Marco Shriners Raise Nearly $8,000 for Children's Hospital

The Marco Shriners used a two pronged strategy to raise almost $8,000 for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The organization presented two checks totaling $7,907 to their potentate, Jeff Nowak, the commander for the Araba Temple which encompasses all of Southwest Florida. The presentation was made a Joey D’s on Marco Island Friday night, April 19.

“We organize two fundraisers throughout the year,” said Garrett Smith, president of the Marco Shriners. “One event at Stan's Idle Hour in Goodland is a 50-50 raffle, and that was $5,357. Then under the direction of John Campbell, we raised $2,550 at the big Publix here in Marco Island over a two day period. We call that a paper drive. People just came through on Super Bowl weekend and made donations. All the money that we're presenting here tonight is all going to the Shriners Hospitals. And the good news about that is that for the last 102 years, no child or family has ever paid one penny for medical care in the network of 22 hospitals and clinics in North America. Our group here is a very spirited group.”

Smith said people often don’t understand what the Shriners are all about.

"What a lot of people don't know about the Shriners is that in order to be a Shriner, first you have to be a Freemason,” said Smith. “So, we all share the Brotherhood of Freemasonry, which is the largest fraternity in the world and by some counts, the oldest. Ben Franklin and George Washington were Freemasons, and the list goes on and on and on. But before you can be a Shriner, you have to be a Master Mason.”

“What the Shriners do worldwide is kind of a known,” said Jeff Nowak. “But in the local area, we actually cover five counties in Southwest Florida: Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Hendry. All the members who are Shriners here are part of this temple and part of a worldwide group of almost 200,000 Shriners. Marco Island is a small, small piece of that. But we all have a common goal to take care of our kids and to have fun and fellowship and do what we do. The public is very supportive."