The provincial government has provided $250,000 to the Shriners of British Columbia and Yukon-Shriners Care for Kids (SCK) to help cover capital expenditures for the improvement of their medical transportation program.
Big Country Shrine Club vice-president Frank Dobbs says this much-needed and important cause transports sick children needing specialized care, including locally, to Shriners Hospitals for Children across North America.
"We are all working toward keeping that transportation system going, and we will do what we can here to bolster it up a bit."
The local club's annual King Crab and Prime Rib Dinner-Auction in 100 Mile House this year raised another $21,786 for the SCK transportation program.
Finance Minister Michael de Jong announced the new funding upon his completion of a 10-kilometre lap in SCK's 241-km Ahead of the Curve relay race from Spokane to Nelson on May 16-18.
Since 1903, the Shriners have raised millions of dollars to provide for the care, needs and transportation of thousands of B.C. children requiring exceptional pediatric treatment for medical concerns, such as orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip/palate conditions, regardless of the family's ability to pay.
More information about the Shriners of B.C. and Yukon-Shriners Care for Kids program is online at www.bcshriners.com.