UCF BSN Nursing Students Bring Hurricane Preparedness to FWAF

The University of Central Florida's school of Nursing has for several years worked with FWAF to bring healthcare to communities with little access to those services. This year the school also brought hurricane preparedness information and supplies to FWAF and the community of which it is a part. Those students later wrote the letter below to FWAF:

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When we were tasked by our instructor, Dr. Heather Peralta, to provide hurricane education and supplies to the Apopka community at the Farmworkers Association Clinic our first priority was to make sure that we provided something for everyone. This looked to be a daunting task since the anticipated turnout was 100+ community members! We decided that gathering supplies for 100+ individual community members would be impossible in the time-frame we had, so we decided it would be more efficient to create family-sized hurricane kits to provide to each family. We aimed to create 50 of these kits. We decided what would go in these kits by researching recommended hurricane supplies and making sure we didn’t include things that people would already have readily available.

Next, we needed to fill those kits! We each individually donated what we could and approached local businesses to inquire if they would be able to donate to our cause. Some businesses that generously provided supplies and monetary donations included Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, Sam’s Club and Southeastern Grocers. We amassed batteries, water, candles, lighter, matches, non-perishable canned goods, flashlights, and first aid kits. We included equal amounts of each in each kit.


Finally, we included hurricane preparedness information with each kit. This included brochures and informational leaflets that detailed the hazards of hurricanes and how to prepare one’s self and home for hurricane conditions. We made sure to have this information available in English and Spanish for greater accessibility. 

We thank the Apopka Farmworker’s Association for having us for this event and are grateful for the opportunity to help the Apopka community prepare for the hurricane season!


UCF BSN Nursing Students