Making a difference one pop can tab at a time

A Steinbach man has been making a difference, collecting tabs off pop cans to help children who need wheelchairs.

Bob Barrow with Tabs for Wheelchairs has been collecting tabs for eight years now and has collected millions of tabs, 4.5 million of which were just last year.

“I love to see these kids get a wheelchair, it’s a good feeling, very rewarding,” Barrow said.

He takes care of southeastern Manitoba, putting up posters, putting up collection bins at schools and businesses across the area, and making sure those tabs get to the right place.

This year, that right place was to Kyrie Brinkman of Selkirk, but there have been a few recipients from the Southeast, Ollie from Lorette in 2021, Marlon Jr. from Steinbach in 2018, Delaney from Lorette in 2017 and Emma from Vita in 2009. A total of 61 wheelchairs have been donated in the last 26 years.

There were 19 million tabs donated provincewide for this year’s recipient, which earns about $7,600. That amount isn’t enough for a wheelchair, so monetary donations help too.

Trailblazers Life Choices also help with the collection and storage of a limited number of tabs along with full-sized cans, which they collect and squish to get more aluminum. Long term, the tabs are stored at Access Storage, where they sit for free.

Barrow decided to join the organization, which now includes only him and creator Glen Buccini, because he had a bunch of extra tabs and saw that there might be room for another volunteer.

He’s now gotten southeastern Manitoba more involved and is getting more tabs than ever before.

Buccini started the organization in 1998 and has grown it to be province-wide, with both tabs and donations coming from hundreds of kilometres away.