N.S. boy's homemade robots to raise money for cancer research get Coach's Corner shout-out
Anjuli Patil | CBC News | Posted: June 10, 2019 9:21 PM | Last Updated: June 10, 2019
Wooden robots are Antigonish, N.S., boy's fundraiser for Ewing sarcoma research
An Antigonish, N.S., boy's fundraiser for a rare form of cancer was featured on Coach's Corner during the Stanley Cup finals on Sunday night.
Don Cherry and Ron MacLean dedicated about three minutes of air time on Hockey Night in Canada to 11-year-old Oliver Smith and his googly-eye wooden robots held together with hockey laces, known as Ollie Bots.
"He's a winner, I tell you, that boy is a winner," Cherry said as the segment ended.
Smith, who had been asleep, woke up to check the score of the game and caught the segment.
"It was pretty exciting ... He just kind of put his hand in the air and said, 'Yes,'" said Shauna Grant Smith, Oliver's mother.
"It was fantastic to see," added Bryan Smith, Oliver's father.
Oliver Smith was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in 2017 and continues to fight it.
"It's a rare cancer, there's not a lot of research into it. Being able to create some awareness for his type of cancer, Ewing sarcoma, it's important because when you're dealing with it with your child, there's not much you can do as parents," Bryan Smith said.
At that time of Oliver Smith's diagnosis, his father came up with the idea of a woodworking project the two of them could do in the garage.
"Shauna and I and our family and friends, we put a lot of time and effort into this project, so we're hoping that we can create awareness which will turn into research dollars, which will turn into treatment and hopefully cures," Bryan Smith said.
They started with 20 wooden robots to give away to friends who would donate to the Ewings Cancer Foundation of Canada. By Christmas Eve 2017, they had sold 325 Ollie Bots at $20 each. Oliver signs every Ollie Bot.
The Smiths had to turn their phones off after the segment aired because "it was completely overwhelming, it was just ding after ding after ding," said Shauna Grant Smith.
"It was text messages, our Facebook site blew up, our Ollie Bots Gmail account blew up, so [we] just made the quick decision to sit and try to enjoy the game and deal with it today."
Prior to Coach's Corner, the Smiths had sold more than 2,000 Ollie Bots and have donated $35,000 to the Ewings Cancer Foundation of Canada.
The family also uses the proceeds to give cash and gift cards to families that are experiencing pediatric cancer in their area.
Shauna Grant Smith said there have been 78 orders for Ollie Bots since the Coach's Corner segment aired.