Giving back to the University of Florida isn’t something Jean Lester Bennett, MD ’60, takes lightly. The first woman to graduate from the UF College of Medicine, Bennett learned the importance of giving early in her medical career.

Photo by Jesse S. Jones

“I was hardly making my rent each month,” said Bennett, who practiced pediatric medicine for more than 40 years. “But I was just so grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen to study medicine. Of course I would give back.”

So when it came to planning her estate, Bennett knew the UF College of Medicine would be part of her philanthropic legacy.

“Medicine is a calling,” she said. “You never stop being a doctor. I was given the gift of a superior medical education and medical training. I had the best job in the world, and I had the best patients. It has just been a blessing to practice medicine.”

Bennett wants to ensure the next generation of medical students has the same opportunity. The benefits of planned giving — now and later — are clear. Whether as a charitable bequest, a charitable remainder trust or a charitable gift annuity, donors can be recognized during their lifetime for what they do as well as leave a legacy of which they can be proud. Because planned gifts are pre-taxed, they also provide significant tax savings.

In Bennett’s eyes, it’s simple. “Planned giving should be a part of everyone’s estate planning. It is the type of gift that can help the university now and in the future.”

For more information or to make a planned gift, please contact the University of Florida College of Medicine Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at 352-273-7986.