I met Robert in the fall of 2005, when he was invited by our local church to travel from Ontario to Newfoundland to be a guest speaker at a Youth Forum for local teens. Robert was invited to spend the weekend at the forum and speak to the youth on his life experiences. My daughter attended the Youth Forum and both her and I had the privilege of hearing Robert’s speech. Robert stood in front of his captivated audience and read his speech from a braille notebook that he carried with him. I was totally speechless sitting in the audience listening to this young man tell of his experience being blind and still wanting to contribute to society.
As he said in his speech, Robert has dedicated his life to “helping those less fortunate than himself.” He collects tabs from aluminum pop cans and takes them to be recycled into wheelchairs for people who are unable to walk and cannot afford a wheelchair. One would think that it would be impossible to accumulate enough pop tabs to purchase a wheelchair but that did not deter this young man. At the time of his visit to Newfoundland, Robert had already recycled enough pop tabs to donate a wheelchair and was well on the way to having enough tabs collected to donate a second wheelchair
As he said in his speech, Robert has dedicated his life to “helping those less fortunate than himself.” He collects tabs from aluminum pop cans and takes them to be recycled into wheelchairs for people who are unable to walk and cannot afford a wheelchair. One would think that it would be impossible to accumulate enough pop tabs to purchase a wheelchair but that did not deter this young man. At the time of his visit to Newfoundland, Robert had already recycled enough pop tabs to donate a wheelchair and was well on the way to having enough tabs collected to donate a second wheelchair.
This young man has faced many surgeries and obstacles in his life and is still continuing an uphill battle with his cancer, but he maintains a positive outlook on life and helping other people.
I have such admiration for this young man’s dedication, courage and commitment. Robert truly is a hero in every sense of the word.
