A Big Idea

This big idea that I'm going to share with you today all started with an email from a good friend of ours who happens to be thousands of miles away.

As you may or may not know by now, we have gotten hooked up with the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation and have been stocked up with roughly 2,500 pairs of glasses for us to give away during our travels. We give a free basic eye exam, find someone the right pair of glasses out of our stock pile, and then hand them over a free pair of glasses. Yes, it's all free. That's right, there are no strings attached. None. It's not only great for the recipient, it's been a great experience for us as well.

While we were in these little remote villages along Mexico's Baja Peninsula this past winter, giving out these free eye exams and glasses, we had been noticing quite a bit more need that could be filled. So, we had been making plans to pick up some supplies for when we returned to the Baja this summer.

This is the part where the email from our good friend Susan comes in. She had seen little tid-bits of our glasses endeavor that we have shown on the blog and in our videos, and then sent us a little note asking if she could help us out in any way. Well, the quick answer is yes and thank you.

We had planned on putting a bit of money aside to purchase a few things to bring back to the Sea of Cortez and the Baja this summer and then the light went on. If one of our friends is willing to chip in a few bucks for a good cause, then maybe with a little prodding, a few more would as well. Whether or not you feel like supporting the cause, we are still going to do what we are doing, it would just be nice to have more of a pot to pull from so more can be done.

This is the part where you come in. If you have roots in Mexico, if you been to Mexico and love the country, or if you just want to do something nice for another human being on this little planet we all share, then consider throwing a few bucks into our collective “giving back pot” and we'll take care of the rest.

Where is your money going to go? Well, here is what we are thinking:

  1. Our first priority is giving the gift of clear vision to people. We are already running low on some of the lighter strength and more commonly needed reading glasses, so, we'd like to purchase about 40-50 pairs to add to the stockpile. It's less expensive for us to purchase them here than it is to have donated ones shipped to us from the States.
  2. School supplies for kids. You know the drill - paper, pens, pencils, notebooks, etc....
  3. Art supplies for kids. After seeing kids in some of these places trying to draw with charcoal from a fire pit on a scrap of cardboard - crayons, coloring books, and paper seemed like a good idea. Is it a necessity? Of course not, but who doesn't love crayons?
  4. Soccer balls (futbols) for the kids. Futbol is the national sport here, and in some of these little villages, a soccer ball is unattainable. We've seen kids playing with old fishing nets tied in knots, empty water bottles, and even rocks. I don't know if you have tried kicking a rock lately, but it sucks. We can deflate soccer balls, store them on the boat without taking up too much room, and pump them up when it's time to give them out. Again, not a necessity, but it's fun for the kids (and me).
  5. Fishing supplies. Hooks, line, lures, etc... Self explanatory.
  6. Fuel expenses. Some of the places we've been to have another village somewhat close by that we can't get to but can be reached by a car or a panga (small fishing boat). There is always someone who wants to take us to deliver more glasses, but, the expense of fuel to get us there can be an issue. If someone is willing to take us, we don't want the cost of fuel to be a determining factor in helping someone out in a neighboring village.

So, that's our thinking. We're not trying to save the world, we are just trying to make a small but noticeable difference in the people's lives we contact. It's just baby steps people...baby steps. Like I said before, we've already put money aside to cover as much of this as we can, it would just be nice to do more. Whatever we can raise will be added to our “giving back pot” and distributed along the way. Since we are currently heading north and making our way to the Sea of Cortez, we would like to round up whatever funds we can by June 1st, 2017 so we know what our giving back budget is before we make it to La Paz where we will be purchasing supplies to bring with us.

How can you chip in a few bucks? Well, we've got two options which are both safe and secure. And yes it's true, any amount helps. The first is through our Paypal account. You can click on the link and throw in as many or as little bucks as you want here:


And the other way is through our Patreon page. Keep in mind that if you sign up on our Patreon page, it is a subscription to our blog and videos, and you decide what that subscription fee should be (you can start or stop the subscription at any time). Any money that comes from our Patreon page subscriptions on our before June 1st, 2017 will be added to the “giving back pot”. That link is here:



Thanks for the help and support, and again, we are trying to wrap this little fundraiser up by June 1, 2017. So, no rush...but yeah, there is kind of a rush.  

This is a pretty typical fishing village on the Baja Peninsula.  We'll be making lots of stops at places just like this during the next handful of months.  Anything helps.

Yup, you guessed it...giving out some glasses.

And you guessed it again, giving out some more glasses.



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