Greetings my Brothers!

This is Eric Morabito, “The Walking Man,” checking back in on Fez Friday.

Kosair Shrine Temple

In 2018 I had to travel to Louisville, KY, for work. I opted to drive down to stop at some Shrine Centers and the Lexington Shriners Hospital along the way. On one of my morning walks in Louisville, I came across a Silent Messenger statue that I thought was for the Kosair Shrine but turned out to be for the Kosair Charities, a division of the Kosair Shriners. I visited the Kosair Shrine that evening and was given a grand tour, and I also learned a little about the Kosair Charities.

In 1923, the Kosair Shrine Temple formed Kosair Charities Committee, Inc. and purchased six acres of land on Eastern Parkway for a hospital where children could receive quality healthcare. Kosair Charities owned the hospital. In 1926, the hospital opened, and on May 11, the first ten patients were admitted. It multiplied in the 30s, adding a new wing, and 40s-50s when polio was a top treatment priority. In the late 1970s, the Kosair Charities Committee began to collaborate with the Children’s Hospital, part of Norton Infirmary, under the advisement of University of Louisville pediatric physicians. This resulted in the consolidation and merger of Kosair Crippled Children Hospital and the Children’s Hospital, effective May 1, 1981.

Now a granting organization, Kosair Charities was able to broaden its scope of support, begin providing instrumental grants and individual help to families through the Kosair Kids Financial Assistance Program. Today, Kosair Charities is the largest charity for children in Kentucky and Southern Indiana history. For nearly 100 years, Kosair Charities has helped children reach their potential while overcoming their obstacles.