Eric Smoot proves that redefining your life doesn't mean forgetting where you came from.

Smoot lives in Evanston, Ill., but was born and raised in Gary. Twenty-five years have passed since his mother, a single parent, struggled with drug addiction.

He remembers that when he was 12, she lost the house and the family lived in a beauty shop where she worked until the Department of Children and Family Services took Eric and his twin sister, Erica, away and placed them with his older sister, Janell.

Happily, his mother has been clean for 15 years and currently works at a homeless shelter in Minnesota.

Smoot graduated from Horace Mann High School in 1991 and went on to earn bachelor's degrees in health education, and exercise and fitness, from Purdue University in West Lafayette. He and partner Silviu Gansca own Redefined Fitness in Wilmette, Ill.

For the past eight years, Smoot and his partner have supported The Arc Shelter and Rainbow Shelter in Gary during the holidays. The first year they called the shelter and offered to help two families. When they shared their idea with their fitness clients - the facility has about 400 members - many wanted to get involved in the project and donate to the cause.

That first year, the project grew to include all 16 families living at the two shelters. "I stepped out on faith," Smoot said. "My clients grabbed on, they wanted to do for others, too."

This year, Smoot and Gansca raised $13,000 in cash and collected about $7,000 in toys, clothes, coats and hats. They served 15 mothers and 45 kids in Gary this year.

"They got everything new. New bikes, new DVD players, games, clothes, purses and gloves," he said, naming just a few of the gifts donated and purchased with monetary donations.

Mothers were given a cash gift in accordance with the size of their family for groceries and miscellaneous items.

"The most important thing is, my company is the liaison between the fortunate and less fortunate," he said. "It's all of us. We all work together. My clients know my story and have a lot of respect for what we do."

Smoot returns to the region to visit the shelters. "It's near and dear to my heart," he said of his work. "You can't forget where you come from, that's my reality and what gives me strength everyday."

Smoot hopes that as his business grows, so will the charity work. He would like to bring kids living at the shelters in Gary into Chicago to visit museums and other landmarks. He also participates in The Link program in Chicago that helps disadvantaged kids.

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