Brick, Elizabeth
English 801A
April 22, 2015
Shriners
Hospital for Children vs. The Amputee Coalition of America
Two
Facebook pages, similar goals, and two different ways of reaching that goal.
These two pages are both set up for Amputee’s, they are used to bring awareness
to the struggles of Amputee’s on a daily basis. Shriners Hospital for Children
is a great non-profit organization that gives children under the age of
eighteen, prosthetics or cosmetic surgeries. Shriners has a Facebook page
mostly to show what is going on in each Shriners Hospital location. On the
other hand there is an organization that is also non-profit called The Amputee
Coalition of America. This organization doesn’t not physically provide
prosthetics but is a community of amputee’s. Both of these pages are different
but, they reach towards the same goal.
First, Shriners Hospital for Children has a fan page on Facebook it is run by the owners of the organization. When you first click on the page you see the cover photo, which is a few pictures of patients with a quote “Love is… See what love means to our patients at lovetotherescue.org.” This shows that Shriners has a big heart when it comes to their patients.
Their profile picture is one they've had as their brand picture for years. It’s a Shriner holding a child inside of a heart, it’s a very touching photo and it is made to have no faces. It’s been this picture for as long as I can
remember, even before Facebook had been invented. Shriner’s posts several times
a week to keep their followers updated on what is happening in their several
locations. They also post pictures of stars visiting these locations, taking
pictures with patients and staff, and giving donations to the hospital. The
hospital asks for donations on Facebook but does not make it an often habit.
They even throw concerts for people who donate to the hospital, if you donate
so much money. Another thing Shriners does often is inform followers of new
technology and surgeries they are trying across the country. Anyone can comment
on the posts but you cannot post on the page for everyone to see, you must be
the page creator to post pictures or statuses. Amputee’s that are looking for
answers to questions they have about their prosthetics or anything else will
need to make an appointment with a doctor. One thing that Shriners does is post
the stories of lucky patients, how they lost their limb and how they've overcome a struggle. This motivates other amputee’s to better themselves or try
harder in their own lives.
After
interviewing a few people, whom have Facebook pages, about the look of both
pages I found that most people liked the Shriners Facebook page. I asked four
people to answer this question “Just by looking at the two pages presented to
you, which page would you be more likely to visit?” Three out of four
participants agreed that the Shriners Facebook page looked nicer than the
Amputee Coalition’s. A participant stated “I'd probably visit the first one
because it gives more of a visual Image then to the other page which is just
statuses about the place then to actually seeing what they are all about but
that's just me though.” On the other hand another said that she enjoyed both
pages “I like the look of both pages, because they all have pictures that
captivate you.” I also asked my participants “After reading some of the posts,
and comments, which page do you find more helpful?” All of the participants
agreed that the Amputee Coalition was the more helpful page “I found the
Amputee Coalition to be more helpful because they had more questions and
answers whereas Shriners just has pictures of their hospital and famous people.”
Another question I brought up in the interview process was “What caught your
attention on both of the pages?” all of them said the pictures is what caught
their attention on each Facebook page presented to them. I even dared to take
it a little further and ask them to put themselves in an amputee’s shoes or
legs or arms, “If you were an amputee which page do you think you would visit
more?” All of the participants answered in favor of the Amputee Coalition, one
explained “I'd visit the amputee coalition more probably because people ask
frequent questions that they experience everyday like with pain, rashes, and
etc or just with everyday life questions about amputees.”
Even though these
two Facebook pages differ in many ways they are also similar. They are both
reaching towards the same goal and they both have the same meaning. They both
bring awareness to limb loss and try to get donations for needy children who
can’t afford prosthetics. As a participant of my interview said “I feel that
the Shriner's Hospitals page definitely raises more awareness. Shriner's shows
more faces and children with public figures and talks about where they are
located or will be located. Amputee Coalition's page definitely addresses
amputees concerns through posts because most of the pictures and posts are
about concerns or situations with amputees and people offering suggestions to
resolve their concerns.” Both of these pages help take care of amputees in
their time of need even though it is sometimes in different ways. Both
organizations accept and ask for donations and they even work together on a
summer program. Every summer The Amputee Coalition of America sets up a camp
with the donations they have received over the year. Shriners Hospital and
Hanger Clinics are the only organizations who are allowed to enroll children in
this summer program. Even though these organizations are different they both
work towards a larger goal and that’s to make amputees comfortable and make
them feel better about their circumstance.
