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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Hannah gets a helping hand

Working with person who inspired foundation

By: Eva Cohen

Posted: 11/13/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Rick Adams and Hannah Taylor are working together on the National Red Scarf Campaign. (TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

For the first time, Hannah Taylor is getting a chance to work with the man who inspired her to set up a charitable foundation for the homeless.

Taylor was only eight years old when she met Rick Adams while volunteering with her family at a soup kitchen.

She remembers seeing Adams and immediately feeling his eyes had a wealth of kindness and knowledge. The two were introduced and Taylor gave Adams a big hug.

Now 13 years old, Taylor and Adams are working together on the National Red Scarf Campaign, a project supported by Taylor's Ladybug Foundation -- which has raised over $2 million to help charitable organizations which provide food, shelter and other needs of the homeless in Canada.

The campaign involves the sale of scarves for $20, with proceeds to help curb hunger and homelessness. The campaign runs from November until the end of February, and everyone is encourage to wear their scarves on Jan. 31, 2010. Taylor thought of the idea a few winters back when her neck got cold, and she imagined all Canadians wearing scarves and thinking about the plight of the homeless.

"A scarf is like a hug, and we need to wrap our hearts around the homeless," she said.

Since their first meeting, Adams went back to school and then got a place of his own. He now holds an advisory position on the Ladybug Foundation and is working on the Red Scarf Campaign.

Adams said Taylor's one simple act of kindness was instrumental in turning his life around, after living without a home for 20 years.

"(Hannah) showed me that there are people who do care. She treated me like a human being. She treated me respectfully," said Adams. "For a long time I had lost all of that. I didn't really care what life had to offer, I was foolish, I slipped through the cracks. What happened is that I realized before it was too late."

Taylor said she's overjoyed to be working with her great friend on this year's project.

"When I first met him, his heart shone through his eyes. We just became friends and stayed in touch," said Taylor. "I love him so much and he has an amazing story. Because he's been to different shelters -- because he had to get his love and food there -- he gives great input on what we should look for when we are finding a shelter to support."

Gail Asper, a member of the Ladybug Foundation board of advisers, said she continues to stay involved with Taylor's projects because she's always learning from the inspirational teen. "She is one of the people that I most admire and respect in this world," said Asper. "Her energy is phenomenal and her heart is huge."

Scarves can be purchased through Taylor's website at www.ladybugfoundation.ca, or from McNally Robinsons bookstores or the company's website.

eva.cohen@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2009 A8

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