Two Kinds of Charity

The published philanthropy of Shriners International, an appendant body whose membership is open to Master Masons. The network treats children for orthopedic conditions, burns, cleft lip and palate, and spinal cord injuries, traditionally without billing the family. The hospitals are the most publicly visible of the Masonic charities; many a stranger first learns the Craft exists by way of a Shriners parade or a hospital story.