indiana territory

SHRINERS HOSPITALS - WILLIAM A VANCE

Shriners Hospitals for Children

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of 22 pediatric hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that provide specialized care for orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate. All services are provided at no charge.

Eligibility for care is not based on financial need or relationship to a Shriner.

I have been writing short notices about my father-in-law's death and an article in a magazine reminded me of something in which he was very interested and for which he donated much of his time - The Shriner's Hospitals.

William A Vance was one of the guys in outfits and on motorcycles in many parades. Sometimes the cycles were very little; sometimes they were big. Once, early in his chapter's history, he wore a red Indian suit with a chief's feather headdress.

When I was in Cincinnati, writing for a paper there, I did an article about a big fundraiser for the Burn Center that was in the city. I called him for a little first person information. He gave me a lot of facts and stories and then called me back to make certain that I had gotten it down correctly - that I understood the importance of it.

After I had written the article, the editor pulled out one paragraph, to highlight in bolder print. It had to do with the fact that individual Shrine Chapters are responsible for paying the bills for individual patients. You see, at 2 am, a call may come to an officer of a local Shrine Chapter and the question being asked is this: "Will you accept pledge your financial support to this person's care until he is 18?" And that man, awakened in the middle of the night, will usually say, "Yes."

I don't like it when people make disparaging remarks about grown men riding around in little cars and on little cycles - laughing at them actually. Those men have done this and are continuing to do it to help ease suffering and pain, to make recovery an option.
*********************************************************************************

Emblem of Denver Lodge.

Building the dining hall at the Denver Lodge. Left to right: Bill Vance, unidentified, Lon Vance, John Vance.

posted by Jody @ 10:31 AM