Today we’d like to introduce you to Stanley Pierre Gilles.
Hi Stanley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Hello my name is Stanley, I am the current president of the University of Central Florida Chapter of Neg Kreyol Incorporated which is a nonprofit organization that focuses on benefitting other Haitian organizations, the Haitian community, and Haiti. We were founded at the University of South Florida on May 21st, 2008. We later chartered at UCF on November 6th, 2015. Neg Kreyol’s purpose is to instill unity within men of Haitian descent. This is to help promote more Haitian men as leaders and role models to the younger generation and peers within diverse universities and communities across the country. Since 2008, we have been able to help uplift hundreds of Haitian men and help out thousands with our philanthropic efforts and an annual mission trip to Haiti.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our biggest struggle has been finding enough financial support to match our ambition. While we have been able to accomplish a lot with the funding we have raised so far, we would love to bring in additional funds to continue to spread more goodwill in the Haitian community. Furthermore, like most businesses and other organizations, COVID-19 significantly halted our momentum. This resulted in us conducting fewer activities/ fundraising, fewer community service events, and an overall decrease in our on-campus and community presence.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We work to unlock the leadership qualities we believe everyone possesses. We work to achieve this by focusing on community service and professional development workshops to help those in our community. We are especially proud of the resurgence of the organization post-COVID. Our future seems brighter than ever.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, we plan to increase the percentage of Haitian males in leadership positions, expand our reach beyond our three central communities, become an available resource to Haitian organizations and businesses, and lastly, we plan to become a beacon of hope for our youth to aspire to become.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: ucf_nk
Image Credits
Zakaria White
