I'm a Shriner. As many know, we are dedicated to supporting the Shriner's Hospitals for Burned and Crippled Children. I've spent many days working to raise funds to help support that cause.
Early one morning about fifteen years ago, I was on my way to a fund raising event and stopped for a quick breakfast at a local restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. I was wearing a ball cap that simply said "Morocco Shrine" above the bill. After ordering my breakfast, I was approached by a middle-aged lady, who I later discovered was a cook in the kitchen. She apologized for interrupting me, but asked, "Are you a Shriner?"
I smiled; showed her my cap; and said, "Guilty as charged, Madam."
She began to tell me a story about her daughter who had just given birth to a child with a club-foot. Unmarried, unemployed, no insurance, living with a widowed grandmother, and a missing father to the baby. The lady cried as she relayed the details, but said she had heard rumors that Shriners might be able to help. She explained that she just didn't know what to do. I said, "Lady, you just did it."
Offering her a seat, I took some quick notes with contact information and told her that someone would be in contact with her on Monday.
A Shrine Temple is a wonderful place. We have members from every walk of life… every skill imaginable is buried in the membership. We have a special unit whose role is to check out stories like this and arrange for an initial visit to the nearest Shriner Hospital where the doctors can examine the child for admission. In this case, the nearest hospital is in Tampa. It's a crippled child center. A burned child is flown to our nearest burn center in Dallas. (Yes, we have pilots who fly our corporate jet with the child and family.) No, there is never a charge of any type; and once-admitted, we provide care and follow-on surgeries as needed until the child is eighteen. Each hospital (there are twenty-one) provides free lodging for the family while the child is undergoing care.
As the member making the initial contact, I'm considered the "sponsor". However, my role is actually finished once I've started the "wheels turning" within the organization. I passed the contact information over to the proper folks the following day.
To shorten the story… one month after this lady asked me about the Shrine, the child had her first operation in the long process of helping her walk. I don't know about such things, but there are follow-up procedures and operations as the child grows. Again, my only involvement is my name on the bottom of the initial application as the sponsoring Shriner.
This was the first child I had actually "sponsored" into the hospitals, so I naturally followed the progress for a few years (behind the scenes, so to speak). Some five years later, I happened to be in that same restaurant, and "grandma" approached me holding the hand of the cutest little girl I'd ever seen… the child, who was now walking. She introduced "Shannon", telling her that, "Here's the man who helped you walk." I cried like a baby.
That's it. However, it was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life. I've travelled a long way, and not all of the roads were paved, but I'll never forget this little detour.
"There is nothing so dear to a Shriner's heart as the little girl's prayer, "God Bless the Shrine."
Originally Posted by slvrsrchr
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