Donors help children like Preston, who was diagnosed with a complex clubfoot and unable to walk. After multiple surgeries and extensive physical therapy, Preston is now not only walking but competing as a gymnast, specializing in the pommel horse.
Your gift can help provide a therapeutic session to help a child develop strength and pursue their dreams.
That’s because our pediatric rehabilitation and therapeutic services support each patient’s physical, developmental and emotional needs. The focus is on long-term independence. Shriners Children’s staff teach patients special exercises, occupational skills like getting dressed and coping techniques to create better lifelong outcomes. Our team makes it fun by using pets, music and more.
Innovative care for patients
Shriners Children’s patients are able to receive devices such as adaptable bicycle frames, which unlock a world of mobility and independence, thanks to gifts from generous donors.
Providing immediate pain relief to patients with burn injuries during assessment is critical. Aside from visual assessment, the only accurate way to assess burns has been through often painful biopsies — until now.
A Shriners Children’s research team has found that a handheld, pain-free device that uses a light source, the Resonance Raman Spectroscopy, quickly and accurately produces burn assessment results. This is just one example of how Shriners Children’s uses leading-edge methods in pain management to help kids heal.
Your donation can help support research projects such as this one — making Shriners Children’s a leader in providing exceptional, innovative care for patients with burns.
Safer X-rays
X-rays expose children to radiation in low doses, but at Shriners Children’s, we take additional steps to reduce this exposure. We use EOS imaging systems that provide front and side images while limiting the X-ray dose absorbed by the patient who is either sitting or standing.
EOS offers a number of advantages over more traditional X-ray units, including fast, stress-free, low-dose radiation exams. It’s ideal for children with conditions that require multiple X-rays. Studies have shown that using low-dose EOS imaging can reduce the radiation dose by 55%, without compromising image quality.
With these consistent, high-quality images, EOS can deliver more precise measurements, in addition to providing 2D and 3D views of a child’s bone structure. The EOS images can give our physicians a clearer picture of a problem and its complexities, which allows them to deliver a more accurate diagnosis and create a more personalized treatment plan.
Your gift helps provide this technology to reduce this risk for Shriners Children’s patients by providing low-radiation EOS X-rays before and after treatment. Providing mobility and independence Shriners Children’s offers adaptive bicycles that give kids more than hours of fun — they help develop motor and cognitive skills and increase self-esteem, physical strength and independence. Since every child is unique, donations are needed to ensure each bike is built to exact specifications with easy-to-steer handlebars, hand brakes, pedal straps, movable trunk supports, baskets, adjustable seats and a bright orange flag for added safety. Gifts to Shriners Children’s help provide adaptive bicycle frames to give children mobility and independence.
Charitable Gift Annuity Provides Opportunity to Give Back While Making Income
Lucia made her first contribution more than two decades ago and continues to give today.
When asked why she supports Shriners Children’s, Lucia recalls a specific memory from years ago. She and her mother were sitting in church alongside a little girl and her father who had survived a devastating car crash while vacationing in Spain. The accident had left them both with burns all over their bodies. A little boy sitting behind them caught a glimpse of the girl and recoiled in shock, commenting on her appearance to his mother.
Lucia said that moment affected her deeply. She felt called to find a way to help young children who had been through similar accidents. Through a friend, she learned about Shriners Children’s. She toured a Shriners Children’s facility and met patients, noting the activities and resources tailored to ensure that children have a positive healthcare experience. Lucia made her first contribution more than two decades ago and continues to give, now using charitable gift annuities (CGAs) and charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTS) to support our healthcare system.
“It’s important to me that the majority of the money I donate goes directly to the kids,” shared Lucia.
Sharing Hope Through a Gift in His Will
Billy, a donor and Shriner, encouraged his niece to take her son to Shriners Children’s after learning he had a rare orthopedic condition.
In 2017, Billy learned that his great-nephew, Drake, was coping with a rare orthopedic condition. The 2-year-old’s collarbone was fused with his shoulder blade, causing him to lean to one side as he grew.
“My niece didn’t have the foggiest idea that I was a Shriner,” said Billy, a dedicated fraternity member for 48 years. Thankfully, not only was he able to tell her about Shriners Children’s, but he was able to accompany her to Portland for her son’s successful corrective surgery.
“I was so impressed by the care Drake received,” Billy recalled. “Everything from the whimsical Mickey Mouse wallpaper to the attentive nurse who went overboard to make everyone feel comfortable.”
That experience inspired Billy to name Shriners Children’s as a beneficiary of his estate through the endowment fund. With gifts like this, a percentage of the interest accrued is reinvested into the principal, and as the endowment continues to grow, more funds benefit more children. Today, Billy is an enthusiastic member of the Dream Makers Legacy Society.
“Children are welcomed into this amazing, caring environment where their family and parents don’t have to worry about medical expenses,” Billy observed. “The thought of giving is such a reward in itself, and the best part is that there is no end to this gift — it will go on and on.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION on supporting Shriners Children’s through a planned gift, please contact the Planned and Major Gift office at (813) 367-2241 or by email at [email protected].
