TOUCHSTONE ENERGY AND SHRINERS RAISE OVER $35,000 FOR THE SHRINERS CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS
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SUPPLY,
NC, August 5, 2002 — Golfers from all over the area and from other
states played for fun and raised more than $35,000 for the National Shriners
Children’s Hospital Golf Tournament at St James Plantation in Southport
this past weekend.
For the second year, Touchstone Energy® and the local electric cooperative
Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation signed on as the major sponsor
of the event, which was organized by the Brunswick County Shrine Club.
More than 125 other businesses and individuals joined the effort to help
sponsor this event with everything from cash donations, prizes, challenges
and more.
The
2002 tournament broke last year’s record-setting total, pulling
in about $35,000 for the hospital.
Don Hughes, chairman of the event, and Vice President of Operations at
Brunswick EMC, commented: “It just keeps getting more successful
every year. We are thrilled with this years total. It takes a lot of effort
and commitment from the sponsors and players alike to make this kind of
contribution to such a great cause. I can’t say enough about the
enthusiastic way that our local businesspeople come out and support this
effort. And St. James Plantation and Touchstone Energy are great to work
with . . . they really go the extra mile to make this a great experience
for the players. It’s such a good time that we’ve already
got reservations for next year.”
On Saturday, several local children who are currently being helped by the Shriners Hospital in Greenville, SC, joined the group for lunch. “Meeting the kids puts the whole effort in a very human perspective and gives us all a real sense of what this is all about”, says Jack Cook, president of the Brunswick County Shrine Club.
(About
Shriners Hospitals)
The first Shriners Hospital opened in Shreveport, LA in 1922, , with the
mission of treating orthopaedic injuries, diseases and birth defects in
children. The concept was based on support from a yearly $2 assessment
from each Shriner. The program has grown dramatically due to the energy
and generosity of Shriners everywhere, and today, there are 19 Shriners
orthopaedic hospitals across the U.S. The program expanded in the 1960’s
to include research projects and three of the first burn treatment centers
for children. In the 1980’s they pioneered again, by opening the
nation’s first spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers expressly
for the care of children.
The
mission of every Shriners Hospital is the same – to provide expert,
specialized medical care to children at no cost. There is never a charge
to the patient, parent or any third party for any service or medical treatment
received at Shriners Hospitals.
Children are accepted at Shriners Hospitals without regard to race, religion
or relationship to a Shriner. Any child under 18 is eligible for treatment
if, in the opinion of surgeons, the child can be helped. Shriners Hospitals
have treated approximately 650,000 children in their first 79 years of
operation. In the year 2000 alone, there were 23,299 operations performed,
over 1/4 million outpatient and clinic visits, 636,619 physical therapy
treatments given and close to 200,000 active patients at year-end.