TPA celebrates National Volunteer Week

Peggy Kaufman has been a volunteer at TPA since 2012 and says the best part of her job is seeing reunions between loved ones or watching grandparents meeting their new grandchild. 

"Being a frequent traveler myself, I liked the idea of assisting travelers, sometimes at their most harried, exhausted, elated, or simply glad to see our sunshine," Peggy said.

Peggy is just one of 50 volunteers, known as the 'originals,' who have volunteered at the Airport since the program launched.

Volunteers at Tampa International Airport have donated more then 280,000 hours of their time assisting more than 1 million passengers and guests at the Airport. This week, we celebrate them during National Volunteer Week.

When the Volunteer Ambassador Program launched at TPA, 90 individuals made up the crew. Today, 127 volunteers are currently serving travelers on a daily basis. Daily tasks include welcoming travelers and visitors to the Tampa Bay area, providing friendly, timely and courteous information about Airport facilities, transportation and offering up-to-date information about Tampa Bay area attractions, hotels, restaurants and other amenities.

“Our volunteers provide assistance to travelers, but they’re also there to be that smiling face when a passenger may be stressed out after a long day of traveling,” said Dortresia Johnson, TPA’s Volunteer Service Manager. “They just add that extra layer of customer service to not only our passengers, but our community as well.”

These friendly faces can be found staffing five visitor information kiosks in the Baggage claim areas and the Rental Car Center. There are also volunteers meeting International flights as they arrive as well as the Lost and Found reception area. The kiosks 7 days a week, 3 shifts a day, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

To sign up or learn more about our Volunteer Ambassador Program, visit https://www.tampaairport.com/volunteer-tampa-airport.