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Community volunteer Ashley Kraft is not a Manchester native, but the 14-year resident quickly engrained herself as a volunteer in her adoptive hometown.

Originally from near Memphis, Kraft first become involved with volunteer work during her college years at Middle Tennessee State University.

“My major required us to do a lot of hands on community service to get credits and to pass and do internships and I just loved being a part of the community in that way when I was in school,” Kraft said.

After graduating, Kraft stayed in Murfreesboro and began finding her place in the world as a college graduate.

“You are in adult life and you need to make adult friends and find your place in the world and so I just started joining groups in Murfreesboro to see what I like to do, who I like to be around, how to make friends, how to network,” she said. “I was part of Murfreesboro Young Professionals and I stayed involved with MTSU.”

After moving to Manchester in 2010, Kraft decided she wanted to continue volunteering in her new community.

“Right now I am with a group called Empower Coffee County,” Kraft said. “I also help with Redemption Underdog Freedom Fund and I am the head coordinator and the planner of the Senior Graduation Parade every year.”

Founded by Tri-Star Transformation gym owner Katy Bess, Empower Coffee County is made up of a group of women interested in giving back to their community.

“We get together and we raise funds and donate time or whatever a certain nonprofit would want,” Kraft said. “We have given to Isaiah House, we have given to the Life Choices Pregnancy Center, we just try to give back as much as possible. We have helped with Blue Monarch and gone to their dinner and we have a partnership with them. It is just several women throughout the county that have come together.”

As for the annual graduation parade, Kraft said she was working as the dance teacher at Coffee County Central High School when a group of seniors came to her because the parade, which originated due to COVID-19 protocols, had been canceled for that year.

“They were so upset about it because as junior they saw what the seniors got and they were like, that is so cool we wanted to have something like that too even if we are having a graduation,” she said.

Kraft said her first graduation parade was in 2022. The parade welcomes all graduating seniors to participate in the parade through town, setting off from the Raider Academy.

“We are trying to grow it bigger and better every year,” she said. “We do have local businesses that you know have approached and said they would like to sponsor or do magnets on cars or things like that for the seniors.”

Kraft said she typically begins planning the graduation parade in February each year, and works with Coffee County Schools the Manchester Police Department and even the Tennessee Department of Transportation on the event.

“TDOT was great to us this past year and I had no idea they were going to put what was going on one of those electric signs on Highway 55,” Kraft said. “Then working with the school as well. It is my event, but they have to know the date of it, they let me utilize their parking lot to line everybody up and leave, so those types of things are important.”

Kraft said organizing the annual graduation parade continues to be a rewarding experience for her.

“As they are starting the parade I always stand there and say have fun, make sure to smile, have a blast and I will see you at the end,” she said. “So many will be like, thank you so much for doing this, so it is a core memory they are going to keep forever and it is pretty cool to be a part of it.”

Kraft said her best advice for community members interested in getting their feet wet as a volunteer is not to limit themselves to just one organization.

“Try out different things, try out different places,” Kraft said. “Don’t be shy, just go introduce yourself and see what an organization or a volunteer event is all about and then stick with the ones you feel comfortable with or are more endeared to your heart.”