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Homeless advocate Hannah Taylor, 9, charms Toronto luncheon audience
Cassandra Szklarski
Canadian Press
April 22, 2005
TORONTO (CP) - Nine-year-old Hannah Taylor was born with a hole in her heart, but it's a heart that's fuller than most.
The pig-tailed advocate for the homeless brought a distinguished Toronto luncheon crowd to its feet in applause Thursday with a stirring speech to the Empire Club based on a simple message: people need to share more and be kinder to the less fortunate.
"I know some people are afraid of homeless people but they are great people, wrapped in old clothes, with sad hearts," said the Grade 3 student, who stood on a stool to reach a podium traditionally reserved for world leaders and Bay Street tycoons.
"Don't be afraid of them," she said. "Just care for them and be kind to them."
Hannah's successful Ladybug Foundation has so far raised cash and other donations worth more than $500,000 to assist those forgotten souls many big-city dwellers would just as soon pass by.
The Winnipeg girl began her cause at the age of six, when she spotted a man eating from a garbage bin and asked her mother why he had no food.
"For a whole year she said, 'Mommy, where's he eating? Where's he sleeping? Who loves him? Who cares for him?"' recalled Colleen Taylor, Hannah's mom.
"She's a very determined, stubborn child."
Taylor told her daughter that doing something to help the homeless might make her feel less sad. Hannah decided to tell her Grade 1 class about the problem and at age six, wrote her first speech.
In the three years since, Hannah has addressed audiences as large as 16,000 and as high-ranking as Prime Minister Paul Martin - a meeting that had Hannah wondering what all the fuss was about.
"I was expecting a man with a crown and golden robes because of the way all the grownups were acting," she told the crowd, which included elementary and high school students.
"He came in and looked just like a papa. . . . I liked him right away."
Taylor credits her daughter's sheer determination with making the non-profit foundation a success. She helps Hannah paint and decorate 1,000 brightly coloured donation jars that are delivered to businesses and people willing to fill them with spare change.
Hannah's heart problem, an inoperable condition that was discovered at birth, has never slowed her efforts. When Hannah first learned of her condition, she couldn't wait for the nurse to finish talking so she could deliver her pitch, her mother recalled.
"She said, 'You guys will take care of my heart; now I want to tell you about homeless people!"' It didn't take long before the whole heart centre was collecting change, Taylor said.
Twelve-year-old Michael Natale said Hannah's speech moved him to do more to help the homeless.
"She's a really big inspiration," said the shaggy-haired boy. "I think because of her I'll do more stuff now and interact with homeless people instead of just throwing change. Everyone deserves to have a family or a chance or something to look up to in life."
Hannah's mother Taylor said she and her husband are careful to teach Hannah about the darker side of homelessness and let her know that many battle substance abuse problems.
"We're very careful because she is fearless when it comes to homeless people," she said.
They also shield Hannah from seeing the television and newspaper reports that result from her frequent interviews.
"The danger is that she gets caught up in what people think of her. . . . I just think it might make her nervous, might make her think, 'Is this about what I have to say or who I am?"'
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On the Web: www.ladybugfoundation.ca
© The Canadian Press 2005
Cassandra Szklarski
Canadian Press
April 22, 2005
TORONTO (CP) - Nine-year-old Hannah Taylor was born with a hole in her heart, but it's a heart that's fuller than most.
The pig-tailed advocate for the homeless brought a distinguished Toronto luncheon crowd to its feet in applause Thursday with a stirring speech to the Empire Club based on a simple message: people need to share more and be kinder to the less fortunate.
"I know some people are afraid of homeless people but they are great people, wrapped in old clothes, with sad hearts," said the Grade 3 student, who stood on a stool to reach a podium traditionally reserved for world leaders and Bay Street tycoons.
"Don't be afraid of them," she said. "Just care for them and be kind to them."
Hannah's successful Ladybug Foundation has so far raised cash and other donations worth more than $500,000 to assist those forgotten souls many big-city dwellers would just as soon pass by.
The Winnipeg girl began her cause at the age of six, when she spotted a man eating from a garbage bin and asked her mother why he had no food.
"For a whole year she said, 'Mommy, where's he eating? Where's he sleeping? Who loves him? Who cares for him?"' recalled Colleen Taylor, Hannah's mom.
"She's a very determined, stubborn child."
Taylor told her daughter that doing something to help the homeless might make her feel less sad. Hannah decided to tell her Grade 1 class about the problem and at age six, wrote her first speech.
In the three years since, Hannah has addressed audiences as large as 16,000 and as high-ranking as Prime Minister Paul Martin - a meeting that had Hannah wondering what all the fuss was about.
"I was expecting a man with a crown and golden robes because of the way all the grownups were acting," she told the crowd, which included elementary and high school students.
"He came in and looked just like a papa. . . . I liked him right away."
Taylor credits her daughter's sheer determination with making the non-profit foundation a success. She helps Hannah paint and decorate 1,000 brightly coloured donation jars that are delivered to businesses and people willing to fill them with spare change.
Hannah's heart problem, an inoperable condition that was discovered at birth, has never slowed her efforts. When Hannah first learned of her condition, she couldn't wait for the nurse to finish talking so she could deliver her pitch, her mother recalled.
"She said, 'You guys will take care of my heart; now I want to tell you about homeless people!"' It didn't take long before the whole heart centre was collecting change, Taylor said.
Twelve-year-old Michael Natale said Hannah's speech moved him to do more to help the homeless.
"She's a really big inspiration," said the shaggy-haired boy. "I think because of her I'll do more stuff now and interact with homeless people instead of just throwing change. Everyone deserves to have a family or a chance or something to look up to in life."
Hannah's mother Taylor said she and her husband are careful to teach Hannah about the darker side of homelessness and let her know that many battle substance abuse problems.
"We're very careful because she is fearless when it comes to homeless people," she said.
They also shield Hannah from seeing the television and newspaper reports that result from her frequent interviews.
"The danger is that she gets caught up in what people think of her. . . . I just think it might make her nervous, might make her think, 'Is this about what I have to say or who I am?"'
-
On the Web: www.ladybugfoundation.ca
© The Canadian Press 2005
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