GoBetsy gets Shriners new bus

Published 9:12 am Monday, May 22, 2023

By Angela Cutrer

Star Correspondent

Thanks to the generosity of GoBetsy, the Jericho Shrine Oriental Band has a new bus. Not only that, but it’s a snazzy one thanks to the wrap that now encases the vehicle. “We had an old bus that made a lot of trips,” Shriner Bob Carroll said. “On the way home from our last trip, the engine blew. We had just put $1,800 worth of tires on the back, so our coffers were empty. We had just depleted all our funds.”

Enter GoBetsy, who found out about the issue. Chris Little, Danny Ward, Karen Hitchcock and Juanita McKinney make up GoBetsy, and Ward said he knew the Shriners were a nonprofit his group wanted to support. “They do a lot of good things for children,” he said. “They support the Shriners Hospital for Children and children will ride that bus, so we were glad to help.” Ward said it took a while for the Carter County School District to put up for auction the bus they had their eyes on, but when it finally happened, GoBetsy bought it for $1,500 and then sent it to be “wrapped.”

When a vehicle is wrapped, as explained by Car and Driver, “several huge vinyl decals …are applied to every panel of [the vehicle] — the hood, doors, fenders, roof, deck lid, and bumper covers. A wrap covers every square inch of the body. None of [the] vehicle’s original color will show anywhere on the outside. In that sense, a wrap acts just like a paint job.” What the wrap didn’t cover Carroll and Ward used money out of their own pockets to have those places painted.

The wrapping cost a further $4,500 and GoBetsy took care of that. “I couldn’t think of a better nonprofit to support,” Ward said, adding, “The bus is ‘wrapped’ in love and we hope everyone will come out and support the Shriners as they sell their papers.”

The Shriners themselves did a lot of the other repairs needed on the 66-passenger diesel bus. One fun part of the wrap is where it says, “powered by GoBetsy and friends.” “We got it back about a month ago,” Carroll said. “We thank GoBetsy for all that they do. They do things for so many. We are very pleased to have it and it’s helped fill a great need.” Shriners are part of an American Masonic society established in 1870. The group raises money for Shriners’ Hospital for Children, which takes no money from its patients, who are children dealing with burns or orthopedic issues. The 200-chapter fraternity established Shriners Hospitals for Children as its official philanthropy in 1922 and continues to support it through different community engagements.

For example, for every dollar Shriners collect from paper sales, 99 cents goes to the hospital while the other penny goes to the publisher. The Shriners take zero of the funds. So when you see a Shriner selling papers at an intersection, purchase one knowing that your money is going to a good cause. And look out for the new Shriners’ bus at the next parade! But if you want to see it right now, it’s parked at the Food City grocery store.