Friends of Cozumel appreciates the support of Lucely and Luis Solis Avilez, owners of Vidrios y Aluminios Solis.

Picture two “gringas” with limited Spanish explaining dimensions of a window they needed to purchase from a supplier who had limited English. After lots of gesturing and picture drawing and bad spanglish, Sandy and I got the job done, thanks to the patience of Luis Solis Avilez at Vidrios y Aluminios Solis, a Cozumel window manufacturer.

The real story however, is about the generosity of this local business. After explaining our need for a replacement window for one of our projects and a bit about our work with Friends of Cozumel, Sr. Avilez made a wonderful offer.

He donated the materials and labor to install the replacement window pane in Casita del Corazon. Then he personally visited Jose’s family to oversee installation of a purchased window and offered his truck to help transport things we couldn’t otherwise handle. What a gift–we rely on walking, bicycles, taxis and loaned vehicles from local volunteers. In a follow-up conversation he encouraged us to be sure to contact him if we need help with clean-up efforts or other future projects.

Sr. Avilez’s offers are wonderful examples of spontaneous contributions.  He commented that he and his family are very blessed so they believe in reaching out to help others in the community.

These unexpected contributions made me stop and consider: What difference can each of us make if we don’t wait to be asked? — Phyllis