Updated September 26, 2023

Students at Ecole MacNeil began collecting tabs this spring and filled a jug, Skyler and Ryleigh were happy to present the tabs to Rachel at the end of September.

Updated July 16, 2023

Rachel, Administration, has been very busy in June. Mackenzie Middle School dropped off a cart full of tabs they’ve collected and she was invited to a special assembly at Lt Colonel Barker School to receive a jug and a half of tabs as well. Rachel travelled to Winnipeg to attend a special presentation of two specialized wheelchairs for children in need.
Please keep the tabs rolling in and you can collect the tabs from food and pet food cans as well. Every tab counts.

Bernard, pictured below on the left, with his new sports wheelchair and Hayden, pictured below on the right, with his new manual wheelchair. Both were so happy to be this year's recipients.

Students from Mackenzie Middle School present tabs they've collected to Rachel.

Rachel receives more tabs at a special presentation at Barker School pictured below.

Rachel delivered approximately 375 pounds of tabs to Trailblazers Life Choices, a non-profit agency that works with people living with disabilities  in Winnipeg. They help bag the donated tabs and then taken to Western Scrap Metals to be recycled. All the money made from the aluminum tabs along with donations, goes towards purchasing two specialized wheelchairs  each year. "It takes millions of tabs to generate enough money to buy a wheelchair, so I want to encourage everyone to keep collecting them. And don't forget about the tabs from pet food cans as well." said Rachel.

At Dauphin Co-op, we care about our Team Members, our Members and communities. When Rachel Goy, Administration office Team Member, shared the information about the Tabs for Wheelchair program and asked if we could become a drop off centre for tabs — we said yes, of course! Rachel cares deeply for others and especially for children and those that require extra care and compassion.

Rachel truly has a heart for helping others. Like many other community members, she has been collecting tabs from pop cans, soup cans, etc. for many years. She researched how the tabs are used and found that it takes A LOT of tabs to raise enough money for a specialized wheelchair for a child that may not otherwise be able to afford one. Thanks to her initiative, Dauphin Co-op now has two drop-off centres. One at the Co-op Food Store in Dauphin and the other at the Ste Rose Co-op Home & Building Centre. Join us by collecting aluminum tabs and you can make a difference in the life of a child, right here in Manitoba, Canada.

"If something is so simple, yet makes a difference, then why wouldn’t we do it? That’s how I feel about collecting the tabs from cans. Removing the tabs is easy to do before I toss my beverage can, soup can, fruit/vegetable tin or pet food tin into the recycle bin. And what does it cost me? Only seconds of my time and a few Ziploc bags to store them in.
I started collecting the tabs many years ago after hearing about the program during one of my son’s many medical appointments in Winnipeg. Over the years I have passed the tabs along to different people collecting them. Sometimes it was someone I knew and sometimes I dropped them off in a collection box. But I wasn’t really sure what happened to them after that.
But I recently came across an online article on the Manitoba Possible (formerly SMD) Facebook page, titled “Strength in Numbers”. It featured Gwen Buccini who started the Tabs for Wheelchair program out of Holy Cross School in Winnipeg in 1998. It really inspired me to find out more about the program and to want to get more actively involved. I reached out to Gwen and she was happy to answer my questions and offer encouragement. I was pleased to hear about the number of specialized wheelchairs that have been provided in the last 24 years through the collection of tabs and monetary donations. I was surprised by the number of schools, companies and groups in Manitoba (mostly Winnipeg area) that are involved. I know that we have many local people who have been quietly collecting tabs at home, yet we don’t hear much about the program. I think it’s time to remind people about what this great program does and introduce it to those who may not even be aware of it at all. I hope to encourage others to join in and help to provide specialized wheelchairs for Manitoba children who may not otherwise be able to have them because of the cost involved.
I am really excited that my workplace, Dauphin Co-op, is joining in this effort with me by helping to spread the word and by providing a place for everyone to drop off their tabs." said Rachel.

We are excited to be a small part of this and grateful to Rachel for striving to make a difference in the lives of others. If you have any questions, please call the administration office 204-638-6003 Ext 201 or e-mail admin@dauphincoop.com