Shriners of BC & Yukon Child Services Society helps many children in need of advanced medical attention, and their families who can't access – or afford – medical treatment.
Big Country Shrine Club vice-president Frank Dobbs says in the South Cariboo, as in many smaller communities, there is no pediatric care available. The level of pediatric specialty care and research at Shriner's Hospitals is world-class, yet finding the local children who need the help can be difficult.
Dobbs says the family of the latest local child to be helped updated him about her recent progress on Feb. 1.
"We have got one child right now, from here, at a Shriner's Hospital for Children in San Diego. She was born with Spina Bifida, and [family] was told she would never walk. Well, she is about three-and-a-half now, and she's standing."
After two recent operations, the experts believe once they take her body cast off, the child will be able to walk, he adds.
Dobbs explains any local child who is in a wheelchair will likely need a larger one eventually, and the same need goes for leg braces, so he encourages their family to contact them if they need help with that purchase.
If you know of any child in need of treatment for health issues such as broken limbs, curved spines, severe burns, clubfoot or cleft palate, you may be able to help them by pointing their family members to the local Shrine club.
On April 8, the Shrine club's popular King Crab & Prime Rib Dinner Auction fundraiser happens at the 100 Mile Community Hall, which raises a good amount of the Community Fund dollars they gather to help local children, he notes.
All the local Community Fund money raised is held in trust when not needed, so it is available when the club identifies a family with a child who needs their help the most. For more information, or to apply, call club secretary-treasurer Tony Brown at 250-395-3722.
Tickets to the dinner-auction are limited to 200 and often go quickly, he says, adding they are now available for $75 at A&B Photo, 100 Mile Feed and Ranch Supply, South Cariboo Supply & Marine, and the Red Rock Grill. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the dinner begins at 6:15 p.m.
If you can't get there in time, you can also arrange for tickets to be held for you by calling Frank Dobbs at 250-395-6355 or Glen Clancy at 250-396-7185.