Lucas is 15-years-old. He lives in Oacoma, SD with his mom, dad, and older brother. He is a freshman in high school and likes to ride his bike, play with friends, visit the family farm, and watch movies. He loves his side-kick, Woody, from the Toy Story movies and takes the doll everywhere. Lucas also enjoys collecting pop-tabs! But Lucas is special to us for more than just his pop-tab passion--he has Downs Syndrome and is also a brain cancer survivor!
When Lucas was diagnosed with cancer, he and his family stayed at the Rochester, MN Ronald McDonald House for eight weeks. He was only eight-years-old at the time, and even though his big brother Brady introduced him to tabs prior to that, Lucas really became interested in them during his stay with the charity. His mom, Renae said, "I think Lucas gets a kick out of collecting the tabs because he likes to have a 'job' and it helps 'Ronald'!" Lucas has been known to go into his local McDonald's restaurant and hand them a couple of tabs and say, "This tab is for you!"
Lucas even involves friends and family from outside his hometown. Renae says that it's a state-to-state effort. Tabs get dropped off at their home and packages of tabs come in the mail! Lucas and his family, then, bring them to us so we can add them to our collection.
We are so glad to be working with Lucas! He is not only an incredible advocate and ambassador for pop-tabs but also an inspiration. He is one of the reasons why we continue to rescue all those abandoned cans and promote our program. Thank you, Lucas, for having a passion for pop-tabs. You rock!
Thank you to Lucas and Renae for their story!
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