In February 2021, a local news segment from Puerto Rico introduced viewers to Richard — a 15-year-old who was losing his eyesight, whose family had set up a tent in front of their home to sell vegetables and raise money to get him to doctors in Miami. DASH FOR HIM's founder saw that segment, and the brand's Puerto Rico team went and stood with the family under that tent. This is Richard's story — and it is the clearest picture of what this brand means by impact.
Key Takeaways
- Richard, a 15-year-old from Puerto Rico, was losing his eyesight after medical options on the island were exhausted.
- His family sold vegetables from a tent outside their home to fund his doctor's appointments and travel to Miami.
- DASH FOR HIM paid for the family's travel to Miami — and its Puerto Rico team, led by Charlie Corchado, rallied around the family in person.
- A portion of every DASH FOR HIM sale goes toward food, water, clothing, shelter, and care — locally and globally.
A Tent, a Table of Vegetables, and a Race Against Time
Richard's family did not wait for help to find them. When the doctors in Puerto Rico had done everything they could — when the island's medical options to save the boy's eyesight were exhausted — the family's hope sat 1,000 miles away in Miami, Florida. Specialists, appointments, flights, and travel costs stood between a 15-year-old and his chance to keep seeing.
So they set up a tent in front of their home and started selling vegetables. Neighbors came. The community came. Local television came — Telemundo Puerto Rico told Richard's story to the island, and the segment traveled further than anyone at that tent could have expected.
It reached a phone in the United States, where Eddie Perales, founder of DASH FOR HIM, was scrolling through social media. He stopped scrolling.
"When I'm Older, I Want to Help Others Also"
Of everything in that news segment, one line outlasted the rest. Richard — 15 years old, facing the loss of his eyesight, watching his family sell vegetables to fund his fight — ended his interview by looking past himself:
"When I'm older, I want to help others also."
A kid in the middle of his own crisis, already planning to help the next person. That is not a line you forget. It's a line that tells you exactly who Richard is — and exactly what the people around him were fighting for.
The DASH FOR HIM Family Shows Up
DASH FOR HIM was built on a mission of leaving an impact in "the dash" — and Puerto Rico is not a market for this brand, it's family. The brand's Puerto Rico operation, run by Charlie Corchado, is on the island, in the community, every day.
So the DASH FOR HIM Puerto Rico team went to the tent. They stood with Richard and his family where the vegetables were sold, added their hands and their voices to the rally around this boy, and helped carry his story to everyone the brand could reach — including sharing the segment with the DASH FOR HIM community worldwide.
And the brand put its money where its heart was: DASH FOR HIM paid for the family's travel to Miami — the trip that stood between Richard and the specialists who were his next hope of saving his sight.
"I am super grateful to not be part of just another grooming product brand, but a product brand with PURPOSE to put IMPACT in the forefront," says Charlie Corchado, who leads DASH FOR HIM Puerto Rico's operations on the island.
This is what a purchase does here. When you buy from DASH FOR HIM, you are not just buying grooming products — a portion of every sale is directed to impact: food, water, clothing, shelter, and care, locally and globally. Richard's story is one of the faces of that commitment. The farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is another: read How DASH FOR HIM Helped Save a Lancaster Urban Farm. And the pattern behind both is the same one behind How Dash For Him Gives Back.
Watch Richard's Story
The original Telemundo Puerto Rico segment, as shared by DASH FOR HIM in February 2021, is here: watch it on Instagram. Video: Telemundo Puerto Rico. Photos: @pitobarberpr.
The Dash Between the Dates
"Our number one goal is to leave an IMPACT," says founder Eddie Perales. "We believe what matters most is the dash between the year you were born and when you leave this earth."
That dash — the small line between two dates — is a whole life. Richard, at 15, already understood what his dash was for: helping others. DASH FOR HIM exists to make sure stories like his meet people who refuse to just scroll past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Richard?
Richard is a teenager from Puerto Rico who, at 15, was losing his eyesight. After his family exhausted the medical options on the island, his story was shared by Telemundo Puerto Rico in early 2021 — and it moved the DASH FOR HIM family to rally around him.
What was Richard's family raising money for?
His family set up a tent in front of their home to sell vegetables, raising money for Richard's doctor's appointments and the travel expenses to reach specialists in Miami, Florida — the next hope for saving his eyesight after options in Puerto Rico were exhausted.
How did DASH FOR HIM get involved?
Founder Eddie Perales came across the Telemundo Puerto Rico segment on social media. The brand's Puerto Rico team — led by Charlie Corchado, who runs DASH FOR HIM Puerto Rico — showed up in person at the family's tent, DASH FOR HIM paid for the family's travel to Miami, and the team helped amplify Richard's story to the wider DASH FOR HIM community.
Who is Charlie Corchado?
Charlie Corchado leads DASH FOR HIM Puerto Rico's operations on the island. For him, the brand's mission is personal: in his words, he is grateful to be part of "a product brand with PURPOSE to put IMPACT in the forefront" rather than just another grooming brand.
How does buying DASH FOR HIM support stories like Richard's?
A portion of every DASH FOR HIM sale is directed toward food, water, clothing, shelter, and care for people locally and globally. That built-in giving is what lets the brand show up — for a family in Puerto Rico, for an urban farm in Lancaster, and wherever the next story calls from.
Look Good. Do Good.
Every order carries the mission with it. Shop the lineup — hair styling powder, hair clay, pomade — and know that part of your purchase goes toward food, water, clothing, shelter, and care for people like Richard and his family.
