Shriners Hospital For Children Research Paper

Donating money or time to charity is a good way to help ourselves feel better by improving the quality of life for other people. One of my favorite charities is The Shriners Hospital for children. They are a charitable organization, and their 22 hospitals are completely free to patients. According to their website, their vision is to “Become the best at transforming children’s lives by providing exceptional healthcare through innovative research, in a patient and family centered environment.” They are dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in need through medical and financial backing (Shriners Hospitals for Children). It's hard to talk about the Shriners without first talking about Free Masonry, one of the oldest, biggest, and most well known fraternities in the world (Shriners International). All Shriners are Masons but all Masons are not Shriners. All Shriners and Free Masons believe in God and uphold high morals and values. Some famous masons include George Washington, Will Rogers, Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett, to name a few (Masonic Info). The Shriners Hospitals provide a few different services. They have treated nearly one million children with special need such as severe burns and neuromusculoskeletal problems since 1922 (Shriners International). Their
In 2007, their budget was $721 million, with 93% of the money going directly to patient care. The overall cost of operating the hospitals has been over $8.2 billion since the first hospital was built in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1922. There were 191 shrine chapters with about 400,000 members as of 2007 (Sudan Dunn Clowns). The chapters are mostly located in North America but, there are also some in South America, Germany, and the Philippines. The three chapters in Oklahoma are named the Bedouin, Adkar, and India Shrine ( Shriners