Frederic Paul, a nurse at Wilton Manors Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Lauderdale, is our Greystone Volunteer of the Month! An immigrant of Haitian descent, Frederic loves traveling back to his hometown to educate the local youth. Way to go, Frederic! Learn more about him in this fascinating interview:

Q: Favorite place to volunteer and why?
A: My favorite place to volunteer is at my hometown Bassin-Bleu, Haiti with an organization named “Union des Jeunes pour le Development de Bassin-Bleu”, a non-profit organization, which translates to “Union for Youth for the Development of Bassin-Bleu”. I love to volunteer in my hometown Bassin-Bleu because I used to be a teacher and saw the potential that many children have, but don’t have the proper resources to attend school. And this organization is able to provide opportunities for children that are in need.

Q: How many years have you been volunteering?
A: I have been involved with this organization for the past four years.

Q: What advice would you give to someone that wants to start volunteering?
A: Everyone needs to volunteer and do something they love. We need to protect the communities we come from so everyone can benefit. In my case, the more children that go to school, the more successful my hometown community can be.

Q: What is your motivation to continue to volunteer?
A: My motivation is my parents. I come from a poor family but my parents did everything for me to be able to attend school. And I promised myself that whenever I was capable of doing the same to other children, I would. I wanted to give the other children that weren’t as lucky as me the privilege to attend school.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to volunteer?
A: I think is important to volunteer, especially for young people. We need to focus on our youth because they are our future. We need to prepare our children in order for our communities to be great and for a more successful life.