BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Dr. Ross McRonald is diagnosing a patient. He volunteers his time at the Caridad Center in Boynton Beach.
"I just feel that I should give something back and personally it's rewarding for me," he said.
Volunteers at the Caridad Center have been giving back for decades. Their mission started in the 1980s when two school teachers, Caridad Asensio and her friend Connie Berry, noticed their students needed help.
Scott Giebler is the vice president of development and communications at the Caridad Center.
"There was a lot of farmland, a lot of migrant workers were coming in and they saw these kids coming in and they were in desperate state. They needed shoes and clothes and they didn't have school supplies," said Giebler.
The families also needed medical care, they couldn't afford health insurance.
"And they started getting some volunteer doctors to help. And it kept growing and growing," Giebler added.
Today the Caridad Center is still helping.
"By far, the biggest population group is Hispanics about 80 % Hispanic and a large segment of Haitians. We serve over 32-thousand patient visits. We have a medical clinic, a dental clinic as well as an eye clinic," said Giebler.
As far as Dr. McRonald, "It's extremely important. I've been lucky and I just feel that maybe I can do a little something."
The Caridad Center is located at 8645 W. Boynton Beach Blvd.
For more information, call 561-737-6336.