Jake Jeffery and Rob Hughes. BlackBurnNews.com photoJake Jeffery and Rob Hughes. BlackBurnNews.com photo
Sarnia

GoFundMe For Paralympian Reaches Goal

Just 29 days was needed before a GoFundMe page raised enough money for Robert Hughes to afford a new motorized scooter.

The campaign received a $2,050 anonymous donation Wednesday morning that helped reach the $5,000 fundraising goal.

Hughes says when he woke up Wednesday morning he saw they were just over half way to their goal, and just hours later he was shocked to find out the goal was reached.

"I'm still in shock, I was sitting here eating breakfast that the goal had been reached, but when I woke up we were still a couple thousand away," he says.

The former paralympian lives with cerebral palsy, and has a tough time getting around since his motorized scooter broke down in May, just a month after getting a new job with Lambton Elderly Outreach.

It was his new boss Bill Yurchuk who actually launched the online campaign after finding out about the problem. He says that Hughes is never someone to complain about what life throws at him.

"It was in July when he mentioned to me in passing that his scooter broke down back in May, so that was already a couple of months he was living without it without complaining about it," says Yurchuk. "When he was trying to figure out how to raise the money I figured it'd be a good idea to create an online campaign."

Hughes actually didn't find out about the page until a few days later.

"He didn't even tell me he was doing the campaign until it was up for a couple days," he says. "I had no idea about it until he told me I should share the link and they'd help buy me a scooter."

Hughes says Yurchuk has always been supportive, dating back to when he first approached him about showed a job opportunity.

“I asked him if there was anything available. Sure enough, I came in a week later for an interview, and a month after that I found out I got the job,” says Hughes. “The big selling point for me, even though there are government programs to help cover the costs for people with disabilities, Bill told me that he wouldn’t apply for those subsidies because he couldn’t do it for anyone else... So right there, he sees me as a person, not anything else. He sees me as a viable candidate for employment, that was life changing for me.”

Since May, Hughes has relied on others to get around, which is something he'd prefer not to do. He says he's been blown away by all the support.

"It didn't just get shared in Sarnia-Lambton, but people were sharing it overseas as well. I'm not sure where they all came from or who they all are, but there has been a tremendous amount of support the last month and I'm just so humbled by it," he says.

Hughes will be entering his 11th season with the Sarnia Sting, and says the new scooter will be a big help with hockey season right around the corner.

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