Every holiday season, TSRHC volunteer Bro. Ross C. Williams, 32°, carefully arranges the Dickens Village he and his wife, Jane, moved from their home to the atrium of the Hospital four years ago. Photo: TSRHC Media Services

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) was founded in 1921 by a Dallas orthopedic surgeon and a group of Masons who recognized a need to provide Texas children with exceptional medical care, regardless of their ability to pay. Supported entirely through voluntary donations, TSRHC has emerged as one of the nation’s leading centers for the treatment of pediatric orthopedic conditions and learning disorders, such as dyslexia. Thanks to the generosity of Masons, friends, corporations and foundations, TSRHC has never charged a patient family or billed insurance for the exceptional care it provides for children.

TSRHC relies on more than 800 devoted volunteers to complete a multitude of tasks ranging from working in the gift shop to checking patients into the clinics. One of these volunteers, Bro. Ross C. Williams, 32°, has been volunteering at TSRHC almost every Wednesday for more than 12 years. With 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, serving as the controller of Mobil Exploration and Producing Services Inc., Bro. Ross is now retired and using his business expertise to help TSRHC provide care for its patients. Ross spends most of his time volunteering in the Hospital’s oil and gas department, which manages minerals that friends donate to the Hospital. Working closely with TSRHC’s property department, the oil and gas department determines how best to use mineral donations to support the care of TSRHC’s patients.

In addition to helping the Hospital manage mineral and property donations, during the holidays, Ross devotes more than 100 hours to a piece of property on a much smaller scale. From early December until mid-January, one of the trademarks of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children is a Dickens Village display in the Hospital’s atrium. Modeled after well-known London landmarks and fictional structures from the world of Charles Dickens, the tiny buildings, along with ponds, moving people and a train, create scenes that captivate patients, families, staff members, and guests alike. Ross began setting up the display in the Hospital’s atrium four years ago, when the collection outgrew his home. Ross and his wife, Jane, spend approximately 80 hours setting up the scene, carefully unpacking the more than 125 pieces from 40 boxes and placing them in the exact same location each year. “I keep telling myself that I will not buy any more pieces,” Ross said. “But I can’t resist adding a house or two each year.” During the holidays, Ross can often be found in the Hospital’s atrium surveying the miniature property, making sure the lights are still on and the skaters are still moving methodically on the tiny frozen pond. After the holidays, he carefully repacks the entire collection, and he is already preparing to continue the tradition next year.

For information about becoming a volunteer at TSRHC, please call volunteer services at (214) 559-7825, or (800) 421-1121, extension 7825. For information about other ways to support the Hospital, please call the development department at (214) 559-7650, or (800) 424-1121, extension 7650, or visit www.tsrhc.org. Also, please see the TSRHC 2004 Holiday Cards in this issue.