Tanner's Totes Bring Happiness to Kids Fighting Cancer

About a week ago, I wrote on my blog about a college swimmer in Massachusetts who overcame childhood cancer to set an NCAA record by being the National Champion in the breaststroke four times in a row. The student-athlete I'm writing about tonight never doesn't have cancer, but cares about those who do that he wanted to make a positive difference in their lives.

His name is Tanner Smith. He is a member of the Clemson Basketball Team and will be entering his Sophomore season next year. Back when he was in Fourth Grade, Tanner's teacher gave him and his"At first I wasn't sure it would matter," Tanner said. "I mean, what can colored pencils and modeling clay do? But we can't cure cancer right now. There isn't a medicine or a shot or a test that helps you cure it or prevent it. At least we can help somebody get through it. classmates a project. They were to write down their answers to the question "If I had three wishes." Smith's wishes were these three: to have a Golden Retriever, to play professional basketball, and to make kids with cancer laugh.

The first wish came true when at Christmas time, a Golden Retriever bounded into the Smith living room. Tanner also received a Sacramento Kings locker and a red clown nose. The locker was to represent basketball and the red nose was to make kids with cancer laugh. We thought that would be the end of it." Tanner's mother Kathy Smith said.

The second wish hasn't come yet, but might still. Near the end of his Freshman year in high school, Tanner was starting for the Varsity. By the end of his Senior year, he earned All-State honors and was being recruited by schools such as Virginia Tech, Missouri, Georgia and Clemson. He chose Clemson because it was close enough to home yet far enough where he could feel like he was on his own. As a kid, he was captivated by the ACC. "Those guys looked like men." Tanner said. "I was just a scrawny little blond kid." Smith appeared in all of Clemson's 25 games this past season, averaging 3.9 points and 13 minutes per game.

The third and most important wish has come true in a big way. Tanner, with the help of his parents, began a non-profit organization called Tanner's Totes. The idea was to put goodies into tote bags and deliver them to Adolessence and teenagers who were battling cancer. The first bag was very ordinary . They used colored pencils and an Uncle with a silk screening business helped out with the design. Tanner said that when he was in high school, a girl in his class contracted cancer. The girl's brother had been helping Tanner a year before. "All of a sudden, we were delivering a bag to her." He said.

The first few bags cost $60 to fill and that cam out of pocket, and Tanner made his first delivery to Children's Health Care of Atlanta. However, other organizations got wind of Tanner's foundation. The Girl Scout troops joined the fight and a Georgia garden club donated $18,000.00. The smith's basement was turned into Tanner's Totes headquarters. they are now receiving requests and donations from hospitals from all around the country: Jacksonville, FL, Nebraska, Texas. The Smiths have also been featured on the HGTV show "Deserving Design."

Tanner's deep desire to help kids dealing with cancer is a truly empathetic one. Tanner's father, Craig Smith, was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when Tanner was 3 years old. The family spent 3 months in Omaha, Nebraska where Craig received a bone marrow transplant from his sister. After moving back to their Alpharetta, Ga home, life started to return to normal. Craig had started a Dentistry in Georgia at the time of his bone marrow transplant, but things seemed to be settling down until just a year after being diagnosed with cancer, Mr. Smith developed Graft-Versus-Host disease (GHVD), a disease in which the white blood cells from his sister's bone marrow attacked his own. Craig is not able to produce saliva or tears and has to take a huge dose of antibiotics to ward off infections. ""My dad, my dad is just an incredible man," Tanner said. "He's had to deal with so much, but the way he's handled it, it amazes me. I'm sure there have been times where he's thought, 'This is it,' but he just handles everything so well."

Seeing his father battle cancer has had a huge impression on Tanner, and because of it, he can empathize with those who have the disease. "Tanner knows the difference between sympathy and empathy," Craig said. "That's what he has for these kids: empathy. He's seen me in the hospital. He knows what it's like." The story of Tanner Smith and his foundation "Tanner's Totes" is but another wonderful example of college student-athletes taking advantage of their status and making a positive difference in their communities and in the lives of others less fortunate.

Clemson coach Oliver Purnell had this to say about Tanner and the impact of Tanner's Totes: "Plenty of people are affected by cancer, but not everyone is spurred to action by it. That's what makes Tanner and his parents extraordinary. They did something about it."

Credit for information in this latest blog goes to ESPN blogger Dana O'Neil. You can read her full story on Tanner Smith and Tanner's Totes by going to espn.com, clicking on blogs, and clicking on blog archives.