WHO ARE THE SHRINERS AND WHY A CARE CRUISER PROGRAM?
The Shriners of British Columbia & Yukon are a fraternal organization and a concordant body of the Masonic Fraternity. All Shriners are Freemasons, but all Freemasons are not Shriners. Only 20% of the Masonic Fraternity are Shriners. For over 138 years, we have been acclaimed for our light heartiness, red fez hats, and colourful parades, but for over 87 years, the Shriners have had a serious philanthropic mission. The Shriners provide orthopaedic, burn and spinal cord injury care at no charge through our network of 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. However, for the over 700 children from British Columbia & Yukon who are cared for at Shriners Hospital for Children, just getting to the hospitals proved a major challenge. Faced with the ever-increasing high cost of sending patients to Shriners Hospitals by air, the Shriners in 2001 purchased a Highway Motor Coach. The coach was modified to comfortably transport physically challenged children and their parents to the Shriners Hospital fo
