Editor’s note: This story is part of a December series honoring outstanding La Jollans who have gone above and beyond to unselfishly help others. Do you know a good Samaritan whose efforts deserve to be shared? The Village News wants to hear your stories of La Jollans’ altruistic actions and noble endeavors. Please send bios and photos to [email protected]. In the last four years, husband and wife David Teafatiller and Angela Harrell have gone from working desk jobs at Qualcomm to being entrepreneurs and leaders in environmental education and community service. Their life transformation began in 2007 when Teafatiller was laid off. That same year, Harrell heard about a La Jolla Shores outdoor tour business for sale — Hike Bike Kayak Sports — and told Teafatiller. On a whim, he worked in the store, located at 2246 Avenida de la Playa, for a week and the couple immediately decided to buy it. Harrell had even never kayaked before revamping the business, however she and Teafatiller considered themselves “outdoorsy” and they ran triathlons for fun. But running a shop dedicated to outdoor recreation was a leap — a leap that has opened up a score of opportunities for them to help the community and environment, Harrell said. “We have always had a passion for the environment because we love spending time out there,” she said. “But when you depend upon it for your livelihood, when your office is the outdoors, it makes you want to take extra good care of it.” Along with running the business, taking care of their “office” is what Harrell and Teafatiller have been dedicated to since Hike Bike Kayak reopened its doors in 2007. They donate their kayaks to aid in beach clean-ups, volunteer for San Diego Coastkeeper’s watershed testing program and offer more than 500 free kayak tours yearly to causes such as the Rock the Blue Auction Gala at La Jolla Country Day School. “We’re out there on the water every day, so we see what’s going on in the environment,” said Harrell. “It’s the nature of our business, so we’re always looking for ways to help.” Another way to help, the couple has discovered, is to help others who help. Every Thursday, Harrell and Teafatiller lend their kayaks and other equipment to Team River Runner, an organization dedicated to rehabilitating veterans returning from war with amputations or other severe injuries. Team River Runner takes veterans out, Harrell said, to “teach them that they can still do a lot of things.” The couple has also worked with Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI), an organization that educates underserved youth from City Heights about the importance of scientific research and environmental stewardship. Each year, ODI runs an after-school program wherein students learn about local waterways, from the Colorado River to the Pacific Ocean. At the end of the program, the students have an outing at the ocean during which they participate in activities such as surfing, boogie boarding and kayaking. Harrell and Teafatiller have donated the equipment and expertise for such outings for three years. Dylan Edwards, a former kayak guide for Hike Bike Kayak who now works for Coastkeeper, said environmental education has been a big part of the couples’ contributions to the community. “With ODI, they get students out on the water who wouldn’t get out there otherwise,” he said. “Even with their business, they talk to all of their customers about some of the local issues that our oceans are facing.” Harrell said combining their love of the outdoors with the added bonus of education is what drew them to the business in the first place. “Everyone we see is on vacation and having a good time, and you get to teach them about the [La Jolla ecological] reserve,” she said. “The motto of our company is that we have a captive audience for a few hours, so we try to make sure they learn something and that we impress upon them how beautiful this reserve is and how lucky we are to have it.”