Operation Shoebox in the Villages, Florida

To see the heart behind our mission and why we need your support,
please take a moment to watch the following video by clicking on the button below:

Photo Restoration Fundraiser

This first image is a photo sent to me by my wife’s best friend. She asked me if I “could clean it up.” I experimented with some AI programs and in conjunction with Photoshop was able to create the photo on the right.

The photo on the left side was given to me by our director, Sandie. I applied what I learned from the first photo restoration and got the picture you see on the rightl Sandie is on the left with her mother on the right.

The photo on the left side is of my youngest brother. I found it in an old box filled with dusty items. I carefully placed the photo on a towel and took a picture of it with my smartphone. And, of course, I applied my learned techniques to it to get the result seen on the right. As an aside, I had to ask his wife for the color of his eyes and she told me that they are hazel. He is wearing a sport jacket and bow tie that my two brothers and I shared for special occasions including school pictures. He served our country with three years on the aircraft carrier – USS Enterprise, during the Vietnam War.

There are several stores in The Villages that offer professional photo restoration, and they do a very good job. However, they typically charge about $38 per photo.

I’m offering a special opportunity to help support Operation Shoebox while having a treasured photo restored. If you make a $25 donation to Operation Shoebox, I will restore one photo of your choice and return it to you in pristine condition.

It’s a true win-win! You are supporting a very worthy cause, Operation Shoebox, and in return, you receive a professionally restored photo that may have special meaning to you or your family.

If you would like additional photos restored, simply make another $25 donation for each photo.

At $25 per photo, it’s still a great value compared with the $38 or more you would typically pay for photo restoration elsewhere—and your donation helps support our deployed American heroes.

To submit a photo for restoration, you have two options:

Option 1: Attach your photo to a Message and send it to my phone at 352-254-1698.

Option 2: Bring the photograph to any Operation Shoebox meeting and give it to me. I will take it home and scan it into my computer and then create a high-quality restoration of your photo.

If you bring me the original photograph, you can pick it up at the next Operation Shoebox meeting, along with the restoration version.

At that time, I will also collect your $25 donation check made out to Operation Shoebox.

Either way, the goal is the same: to give your treasured photograph a new life while helping support Operation Shoebox.