Robert Hartmann found himself in Shanghai at the age of 19 without a specific agenda. Now, six years later, through his passion for bicycles and helping others, Hartmann has found his niche in this metropolis which, in turn, has led to him becoming something of a local celebrity.

Hartmann was recently honoured with Changning District’s ‘Model Citizen’ award for his philanthropic deeds towards a local community member: Mr Yu. Yu had suffered an occupational injury years ago leaving him with only one arm, yet despite his disability he still managed to run a bicycle repair stand.

Hartmann, who at the time was developing a bicycle prototype for a university project, stumbled across Yu’s stand, surprised to find that not only did Yu fix his bicycle, he fixed it well and even charged a more than fair price.

“He impressed me very much – his perseverance; and even though his life is very ku he is still happy,” Hartmann says.

He was so impressed he decided that he wanted to give something back – to, quite literally, lend a helping hand. Through financial support from his grandfather’s company in Switzerland, an accident prevention foundation, Hartmann worked with Yu to build a suitable prosthetic limb that would not only allow Yu to do his job more efficiently, but also lead him to feel more respected and accepted within the community.

“I’m very convinced that in this man’s life, I made a big change for the better,” Hartmann says. “It was beautiful for him to get recognition, whereas disabled people are usually treated as second class citizens. I could see him blossom."

Hartmann continues to maintain a close relationship with Yu today, and is now helping him fund and design a new restaurant that Yu and his family are in the process of opening – all without asking anything in return. 

"When you help people, you should know the person. It's convenient to give money, but working with him [is more rewarding]," Hartmann says.

After his philanthropy gained some publicity, Hartmann says many people have approached him asking why he would donate such generous amounts of time and money to a man he barely knew.

"My motivation? You cannot pin it down for one thing," Hartmann says. "I really would say it is my background, how you are brought up. I didn’t tell anybody, but just did it, but I’m glad I did."

Hartmann's community service projects also extend beyond his work with Yu. He is very involved with a local service foundation, BEAN, currently partaking in projects such as educating kids in Shanghai’s migrant schools about dental hygiene and also funding a library to be built for one of the schools.

According to Hartmann, passion is crucial for meaningful charity work. "When you do charity, it has to be natural," he says. "When you try too hard, then it's very difficult to undertake. My advice is to find what you're passionate about and go from there. Something close to your heart and you know a little about.”

Moreover, charity is an ongoing. “My grandfather told me, it’s like planting a tree – you plant a tree, it’s small and you hope it will grow,” Hartmann says. “But there’s joy in planting a tree.”