Monday, April 7, 2008

Wallets open wide for children in Cowtown

This past Saturday night was the annual hospital fund-drive Gala for the Moslah Shrine, and my husband and I were more involved with it this year because Kirk is the entertainment chair for the Shrine's Patrol unit. We were a little disheartened this year because attendance was not what it has been in year's past, which is a shame because, in many ways this gala is a true throw-back to what fundraisers are and should be.

The evening begins with a cocktail hour that provides ample time to walk around, compliment other folks on their attire, do that scream/hug thing where you declare " OMG, I haven't seen you in SOOOO long!", and most importantly, to allow the complimentary beer and margaritas to loosen up your cash-spending inhibitions.

Once dinner begins, ladies must place all of their trust in waterproof cosmetics because the gala always highlights a child that has benefited from the Shrine Children's hospitals. This year we met a little girl named Leigh who had brittle-bone disease. She was quite fragile and had even broken her wrist three times and healed in the womb. I was holding strong with the tears until her father spoke and you could truly imagine what this must have been like for Leigh's parents.

Her family was not wealthy, they were desperate for answers and faced with an uncertain future caring for child with very special needs. They had no idea how they would pay their medical bills or protect Leigh from broken bones. When the doctor suggested that they turn to the Shrine hospital, he couldn't imagine that there could be state-of-the-art care for Leigh that would have no accompanying bills or expenses. Fast-forward to Saturday night, and Leigh sat, happily smiling in a tiny wheelchair wearing an adorable pink cowboy hat and singing the National Anthem!

It dawned on me at that moment; all of our stress, the extra expenses, the last minute sign-printing and fussing over details, the planning parties and running around all came down to helping children like Leigh. When the evening's MC, television news anchor Mike Snyder called out to the audience to stuff the envelopes from their table with $100 bills and hold them above their heads, I was, for lack of a better description, overwhelmed. I looked around this crowd of nearly 800 people and saw a sea of paper appear,and uncontrollable tears streamed down my face.

The generosity continued throughout the evening from the live auction, to the silent auction and in the casino, which was our (mine and Kirk's) main responsibility. Time and time again as I asked folks to exchange their real money for "casino money", they laughed, handed me a $20 or a $50, sometimes a $100 and declared with a smile, " hey, it's for the children."

As the event came to a close and the exhausted host-committee members began to clear the table decorations and take down tables, all I could think about was, "Wow, what a great city we live in! What selfless people there are in Fort Worth to give so much for people they have never met. What a relief the hospital must have been to Leigh's mother and father, and countless other families."

So for that, (and in case it isn't said enough)I would like to offer a very hearty and sincere " Thank you!" to Shriners in this and every other city. You make this world a much better place in which to live.

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