Charity is a beautiful thing. This is especially true for Eugenia "Gene" Dodson, who was a beautician for most of her career. On October 17, 2006 the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center jointly announced the receipt of a $35.6 million gift from the estate of the late Eugenia J. Dodson of Coral Gables. Mrs. Dodson died 24 days before her 101st birthday.

The touching story of Mrs. Dodson's generosity begins with her two brothers, Russell (bottom left) and Raymond (bottom right) Johnson. Both brothers passed away from diabetic complications. Mrs. Dodson survived lung cancer. When her husband and the love of her life, J. Enloe Dodson (top right), passed away he left Gene a modest inheritance. Throughout the past 50 years, she preserved and discreetly grew this money for the purpose of funding research to cure diabetes and cancer.

The DRI Foundation plans to use the gift for a number of cure initiatives. The funding will be used to create the J. Enloe and Eugenia J. Dodson Diabetes Center for Translational Research and establish the Raymond and Russell Johnson Fellowship in Type 1 Diabetes Research. Eugenia's gift represents the single largest donation in the 35 year history of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. In her wake, Mrs. Dodson has strengthened our hopes of someday finding a cure for diabetes. Without question, she has left a beautiful impression on the world.