18 Aug Volunteer Support Elevates Small Business’s Centennial Celebration

Katie Chung, a Cal State LA student, began volunteering with LTSC ‘s Small Business Program in February 2023. As a member of the Small Biz Hype Squad (our small business volunteer crew), Katie was assigned to San Gabriel Nursery & Florist to support their 100th Anniversary campaign and Community Appreciation event. From February through June, Katie consistently put in 4-6 hours a week of volunteer hours to help this small business. She conducted an online audit, interviewed the business owner to document the shop’s history, designed graphics for social media posts and designed a self-guided tour of the 2-acre nursery for the Community Appreciation Event. “We felt so confident in Katie’s skills that we even assigned her as a lead for the community engagement activities at the Community Appreciation Event, which required explaining to volunteers and first time visitors alike the 100 year history of San Gabriel Nursery over and over again,” shared Mariko Lochridge, LTSC small business counselor. Katie was one of 4 volunteers from Cal State LA to work on the project, as well as one of 30 volunteers on the day of the event.

In a Rafu Shimpo article highlighting the community celebration, Katie said, “Volunteering and interning with small businesses through LTSC has been an incredible learning experience for me. I have gained skills in graphic design, which is something I had never done before. I’ve also been able to see the inner workings of a business, as well as the incredible effort and time needed by a team to promote and run an event like this. It’s helped me to trust in myself as well as those I work with. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed being able to see how important legacy businesses are to the community. This experience has encouraged me to support Asian American owned businesses myself and commit to their growth.”

LTSC is grateful for passionate and dedicated volunteers like Katie who provide essential support to our local small businesses!

Interested in volunteering? LTSC is looking for new members of the Small Biz Hype Squad! Learn more here: https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp3698017.jsp