Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy (Age 18-23): Robert Hampson

Shortly after his fourth birthday, Robert Hampson was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Surgery left him blind, but it did not impair his zest for life or his desire to help others. At age eight, he began collecting soda pop pull tabs with a goal to purchase wheelchairs for children who are disabled. By 13, Robert had amassed enough tabs to purchase the first wheelchair for Ricardo, age five.

Robert understood at a very young age that many families with children who are disabled struggle with the cost of specialized equipment. Without it, their ability to function as a family is significantly impaired. He decided to make it his life’s work to advocate for people with disabilities, so at the age of eight, Robert began his personal outreach and education efforts by speaking publicly as an ambassador for Variety Village.

Robert, now 19, devotes more than 300 hours a year to collecting, sorting, selling and giving talks about soda pop tabs and telling others about their transformation into wheelchairs and other invaluable assistive devices for children. Since meeting Jennie Onyett-Jeffries, the teenager who first inspired Robert on his original quest to buy a wheelchair, the program has raised more than $17,000 and six families have received the equipment they need. This includes five wheelchairs, a lift for a wheelchair accessible van, an accessible bathroom set-up and an
adapted tricycle.

Once the tabs are collected, Robert negotiates a fair price and sells them to his favourite scrap metal dealer. The money is given to the President’s Choice Children’s Charity, which established The Robert Hampson Tabs for Kids Fund to help him administer the funds and find families in need. Members of Robert’s family donate their time, gas for the car and their garage to store the tabs.

In addition to managing his charity, Robert spends time preparing Braille materials, consulting and teaching. He is also an accomplished Paralympic athlete and award winner. He holds the 2010 Canadian record in the short course 50-metre backstroke, S11 (fully blind) para-swimmer class. In 2009, Robert was named Variety Village’s Athlete of the Year and became a gold medal winner in the CAN-AM Para Swimming Championships. In 2008, he received the King Clancy Award from the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons and the Spirit of Sport Award from Paralympics Ontario. He was a Gold, Silver and Bronze medalist in the Ontario Paralympics Winter Championships for swimming, and received the Unsung Hero Award from the City of Toronto in 2007. The list of Robert’s awards and achievements is long and will surely continue to grow.

Robert likes to quote Terry Fox who said, “You define people by their ability and not their disability.” He adds, “I have never felt disabled in my whole life. I think that if you want to do something badly enough you can find a way…Oh, and by the way, never tell me that something is impossible, and never let anyone tell you that.” For more information, visit www.poptabsforwheelchairs.ca.

Robert Hampson was nominated for this award by the President’s Choice Children’s Charity.