I am excited to introduce our readers to amazing and caring people who live, work, play, and do business in our community and city. Learning about people of all lifestyles, talents, and personalities who I think would be interesting for our readers to enjoy. San Diego has a wonderful diversity of individuals that make our slice of paradise the greatest place to live and enjoy each uniqueness.
I have known Fitch for several years but got to know him better when he started his charity called The Warm Smiles Project. The Warm Smiles Project is celebrating ten years of putting smiles on the faces of children and families in Tijuana, Mexico through delivering toys and blankets to children on Christmas day. This has become a major passion full of love for Fitch who gets several friends, and some of their children, to help pass out these toys and blankets; and the greatest part is that he gives us toys he has left over to help a couple other charities in our LGBTQ community here in San Diego. I admire this young man’s desire, compassion, and love for his fellow human beings. So, it gives me great please to introduce you to my favorite Santa Claus, Luis Fitch.
How did you end up in San Diego and what do you love about it?
I was born in San Diego but also spent my childhood years in Tijuana. One of the many things I love about San Diego (aside from the perfect weather) is all the fun places that you can visit. I often find myself being a tourist in my own city and it does not get old. I also love the sense of community that we have in our city even though it has grown significantly in the last few years.
What gets you most excited about life?
Oh, many things! The ones that come to mind are my toy drive “The Warm Smiles Project”. I love the planning of it each year, the feeling that I am creating something for the good of people’s lives and when some of my friends and family members volunteer to be a part of it. Seeing how people come together for a good cause really, really gets me excited in life and warms my heart in a way very few other things do.
In your professional life, what makes your business stand out and how has it changed your life?
Regarding my project, I think one of the things that stands out about it is that it is all done by me and my friends who volunteer to participate in it. Every single donation whether monetary or is a toy/blanket is hand-delivered on Christmas day. So far, all donations have been for the purchase of toys or blankets. I also love the fact that some of my friends sometimes bring their own children to help hand-out the donations and it really gives them a sense of appreciation for the things and the life they have vs. the lives of the children we serve with the project.
In one or two sentences, how would friends describe you?
I hope they would describe me as a kind and hardworking human.
What or who really makes you laugh and why?
Being with my mom and four sisters really makes me laugh. Each time we all get together it’s just laughs and joy. We get loud but in a fun way, ha-ha.
Who inspires you in life to do your very best and why?
I would say there are three main women in my life who have inspired me immensely. My mom and my two grandmothers (paternal & maternal). They are all very hardworking, independent women who have survived so much yet never gave up. My -late- paternal grandmother has been my inspiration in so many aspects of my life. Though she’s not with us anymore, she remains to be my role-model and biggest inspiration. She taught me so much of what I now know in life, and she was one of the kindest, classiest, and cultured people I’ve known to this day.
If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be and why?
This may sound silly but Madonna’s “Blond Ambition Tour”, ha-ha. I am a big fan of her career and all she’s accomplished in it and that was a tour I would’ve loved to see live since it is -in my opinion- the best one and most iconic one of her entire career.
If you could give someone advice about your art, hobby, or business, what would you tell them?
I encourage everyone to volunteer. I think that if each one of us volunteered to a cause on a yearly basis, the world would be a very different place.
What are your top five values you live by?
I would say the following, in no specific order: Responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage, and respect.
Gratitude is so important in each of our lives, what are you most grateful for, and how do you pay it forward?
Honestly, I am just grateful to be alive and healthy. I know it may sound like a motivational quote, but I really do believe that with those two things together we can do anything we set our minds and hearts to do! And I pay it forward by trying to do my part in my community.
Facebook: Luis Fitch “Fitch”
Instagram: @fitchsd
