Helping Students Reach Their Full Potential

“Think about how many Albert Einsteins, Bill Gateses or Steve Jobses are lost in our system because they weren’t given the food they needed,” said Dr. Larry Moray, ’90 (D.D.S.), ’97 (M.S.), president of MyOrthodontist and co-founder of The Happy Tooth Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to help underserved youth build self-esteem. 

In spring 2021, The Happy Tooth Foundation donated $150,000 to establish The Happy Tooth Foundation Funds for Food Security. Of the $150,000 gift, $10,000 will support current initiatives working to end food insecurity across campus. The remaining $140,000 will be used to establish an endowment to benefit initiatives that address food insecurity in perpetuity.

“The cycle of food insecurity is often continuous and goes back generations,” said Dr. Moray. “The students who are able to matriculate at Carolina are incredibly focused and directed and are breaking out of that cycle. If they don’t have the nutrition they need to stay focused in that academic setting, they are not going to succeed. You can’t realize your full potential if you don’t have basic necessities.”

Through this immediate gift and established endowment, The Happy Tooth Foundation will support initiatives that provide Carolina students with the necessities they need to reach their full potential.

Read the complete Carolina Story to learn more about this transformative gift…

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