Habla espanõl? Sì, sì!

For Enrique Escalante, volunteering at the AmeriCares Free Clinic of Norwalk is a labor of love.  Nearly every Saturday morning Enrique serves as an interpreter to the scores of Latino residents who come for the medical care and compassion at the Norwalk clinic. 

"I love everything about it," says Enrique, a Stamford resident who was born and raised in Mexico City before coming to the U.S. for his college studies.  "I love the people that I work with.  They're not only very positive about what they do, but they're so helpful with the patients.  Many of the nurses are there a lot - every weekend - and it is just great to be helping them help people who don't have as much as we do."

Enrique decided to use his bi-lingual capabilities to help the Spanish-speaking population about two years ago. He found the opportunity at the AmeriCares Free Clinic through a local volunteer web site.  He has since discovered an unexpected benefit in donating his time.

"I'm interested in medicine and looking to go to med school," he says, noting that he plans to start in fall 2007.  "The clinic's medical volunteers include me in much of what they do and they're teaching me a lot." 

Enrique is employed by Pitney Bowes, which complements his volunteer efforts with a contribution to the Free Clinics through the Pitney Bowes Employee Involvement Fund.