Before her life was tragically cut short when hit by a car being driven dangerously, 19 year old aspiring dentist Libby Ruge spoke of wanting to change people’s lives by transforming their smiles.

Her love for dentistry is now an everlasting legacy, set up by her parents Julie Ruge and Jules Harrison under the Libby Ruge Smile Fund Inc, to provide young adults access to dental restoration that they or their families may not be able to afford.

“Libby was intending to be a dentist and she started as a dental assistant after school when she was only 15,” says Julie.

“She worked at My Dental Team, Dentocalm in Kiama and then South Coast Smiles.”

Julie says the idea for the Smile Fund came about after Libby’s passing and when she remembered Libby saying that as soon as she became a dentist, she would fix her friend Jorja’s teeth. Julie then spoke to My Dental Team who agreed to help, not only Jorja but to fix five smiles a year as part of the Smile Fund.

“Libby’s been gone 18 months and we’ve got three smiles on the rise including Jorja’s,” she says.

Libby's friend Jorja

“Eventually we want this to be big. My dream is to get prosthodontists, orthodontists and general dentists to just do one a year and then imagine how many smiles we can change.”

Before the Libby Ruge Smile Fund Inc became a registered charity, Julie and Jules started the Bee Kind Like Libby initiative to help raise money. The local community were extremely supportive with businesses and individuals reaching out in any way they could after the incident.

“The Kiama community has been supportive right from the start,” says Julie.

For her work through the Smile Fund, Julie Ruge was recently named LG Electronics Local Legend which she says was very humbling.

“I wasn’t doing it for any other reason than to help others, get our word out there and share Libby’s legacy,” she says.

“The great part is that it came with a media package where an infomercial on channel 9 extra is played. Every time that is shown, I get donations through the website.”

Libby with her parents on her 18th birthday

A Black Tie Ball will be held at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach on 29 October to officially launch the Libby Ruge Smile Fund with a three course meal, live music and red carpet photos.

“We’ve already got lots of support from different businesses who are donating things for raffles and auctions all going to the Fund,” says Julie.

“We’d like to do this every year as our major fundraiser.”

The trial for the crash that occurred in Wollongong in November 2020 was held recently with the driver found guilty of three counts of dangerous driving occasioning death and causing grievous bodily harm. The passenger who pulled the handbrake that led to the crash pleaded guilty to the same three charges.

Julie says the trial has been extremely hard because of how long it took.

“The worst part is that now they’ve dragged the sentencing out,” she says.

“The defendants were on bail the whole time as well and that was very hard knowing that.

“My only message is that they could’ve killed fifty kids that night and if anyone thinks that it’s fun to show off and do silly things in the street, you don’t realise the ripple effect.

“It didn’t just affect her family and her friends, it’s also the police officers and the community.

“The ripple effect and the PTSD that comes out of incidents like this is just horrific.”

To donate to the Libby Ruge Smile Fund or buy tickets to the Black Tie Ball, visit: www.beekindlikelibby.com