Robert Browne is a Long Island teenager who was tragically injured while avoiding another surfer who came towards him during a surfing lesson. In doing so he dove right into a hidden sand bar, crushing his c5-c6 vertebrae and paralyzing his young body.  You can read about the accident here.

Lucas Matt (Class of 2019) heard about Robert’s accident and the astronomical medical bills with which his family was faced. Although very saddened by this news, Lucas decided to act.

Lucas already had a thriving business selling golf balls, collecting, cleaning, sorting and selling golf balls that had gone astray at the local greens. To help Robert, Lucas put them in clear egg cartons with printed labels indicating support for Robert Brown and the Testaverde Foundation.  Lucas sold these at his father’s salon, donating every penny raised to Robert and his family. So far, this has amounted to over $1,000!

This summer, with the assistance of his team of dedicated physical therapists, Robert was able to return to the waters of Long Beach and actually get back on his surf board!  More recently Robert, against all of his doctors’ predictions that he would never be able to move anything below his arms, moved one of his toes!

You can learn more about Robert Browne through his Facebook page: Team Robert Browne