Stand Up & Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day Impact
Since 2019, Gators from around the world have united to uplift the University of Florida on Stand Up & Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day. Below are just a few examples of how your generosity transforms lives and communities across The Gator Nation®.
Your Gifts in Action.
You provide scholarships for future dentists like Brian Perez. Raised by a single mom with Cuban roots, Brian is a first-generation college student who plans to use his DMD degree to practice in underserved communities.
You create life-shaping opportunities for over 200,000 kids who participate in Florida 4-H programs each year. From coding and space science to agriculture and creative arts, 4-H experiences provide young people with skills to thrive.
You open doors to global learning for students like Samantha Strong, a history major who studied immersive language in Perugia, Italy, and conducted research for her honors thesis in London, thanks to International Center scholarships.
You foster innovation through state-of-the-art facilities like the Atlas Lab, where College of Journalism and Communications faculty, staff and students leverage AI-driven tools to scour digital media and uncover hidden insights.
You are making a difference...
on campus and beyond.
Through their Giving Day challenge gift, Rolf (BSPT ’72) and Anne Kuhns (BMUS ’70, MED ’75) inspire others to support scholarships for the Gator Marching Band. The couple, who met while in the Gator Band and support many areas across the university, created the Anne T. and Rolf M. Kuhns Endowed Scholarship for Band. Their scholarship ensures generations of musicians benefit from the transformative experiences and opportunities Rolf and Anne enjoyed as UF students. With the help of Giving Day donors, the fund has awarded 18 scholarships to 14 students since 2019.
An anonymous donation from a Gator nurse during Giving Day 2024 funded a new electrocardiogram machine and half the cost of a retinal camera at UF Health Archer Family Health Care (AFHC) — the College of Nursing's and UF Health’s first and only nurse-led primary care clinic. Dr. Mark Atkinson, former director of the Diabetes Institute at UF, contributed the other half for the retinal camera, which can detect treatable vision conditions. This thoughtful gift significantly enhances the health and well-being of countless patients.
Since Giving Day 2019, an anonymous donor has inspired others to support UF Master of Health Administration students through a generous dollar-for-dollar match challenge. This past year, the funds enabled class of 2024 students Abigail Lamm (captain), Brady Alexander and Liam Ngo to apply their classroom knowledge, problem-solving and communication skills to real-world scenarios at the 18th University of Alabama Birmingham Health Administration Case Competition. The team celebrated a first-place victory at the event, making UF the first Florida school to win this prestigious competition, which is arguably the most competitive event for graduate health care administration education.
During Giving Day 2024, alumni and friends donated over $50,000 to support the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and programs like Field and Fork Farm and Gardens. This program provides hands-on learning in sustainable agricultural and food systems to the UF and Gainesville communities. Through the Field and Fork Farm’s experiential learning and research opportunities, Gators like Lucas Anrecio are developing solutions to benefit farmers and society. After graduating from UF in 2022 with degrees in agricultural education and sustainability studies, Lucas interned at the farm and now serves as a graduate assistant. His research explores how soil treatments affect crop growth and health, with the goal of making farming more affordable and environmentally friendly.
Dollars raised through Giving Day help the UF College of Medicine prepare future doctors, like second-year medical student and scholarship recipient Nicolas Abchee. Nicolas’ journey, shaped by a multicultural upbringing in Lebanon and the U.S., has given him a deep awareness of global and local suffering and a commitment to serving humanity through medicine. His experiences, from volunteering in East Africa to enduring personal family crises during war and natural disasters, have instilled a desire to bridge divides and treat all people with compassion. Through patient interactions, peer relationships and donor-supported opportunities like the Equal Access Clinic, Nicolas is developing skills and perspective to foster healing across cultures.
Thank you, Gators!
Your gifts make stories like these possible.
Be sure to check out our donor wall to be inspired by fellow Gators who chose to Stand Up & Holler for UF.
If you have questions or would like information about other giving opportunities,
please reach out to the Annual Giving team at givingday@uff.ufl.edu.