All About the Shrine Circus
Moolah Temple, began in St. Louis. Formation of Moolah was by charter April 23rd, 1886 from Medinah Temple in Chicago.
Shriners are the men in the "funny red hats" who drive the little yellow cars, dress like clowns, ride horses, march, ride motorcycles, and in general have a great time helping kids.
Eighty years ago marked the beginning of the Shriners Hospital system in the United States. Starting on a small scale, we now have 22 hospitals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We spend $1.6 million dollars a day treating children for a multitude of aliments. We began as "Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children". The Shriners are credited with bringing an awareness of the crippled child to the American people.
Over the years, the name has changed, and we branched out into many areas of treatment. We have four burn centers around the country. We are currently working on spinal cord injury research. Our hospitals have pioneered many of the techniques used around the world for treating osteo (bone and joint) problems of all kinds.
Did we mention that all the treatment, since the beginning of our hospital system, has been free of charge to the patient and their family! That's right, we don't take a penny. As a matter of fact, there is only one cash register in our hospital, in the cafeteria. All the funding for our hospitals comes from the fund raising efforts of nearly a half million Shriners across the United States. A portion of the money also comes from Donation, Wills and Bequests from estates.
Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis will treat an average of 1100 patients per month. These patients are all children under the age of 18. We will build over a thousand prosthesis and nearly two thousand braces in 2008. And it is all FREE to the patient.
The Shrine Circus, "The Circus with a Purpose" has been a mainstay in St. Louis for decades. We continue to present some of the finest entertainment under the "Big Top" year after year. And you continue to support our Circus with your attendance.
We, the Shriners, THANK YOU.
Here is a tip of our RED FEZ to you for helping us continue to help kids!