Total Awarded = $75,000
| COMMUNITY | –– | –– |
| Project Title | Amount | Project Summary |
| Hand Camp Activities 2027 | $2,500.00 | For over 26 years, Hands to Love’s annual Hand Camp has provided a transformative weekend program in partnership with the University of Florida for children with upper limb differences and their families. The camp fosters confidence and independence in children through adaptive activities and role models, while offering parents valuable networking and resource-sharing opportunities. |
| Feeding Chronically Hungry Kids in Alachua County | $3,500.00 | Food4Kids Backpack Program of North Florida seeks funding to purchase up to six pallets of canned fruit, including sliced pears and unsweetened applesauce, for children in Alachua County experiencing food insecurity. These nutritious, shelf-stable items will provide more than 12,000 servings through the organization’s weekend backpack program, helping children maintain healthy diets when school meals are unavailable. |
| Expanding Services at GRACE Marketplace | $4,835.85 | This project seeks funding for medical diagnostic and monitoring tools, including ultraviolet lamps, anticoagulation monitors, and diabetes A1C supplies, to expand point-of-care services for underserved patients. |
| Supporting Pediatric Patient Wellness in Gainesville & Alachua County through Wish Celebrations | $5,000.00 | Make-A-Wish Central & Northern Florida seeks funding to provide wish celebrations for pediatric patients in Gainesville and Alachua County who are undergoing treatment for critical illnesses. |
| Weekend Meal Distribution and Increasing Social Services For Underserved Populations in Gainesville | $2,500.00 | Project Downtown Gainesville is a volunteer-driven nonprofit that has provided free meals and essential support services to underserved community members every weekend since 2007. |
| Communication Enhancement for People with Developmental Disabilities | $4,500.00 | The Arc of Alachua County serves approximately 125 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This project seeks funding to install a Vestaboard digital communication system. |
| Diagnostic Expansion: Increasing Rural Dental Access Through Portable Imaging | $8,000.00 | ACORN is seeking funding for a portable handheld X-ray system to improve diagnostic access and reduce barriers to care. |
| UF HEALTH | –– | –– |
| Expanding Pediatric Chest Wall Deformity Care and Treatment Resources | $7,683.00 | UF Health Pediatric Surgery is seeking funding for specialized equipment to provide comprehensive, non-surgical treatment and monitoring of children with chest wall deformities. |
| Planting Paths to Memory: A Therapeutic Horticulture Initiative at Alz Place | $3,200.00 | Elder Care of Alachua County’s Planting Paths to Memory initiative will use therapeutic horticulture and adaptive indoor gardening activities to support older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, promoting cognitive stimulation, emotional well-being, social connection, and quality of life. Through evidence-based gardening resources and staff training, the program will provide meaningful, person-centered engagement that reduces anxiety and isolation while supporting memory, motor skills, and dignity in dementia care. |
| Changing table for disabled visitors of all ages | $2,000.00 | This project will enhance accessibility at the museum by purchasing and installing an adult changing table in a newly constructed accessible restroom, providing essential personal care support for visitors with significant disabilities and their caregivers. Serving many individuals and families connected to Gainesville?s healthcare facilities, the improvement will help remove barriers to participation, allowing more people to enjoy a safe, comfortable, and fully accessible museum experience. |
| Facilitating Patient-Centered Care for Behaviorally Challenging Patients | $6,507.00 | This project requests dedicated funding for UF Health’s Inpatient Behavior Consultation Service, which uses applied behavior analysis to support hospital patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While the program successfully developed individualized behavior plans for 198 patients in 2025, it currently lacks the financial resources needed to purchase essential therapeutic activities, enrichment items, and protective equipment. Securing these funds will ensure vulnerable patients have consistent access to the practical tools necessary for a safer, more comfortable, and more successful hospital experience. |
| A Targeted G-tube Rescue & Prevention initiative | $5,000.00 | This project aims to reduce preventable gastrostomy (G) tube complications, emergency department visits, and caregiver stress by expanding a successful 2024 initiative. It will distribute 100 G-Tube Rescue & Prevention Kits filled with essential replacement supplies, skincare products, and emergency instructions to high-risk patients, including infants and NICU graduates. Additionally, the project will implement a standardized outpatient pathway to address resource gaps and improve caregiver education, ensuring safer long-term home care. |
| Lifesaver Gators Initiative: Community CPR & Stop the Bleed Bystander Training & Education Initiative | $5,000.00 | Led by University of Florida medical students, this project provides hands-on CPR and emergency response training to underserved groups in Alachua County, including unhoused individuals and rural residents. Funding will supply essential training gear for community workshops. The initiative aims to boost local survival rates and build lifesaving skills across diverse populations. |
| Cancer Chomp (2026) Wellness Corner | $2,000.00 | Cancer Chomp is a free community event that supports brain tumor patients, caregivers, survivors, and families through education, connection, and access to resources. Building on the success of the inaugural Wellness Corner, this project seeks funding to expand integrative wellness services such as massage, nutrition counseling, mindfulness activities, and educational resources, responding directly to attendee feedback and growing demand. The expanded Wellness Corner will help reduce barriers to supportive care, promote stress reduction and resilience, and improve quality of life for participants by providing accessible, whole-person wellness resources in a welcoming community setting. |
| Every Step Matters: Improving Recovery Through Advanced Mobility Training | $2,095.00 | By integrating this interactive, visual-feedback technology into physical and occupational therapy, the initiative aims to boost patient engagement, accelerate functional recovery, and facilitate safer transitions directly home. |
| Enhancing Functional Rehabilitation Through Accessible Movement Therapy: Acquisition of The OmniTrainer | $6,245.00 | UF Shands Adult Rehab at Magnolia Parke is seeking Medical Guild Grant funding to purchase the OmniTrainer, a versatile and wheelchair-accessible upper and lower extremity cycle ergometer. This adaptable device will allow physical and occupational therapists to safely deliver tailored, evidence-based movement therapy to patients with diverse neurological, orthopedic, and complex medical conditions to enhance their strength, mobility, and overall quality of life. |
| Magnetic models and Patient Education Material For Pelvic Health Therapy | $601.91 | The pelvic health rehabilitation program at UF Health Haile is undergoing revitalization and requires dedicated educational books and detailed magnetic anatomical models to support its new therapist. These specialized resources will help clinicians effectively educate pediatric and adult patients on complex bowel and bladder conditions, ultimately improving treatment compliance and outcomes as the program expands. |
| Operation Brave Box | $1,916.12 | Operation Brave Box helps children ages 3 to 12 feel more confident and less anxious before and after surgery by providing mission-themed kits filled with age-appropriate comfort, educational, and coping tools. By reframing surgery as a ?mission,? the program encourages children to take an active, empowered role in their care, improving cooperation and emotional well-being while supporting families and healthcare teams with a consistent, patient-centered approach. Through this innovative experience, Operation Brave Box creates a more supportive and compassionate surgical journey for children. |
| Partners in Prevention: A Pediatric Water Safety Initiative | $1,916.12 | Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, and with more than 10,500 residential pools plus numerous natural bodies of water, Alachua County faces a particularly high risk. To address this, the UF Health Pediatric Trauma Program is distributing water safety resource kits and promoting a layered prevention approach that emphasizes active supervision, barriers and alarms, and emergency preparedness. Additional funding would allow the program to expand its reach to more high-risk families in 2027, helping prevent drowning incidents and improve child safety throughout the community. |