“Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in multiplication but in the deliberate and voluntary restriction of wants. This alone promotes real happiness and contentment, and increases the capacity for service”. – Mahatma Gandhi

When traveling to Ecuador to race my hang glider, my team members and I noticed the level of poverty in the community that surrounded the terrain we would soon be soaring our wings over. The fact that we were living such lucky and fortunate lives, while enjoying (for leisure and sport) the ground that the people surrounding us were just trying to survive day to day on, left us with a desire to try to make a difference. Our group brainstormed and all agreed that we should try to figure out how to somehow use our privileged ability to fly hang gliders to attempt to generate funds to help house, medicate and educate children in the communities that we were traveling to and flying over. By doing so, we would not only help to make a difference soon, but also, potentially over a lasting period of time by impacting the future of those communities as those children grew and in turn, gave back to their communities themselves.

The Cloudbase Foundation was formed from a diverse group of hang glider and paraglider pilots with like-minded goals. It became an official “Non Profit” organization receiving it’s 501c(3) status in June of 2010. We started by soliciting donations to provide medicine and nutritional supplement to the poorest communities in Guayaquil, Ecuador and constructed a schoolroom while also paying a teacher’s salary for one year in Canoa, Ecuador. We (and the many generous supporters) have since been successful in creating the KEEN to Learn Scholarship in Central Nepal, building a fresh water tank in Nkwatia, Kwahu, Ghana, provided school supplies, emergency and quality of life items to children in Big Spring, Texas and have assisted a Kindergarten program located in the heart of South Central Los Angeles.

The Cloudbase Foundation’s moto is to “help Children where ever we fly” and we aim to continue development and progress towards making a positive difference in the lives of children and their families all over the world. We are committed and determined.