Shrine Clowns ham it up with a  patient – image courtesy Shriners of BC &Yukon Child Services Society

Prince George, B.C. – With so many  fund raising  projects underway  for a variety of children’s health services,  the  Shriners may get lost in the shuffle,  but they are still very active,  and still  improving the lives of some very special children,

“The challenge we have is that  we’re not all that overt”  says Prince George Shriner, Scott Harriman.   While  the Shriners’ presence is most often noted in parades where  Shriner clowns are on  mini motorcycles,  or  walking along the parade route,  there  weren’t  any parades in Prince George last year. “We haven’t really  been  in the public eye” says Harriman,  “We sell some tickets part way through the year,  people see us there,  we help  the Salvation Army with its Kettle drive,  We’re out there,   but we don’t pump our own tires.”  What they are doing is planning their  presence at special events,   like the Bryan Adams concert in Prince George,  where   they  raised $10 thousand dollars through the sale of CDs.

The dollars raised  go  towards  covering the cost of transportation, accommodation and treatment at  any  one of the  Shriner’s  22 hospitals  which offer specialized care for children with  orthopaedic,  spinal cord injury, burn  or cleft palate needs.

Over  the past three years,  the Shriners of British Columbia & Yukon Child Services Society has  helped 824 patients from B.C. and the Yukon visit  one of the two of the Shriners Hospitals for Children   in the west,   one in Portland Oregon, the other, in in Spokane.  Those visits were covered  in full by the Shriners,  all $5.38 million dollars worth.

The Shriners also  help families of children who  need  special  equipment,  such as  wheelchairs  and prosthetics and then there’s  the “Shriners in the Community Fund”. “This  is where our club will gather up some money  and we will put  it into various places where it needs to go  right here in the community” says Harriman, “Lets say your grand daughter needs a special wheelchair and it’s not covered  by insurance,  that’s the next step we are taking.”

There are more than  80 Shrine clubs throughout BC and Yukon all working towards the common goal…for the kids, but  in  today’s world  where social media has demonized clowns, Shriner  Rod Holmes says   he has changed his  approach “This past year,   with   all the nonsense that’s  been going on,  I’m working  on a character clown  so I’m not the white faced clown  so many are afraid of,  I’m  somebody who blows up balloons and has  fun  for the kids.”  Holmes  eyes  fill with tears   as he  talks about the  mission  of the Shriners ” You know,  you  put a smile a on a kid’s face  and  you fix their body,   I  mean , what’s wrong with that?  That’s what it’s all about,   that’s why we do what we do.”

If you know of a child in need of this kind of assistance, the Shriners may be able to help.

For more information about Shriners Hospitals for Children or the Shriners in the Community Fund call  toll free 1-800-661-KIDS (5437), or e-mail services@bcshriners.com