Marco Shriners Raise $10,800 for Tampa Hospital

The Marco Island Shriners are a small but active branch of the Araba Shriners. On Friday, March 25, at Marco’s Sarazen Park, the Marco Shriners presented a check for $10,800 to be used by the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa.

The Shrine Club has been on Marco Island for almost 40 years. 

"We meet on a regular basis,” said John Campbell, director of the Marco Island Shrine Club. "We support the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. But there are Shriners Hospitals all over the country. The Shriners have some fun, but they do some important things.”

On Marco Island the Shriners raised money this year with a paper drive, in cooperation with Winn Dixie.

"We do our annual paper drive,” Campbell said. "We raised over $3,145.”

Campbell said that many don’t realize that patients stay at Shriners Hospitals free of charge.

"No one pays a cent to stay in the Shriners hospitals,” Campbell said. "It’s all based on what Shriners collect. We also raised, under the leadership of Garrett Smith, $7,655.”

Wilhelm Llanillo, Potentate for the district, supports Campbell’s assertion.

"Not a single penny from the parents,” Llanillo said.

Past President, Garrett Smith, said a big thank you goes out to Steve Gober and the gang over at Stan’s in Goodland. The Shriners raised $7,655 at Stan’s. 

“With the generosity of Stan’s Idle Hour, and owner Steve Gober and his sons, and Jeff Hilt,” Smith said, "through the two raffles in the afternoon we were able to make all of that money. All of that goes to the children’s hospital. It’s all for the kids."