Closing up my interview I decided to ask my
participants if they had ever heard of these organizations before, several
answered yes and no. It seemed like they had heard of one organization but not
both. Then I asked them “Do these organizations interest you?” a few of them
said yes because they have a relative or someone close to them who is an
amputee. One said “I am interested in these organizations not just because my
granddaughter is an amputee but because these organizations help people and
give them hope for the future,” I strongly agree with her reasoning. Before
ending the interview I decided to ask two more important questions, the next
question resulted in a variety of answers, “When, if ever, would you have
visited these pages if they were not brought to your attention?” Two participant’s
said “I would have eventually fallen on them since one of my relatives is an
amputee,” another said “Probably never, unless I was searching for a friend in
crisis. Then I might have stumbled upon them through Google.” Another said
something very close to that participant “I would have only heard about it
through television commercials.” I then brought my interview to a close by
asking my participants “Now that you know a little background to each
organization, which organization do you find more helpful to amputees?” Most of
the feedback I received was along the lines of “Shriners, because they actually
provide prosthetics, surgery’s and other things for the patients.” I also had a
participant say she believes that both organizations are helpful “I think
Shriners is an amazing hospital and helps the patients more than any other type
of hospital would, but I also feel that The Amputee Coalition of America gives
the patients an outlet. It’s a space where they can express themselves and find
help easier, I also find it amazing that they set up summer camps for the
children so that they can meet other kids just like them and know they aren’t
alone in the world.” She makes an amazing point about the summer camp because, it
is a place where children can go and be themselves without feeling like they
are handicapped.
In
conclusion, these two Facebook pages have a very deep meaning. The way they
bring awareness to this meaning is in different ways but they both reach the
same goal in the end and that’s to make amputees feel normal. One focuses on
gaining donations through their Facebook page to be able to provide prosthetics
to children. Whereas the other focuses on giving amputees advice that can be
used in their daily lives and making them feel like they belong somewhere through
their Facebook page. Being an amputee myself I find that I go on The Amputee
Coalition much more often than Shriners Hospital. The only reason for that is
because I get a lot of good advice from the other amputee’s and I like being
able to answer some of their questions. I enjoy seeing Shriners Hospital for
Children pop up on my dashboard because I like to see how they are doing. What
is fun is when I see my old doctors preforming never done surgeries and I can
look back and say “he worked on me.” In general I find the Amputee Coalition of
American much more helpful just because it provides advice that I can use in my
daily life without seeing my doctor. Both pages are amazing and stand for an
amazing cause, I support both but, I feel that Shriners could create a page
like the Amputee Coalition that helps amputees when they can’t go into the
hospital for an appointment. The main point is that amputee's everywhere should have more resources, awareness and hope. This is what these two organizations do for amputee's it brings all of us hope.
Interviews:
- (questions from P2 answered later:
- Have you heard of these organizations before? P2: No
- If not, do you think you would have ever found out about them? P2: Through television commercials
- Now that you know a little background to each organization, which organization do you find more helpful to amputees? P2: Shriners because they actually provide the prosthetics for people.
EB: Do you currently have a Facebook?
P3: Yes
P4: Yes
EB: Just by looking at the two pages presented to you, which page are you most likely to visit more?
P3: Shriners because of the pictures
P4: I
like the look of both pages, because they all have pictures that captivate you
EB: After reading some posts and comments, which page do you find more helpful?
P3: Amputee Coalition, they have more questions
P4: I
found the Amputee Coalition to be more helpful because they had more questions
and answers whereas Shriners just has pictures of their hospital and famous
people.
EB:What caught your attention on both pages?
P3: The pictures of the amputees and famous people
P4: The pictures and posts about the patients and buildings
EB: If you were an amputee which page do you think you would visit more?
P3: The amputee coalition because they have more questions and answers.
P4: The amputee coalition.
EB: Have you heard of there organizations before?
P3: Yes
P4: Yes
EB: If yes, which organization have you heard of?
P3: Shriners
P4: Both of them
EB: When, if ever, would you have visited these pages if they were not brought to your attention?
P3: I
would have eventually fallen on them since one of my relatives is an amputee
P4: Yes, I would have researched them for my granddaughter who is an amputee
EB: Do these organizations interest you? why or why not?
P3: Yes, because my sister is an amputee.
P4:I
am interested in these organizations not just because my granddaughter is an
amputee but because these organizations help people and give them hope for the
future
EB: Now that you know a little background to each organization, which organization do you find more helpful to amputees?
P3: Shriners,
because they actually provide prosthetics, surgery’s and other things for the
patients
P4:I think
Shriners is an amazing hospital and helps the patients more than any other type
of hospital would, but I also feel that The Amputee Coalition of America gives
the patients an outlet. It’s a space where they can express themselves and find
help easier, I also find it amazing that they set up summer camps for the
children so that they can meet other kids just like them and know they aren’t
alone in the world
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