"Big 33" Participants Visit Masonic Children's Home

Four "Big 33" football players, four cheerleaders, and one coach visited the Masonic Children's Home at Elizabethtown and delighted the youth on Monday, July 15. It was the eighth consecutive year that Big 33 participants have visited the Masonic Children's Home. In addition, youth from the Masonic Homes' Child Care Center were invited to participate as well. As is obvious in the picture, all had a marvelous time.

"The Big 33 football players and cheerleaders are positive role models for our children," said Bro. Gilson "Buz" Cash, Director of Children's Services and a member of the Operations Committee for Big 33. "We enjoy having them here and, through their interactions with the young kids, the participants are able to give something back for the blessings they experience, by sharing their talents as athletes."

The Big 33 game started in 1957. Each year, the top 33 high school seniors from throughout Pennsylvania are selected by the Pennsylvania Scholastic High School Football Association to travel to Hershey for a week to play 33 all-stars from Ohio. Sixty-six cheerleaders from Central Pennsylvania cheer on the teams. This year, Pennsylvania defeated Ohio, 40-17.

According to Bro. Cash, the game is considered by many to be the "Super Bowl of High School Football," since there has never been a Super Bowl played that did not include an alumnus of the Big 33 game. Proceeds from the Big 33 game go toward non-athletic scholarships for high school students.