Big Country Shrine Club #50 (BCSC) remains a driving force behind getting sick children to hospitals.
Local Shriner Ray Matwick says the club raises funds to offset the transportation and accommodation costs of getting sick children and their families to Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Specially designed Care Cruiser buses carry local children plus an accompanying adult, from locations throughout the province to Shriners hospitals, as well as BC Children’s or Sunny Hill hospitals in Vancouver.
This is accomplished through the Shriners of British Columbia and Yukon-Shriners Care for Kids program that provides access to exceptional pediatric care based on medical need, not a family’s ability to pay.
The BCSC was inaugurated in September 1994, and its 14 members, called "Nobles," also belong to the local Masons Mt. Begbie Lodge. (All Shrine Club members must first be Freemasons.)
The local club is fairly unique in that the wives ("Ladies") are included in many activities, despite the Shriners and Mason membership restrictions to men only, Matwick explains.
It has also donated close to $30,000 to the South Cariboo Health Foundation over the years, and also supports BC Children's Hospital as well as some local children and families in need, he notes.
Matwick has put together a book offering a pictorial tour covering the local club's and the Williams Lake Shrine Club's past 20 years (to 2014) of fundraising, community and group activities. He is offering it to club members at cost, so it is a good time to consider joining the BCSC, which welcomes new members (who are also Masons).
For more information on Shriners, call Matwick at 250-395-3107, or visit www.bcshriners.com where folks can also find details on the Shriners Care for Kids program.