Travis Mahussier (left) and Kaitlyn Gryba have been collecting aluminum tabs from cans for around five to six years, gathering hundreds of thousands of tabs. Those are then recycled, where the money is then donated towards childhood cancer research. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Raising awareness

Local collectors turn hobby into heroics, raising thousands for childhood cancer research

Sep 9, 2025 | 3:03 PM

What began as a small hobby has turned into a big effort to help raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer.

Prince Albert locals Travis Mahussier and Kaitlyn Gryba have been collecting the tabs used to open canned drinks for around five to six years and donated their collection to Small But Mighty SK, an organization that raises funds for childhood cancer research as well as supports Saskatchewan families who are facing a new cancer diagnosis.

Both Travis and Kaitlyn are a part of Inclusion Saskatchewan, where Travis’ sister, Marcia Vogt, spoke about how he started collecting tabs.

“My daughter learnt in school that if we collected enough aluminum tabs, they would go to people who needed wheelchairs or any other type of support. So, she started collecting them, and I think we had maybe like a small grocery bag. We were telling her uncle, Travis, how we were collecting tabs, and then, because Travis is so connected in the community, he was collecting tenfold the amount of tabs.”

From there, Travis took over the collection and recruited his best friend, Kaitlyn, to help. Today, the two have extra hands in collecting them as family and friends from across the prairies send in the tabs they find.

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“Everyone was trying to send tabs in for this project. Kaitlyn’s family brought a whole suitcase on a plane, we brought bags back from Winnipeg, like everyone was sending them in. Travis is in an interactive summer program, and a lot of the kids would give him tabs to collect to throw in the bins, and he was literally getting them from everywhere.”

The two collected so many tabs this year that they ended up with two large bins weighing around 100 lbs each.

The two full bins of solely aluminum tabs were presented during the 45th annual First Responders Relay race in Prince Albert on Saturday, both weighing 100 lbs each. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

The tabs are given to BN Metals, where they are recycled, and the money made from the tabs is donated to Small But Mighty SK. Other families in Prince Albert, along with Venice House on Central, also collect tabs for the same organization where last year, nearly $4,500 was donated to Small But Mighty SK from the tabs alone.

This past Saturday, Travis and Kaitlyn presented their collection prior to the city’s annual First Responders Relay race at Harry Jerome Track in Prince Albert and this year, Small But Mighty SK is keeping 100 per cent of the proceeds within the provincial borders to help local families dealing with newly diagnosed cancer in their children.

Small But Mighty SK is hosting a Tab Collection Day this Saturday, Sept. 13 in Saskatoon for anyone wanting to donate their tabs to the cause. Cash and cheque donations will also be accepted on site, with that money going towards the SK Fund with the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. In 2022, the Small But Mighty SK Gold Walk collected around 3,780 pounds of tabs in just four hours.

The collection day is a buildup to the annual Terry Fox Run, which is set for Sept. 14. Here in Prince Albert, the run will happen at the Alfred Jenkins Fieldhouse.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social