At first glance, Gaven Enos seems more like an average 10-year-old boy than a big-time fundraiser, but first impressions seldom tell the whole story.

Enos is in fourth grade at Sitting Bull Elementary School in Apple Valley. His favorite thing to do is riding his red 110cc motocross bike.

But what really sets Enos apart from his peers is the fact that by the time he turned 10 this year, he had already raised more than $11,000 for charity. Not many kids can say that, but that’s exactly what he has done in the last four years.

Enos was first diagnosed with Type I diabetes in 1999 at Desert Valley Regional Medical Center in Victorville. Doctors there transferred him to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, where he is currently getting treatment.

His mom, Ingrid Johnson, doesn’t believe in pushing her son, but takes an active role in helping him think through what he wants to do.

“Gaven does this because he wants to,” Johnson says. “His grandfather, who didn’t take very good care of himself, died from diabetes. His father has diabetes, Gaven’s got it, and I do, too. So do several of his uncles and aunts. It’s a real family affair. He’s been interested in finding a cure since he was able to communicate. After his grandfather died, Gaven pushed harder to educate people so others don’t have to pass on, or lose their limbs or eyesight, just because they didn’t understand the severity of the disease.”

After Enos charmed the Apple Valley Optimist Club as speaker at one of their meetings last year, not only did members donate lots of money, but one of them nominated him for the “Person of the Year” award of the Victorville Daily Press. So did a member of the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce.

Enos won the award for 2007. As a result, he raised plenty of awareness and money for his favorite charity, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“I just go to schools and clubs and talk about diabetes and people give me money,” he notes. “Of course, I don’t keep it. It all goes to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.”

Enos has a website that connects him to other kids with diabetes, and offers encouragement and a sense of community.

While scientists wrestle to find a cure for diabetes, Enos says it’s important to maintain an active life.

“I tell kids with diabetes not to be afraid,” he remarks. “If you take care of yourself, watch what you eat, and cooperate with your doctor, you can live a normal life and have lots of fun.”