Tragedy struck earlier this month for a Santa Fe College student.
While participating in a cheerleading stunt with friends, Cara Moro, 19, of Apopka, Fla., fell onto her neck and shattered vertebrae in her spine, according to co-worker Kristina St. Peter.
Moro worked as a hostess and a server at Gator's Dockside for more than a year, St. Peter said.
To help raise money for Moro's hospital stay and rehabilitation, a breakfast will be held at Gator's Dockside, 3842 Newberry Road, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The event has been named the Caring for Cara Fundraiser.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $6 and can be purchased at Gator's Dockside or from employees who will be selling tickets in their classes and around campus at UF as well as at Santa Fe College.
The restaurant's Twitter and Facebook pages are also being used to spread the word to the Gainesville community.
Moro spent a week at Shands HealthCare hospital and was recently transported to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga., a "private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and brain injury," according to the hospital's website.
Bianca Bonito, a co-worker and friend of Moro's, has been in contact with her since the accident. "She's just a good person," Bonito said. "Everything she says is positive."
Unlike other fundraisers hosted by Gator's Dockside, the Caring for Cara Fundraiser will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to Moro's family in order to help pay for hospital and rehabilitation expenses, said Russ Bockemuehl, kitchen manager at Gator's Dockside.
A ticket will get you a drink, pancakes, eggs and bacon, according to St. Peter.
"This will be the biggest breakfast we've ever had," Bockemuehl said.
As of last week at least 350 tickets have already been sold by the 35 servers who currently work at the restaurant.
"It really hits home when it's someone from the Gator's Dockside family," Bockemuehl said.
The staff has rallied together in order to help Cara and her family.
"I just want everything to be taken care of," Bonito said. "All of their worries should be on Cara, not on money."
