Eva Dupay, 26, knew she wanted to help the residents of Andros island when she found out it was severely affected by Hurricane Matthew.
“I have to. There’s no question about it,” said the UF fourth-year dentistry student who visited the island last Spring. “I wish I could’ve given more.”
Dupay donated to fundraising efforts organized by Amanda Mullersman, a UF third-year dentistry student, for the people of Andros affected by the hurricane. Mullersman and Dupay are part of a group of about 10 students who visited the island in Spring to provide pediatric dental services to the island.
So far, the group has raised about $200, Mullersman said. They are also taking clothes, canned foods, bottled water, toiletries, diapers and toys as donations until Dec. 2, or possibly later.
“We just wanted to get everything sent before the holiday rush,” she said.
A group of students in the College of Dentistry have gone on the trip for the last three years and will return this year, Mullersman said. Although Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas, no dentists live there.
“After the hurricane, one of the schools we visited was completely demolished,” she said. “We’re just trying to do whatever we can.”
For Ericka Lowe Bennett, who has gone on all of the college’s mission trips as a volunteer faculty dentist, the fundraiser is personal.
The 38-year-old grew up on the Bahamian island of Nassau before she attended college in the U.S. Her family in Nassau suffered minor damage to their house, but the citizens of Andros weren’t as lucky.
“That island was hit even harder than Nassau,” she said. “As far as we were told, everything’s in need.”
Lowe Bennett said she thinks the fundraiser will be a success.
“I think it shows the generosity of the University of Florida students,” she said. “It raises your awareness to the purpose of charity and giving back as a student.”
A tree fell on Rockwood Villas, located at 900 SW 62nd Blvd Ste 500 in Gainesville, during Hurricane Matthew next to an apartment on Friday.
