Boilermakers raise money for Shriners

WORKERS AT THE Prairie State Energy Campus in Washington County, Ill., participated in a fund-raiser Oct. 8 for Shriners Hospitals for Children. The workers donated over $5,300 in response to the Shriners’ annual “Paper Crusade.”

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Shriners raising funds for children’s hospitals include Local 27 member Jeff Casson (third from right) and his father and brother, L-27 retirees David Sr. (ctr.) and David Jr. (r.)

St. Louis Local 27 member Jeff Casson works for Bechtel at the site, under the jurisdiction of Local 363 (E. St. Louis, Ill.). He and his father and brother, L-27 retirees David Sr. and David Jr., are members of the Belleville Shriner Group that solicited donations at two of the Energy Campus entrances by distributing bulletins about Shriner hospitals.

The Shriners depend on the generosity of others to support their mission of caring for children. “We thank all the union craft men and women, and supervision [for their support],” said Lee Owens, president of the Belleville Shrine Club and a retired union meat cutter.

Over 3,500 building trades members, including nearly 1,000 Boilermakers, are working at the Energy Campus on the largest coal plant currently being built in the United States.