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RUPERT BONEHAM
SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS
Rupert Boneham is best known for his accolades on two seasons of the CBS hit reality series, Survivor. Competing on both Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All Stars, Rupert quickly became the all time favorite competitor in the series. After winning America’s Tribal Council, Rupert was awarded one million dollars, much of which he used to start his dream: Rupert’s Kids.
Before the glitz and fame of Survivor, Rupert was an unassuming guy just trying to blend into the world, with a big heart and a desire to help people. Living in Texas in 1983, Rupert was introduced to the mental health field after leaving the oil fields to work in an Abilene hospital, serving profoundly mentally handicapped youth. Rupert soon found himself working with 24 boys and 24 girls, all in the non-ambulatory care ward of the hospital.
In 1990 Rupert was called back to Indianapolis where, over the next year, he would be caring for his adoptive grandparents with the aid of his mother, Georgette. To make ends meet, Rupert took post as a bouncer at various Indianapolis bars. A year later, Rupert quit his job as a bouncer to follow his passion, and began working with youth in the central Indiana area that had been expelled from school. Realizing they had nothing to do, and nowhere to turn, he began working with these young people remodeling and renovating private homes, on a contract-by-contract basis. Out of this, Kids HOPE (Helping Other People Exist) was born. Realizing many individuals weren’t comfortable with at-risk youth working in their homes, Rupert began purchasing abandoned, board-up, and burnt-up properties from the city to rehabilitate. Living on credit cards, Rupert cared for as many as 40 youth during the life of his program.
In 1997, Rupert was referred to The Dawn Project, chosen for his ability to work with hard-edged youth with whom many other mentors and caregivers had difficulty connecting. Working as a clinical and vocational mentor, Rupert adopted the ideas and vision of Kids HOPE and taught youth referred through the Dawn Project real world trades through home rehabilitation projects. In 2003, Rupert applied for an upcoming series of Survivor. Confident he would make it onto the show, he prepared the young people in his group for the upcoming changes: he would be gone for months, and they would need to remain independent from his workgroup until he returned. Rupert left with the promise his workgroup would continue once he returned, not knowing his journey through Survivor would last well over a year.
Realizing that even last place brought in a cash prize, Rupert was optimistic that his involvement in Survivor might help toward alleviating some of the credit card debt he accrued while mentoring the young people in his group. Once Survivor: Pearl Islands aired, Rupert’s entire world changed. With one simple act, stealing his opponents’ shoes, Rupert made a spot for himself in TV history as the most popular Survivor castaway ever. His popularity brought him back for another season of Survivor, this time to face off against the All-Stars from previous seasons. Sadly, Rupert was voted off the island again, but something truly life changing awaited him at the finale. On the day of his daughter’s fifth birthday, Rupert was awarded a check for one million dollars, after being selected by viewers as “America’s Favorite Survivor”.
While ensuring the financial security of his family for years to come, Rupert also made good on his promise and donated a large portion of his winnings to Indianapolis-based Choices, Inc., where he had previously worked as a mentor for The Dawn Project. His donation was used to create Rupert’s Kids, the culmination of 20+ years of working to impact the lives of youth that are all-too-often overlooked in our society. Today, Rupert continues to raise funds and awareness for Rupert’s Kids, through a campaign of nationwide appearances, speaking engagements and endorsements.
