SAVE SMITTY

If this goes viral and we break $10k, 100% of the extra funds will be donated to Earth League International, a non-profit that works to stop wildlife trafficking worldwide.

Hello! Thank you for wanting to help! My name is Alex, and I use my adventures on the road as a hook to interest viewers in conservation and nature-related social issues that need help on TikTok and Instagram.

I started when I lost my job during the pandemic. Since then, those adventures have catalyzed some outstanding community achievements. Through collective action, we've helped protect beloved natural spaces from destruction - like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Boundary Waters Wilderness Area - and even fundraised to start community gardens in towns without easy access to healthy food.

The adventures fueling those impacts were possible because of a vehicle buildout I made alongside two friends over several weeks back in 2020. I've spent hundreds of nights in the car and thousands of hours on the road pursuing this mission. Before starting, I pined over which car to get, designed everything inside to fit, and we put it together as a team. Laying down inside it felt like laying in a spaceship, so I called it Spaceship Smitty.

I'd hoped to keep adventuring with Smitty for at least another decade and took exceptional care of him until someone stole him last week. There's a misconception that all content creators are rolling in dough, but most of us (myself included) are self-funded, shoestring operations. So, a hit like this is enormous.

The stolen supplies inside plus the roof box total over $5,000, so that's the first goal. It'd be incredible to offset some of the cost of the next car (ideally, one with push-to-start ignition so it can't be hotwired like Smitty was) by raising more. If this goes crazy viral and we raise more than $10k, I'll donate everything beyond that to Earth League International, a non-profit working to stop illegal wildlife trafficking operations worldwide. If the car is found or insurance covers more than expected, I'll adjust what I keep to cover repairs and lost supplies, then donate the rest.

Smitty's more than a car. He's a home, and the key to a lifelong mission. He lets me do my work, which brings me more joy than anything else. Thank you for helping find his successor!