.
She has gotten down and dirty during Pasco County road cleanups. The grossest things she’s found? “Bottles filled with weird liquids” and a toddler’s potty-chair.
She helped direct traffic for Hike for Hospice and collected underwear, pajamas and toothbrushes for Toys for Tots.
She’s also solicited money – in person and by mail – for Relay for Life.
In some cases, she’s been recruited or recruited others, to help.
For instance, she joined her mom, her dad Alex and her 15-year-old sister, Lynzie, in taking part at Wesley Chapel’s Relay for Life events.
She turned to her grandma (Betty Border) whose nickname is NeNe, to help her collect items for Toys for Tots.
And, she persuaded some friends to help her collect donations for the American Cancer Society in front of a Publix store. She collected the contributions on Valentine’s Day, using the slogan “A Sweet Day for A Cure.”
She’s also president of her Interact Club, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Sunrise, and she’s a member of Wesley Chapel High’s National Honor Society.
Her favorite volunteer work has involved helping children at Watergrass Elementary where she pitched in three days a week helping children with homework, crafts and music events.
“I just go after school. I make time,” said Shelby, who racked up 360 hours of volunteer work during her freshman year and thinks she did about the same during the following two years.
She gets a sense of satisfaction from getting involved, particularly with school children.
“It feels really nice knowing that they’re smiling because I helped them.”
The volunteer work also has helped her to cement her career plans.
She knows exactly what she wants to do with her life: “I want to teach elementary school,” she said.
And, to be a volunteer, of course.
