For his visit to Cape Girardeau, potentate Gale Bennington of the Moolah Shrine packed his red fez, but he left his mini-car in St. Louis.

Instead, the regional head of the Shriners fraternity breezed into town aboard the full-sized plane of a fellow Shriner, who donated his time, aircraft and piloting services. Bennington came to let people know that access to that Shriner generosity isn't limited to its officers.

On Wednesday, Bennington and his public relations coordinator, Bill Addison, visited with local Shriners and representatives of the Cape Girardeau media as part of a campaign to make the area aware of the services of the Shriners Hospitals for Children, particularly the St. Louis facility.

"We came to get kids to our hospitals," Bennington said flatly.

There are 22 Shriners Hospitals in North America, all of which provide no-cost medical care to children under 18 with orthopedic problems or burn injuries. They do so regardless of family income and access to insurance. Their efforts are funded by the Shriners Hospitals for Children endowment fund, maintained through gifts, bequests and contributions and by money raised by individual Shrine clubs.

"We get out there and raise money so we can get our kids up there," said George Peo, president of the Cape Shrine Club, referring to the Shriners Hospital in St. Louis.

Bennington said that unlike other charities, the Shriners don't allocate much of the funds raised to recoup administrative expenses. He said that 93 cents out of every dollar goes to care for children through the hospitals. That 93 percent adds up to an annual budget of $25 million, on which the hospitals provide clinical care and research.

Services availableBeyond raising money through events such as circuses, golf tournaments and rodeos, Bennington said that Shriners also volunteer their services and resources to transport children to the hospitals, be it by plane, club-owned van or private car. This volunteer cab service is not just for emergencies, but for routine checkups as well. As Bennington pointed out, Shriners Hospital children are in Shriner care until they're 18.

The local club also conducts a biannual pre-screening for area children who may be seeking medical assistance. Jess Hopple, public relations coordinator for the Cape Shrine Club, said that at the screening held two years ago, 19 area children got treatment at the St. Louis hospital out of 28 children examined.

trehagen@semissourian.com

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