By ABC-7 News Anchor/Reporter Abe Lubetkin

EL PASO -- For many eight-year-olds, the latest video game - or maybe some roller blades - top the birthday wish list. But for the last two years, Tanner Fincher has been asking for something else.

Tanner Fincher is just like any other playful kid, except for one thing: his diabetes. "We went to the doctor and my blood sugar was high so they took us to the hospital," said Tanner.

A few months after he was diagnosed with the disease, he enrolled at the El Paso Diabetes Association's "Camp Lydia Man.'

"I got to see different people who have the same thing as me," Tanner said, adding his positive experience at the camp made him want to make sure other children with diabetes are afforded the opportunity to experience the camp. "Some kids can't afford to go to diabetes camp so I donated some money for them."

For two years now, Tanner has asked people to donate money to a camp scholarship fund instead of giving him a birthday present.

And it's paid off. He has since raised more than a $1,000.

"One of the things we want to instill in these kids is even though they have diabetes they can do anything they want in life as long as they learn to manage it," said Henry Brutus, the director of the El Paso Diabetes Association.

Brutus' message has resonated with Tanner, who now hopes other kids in his shoes can learn the same lesson. "It's not hard to control it, you just have to do it right," he said.

And he's doing right by his peers; one birthday at a time.