The Shrine was founded in 1872 in New York and the first Shrine Temple (corporate headquarters) was named Mecca in line with the Arabic accent that was adopted for ceremonial and motif purposes. Omar Shrine Center received its charter in 1907 as Omar Temple and was located at 40-44 East Bay St., Charleston, SC until 1996 when the operation moved to Mt. Pleasant. Beginning with the first hospital that opened in Shreveport, LA in 1922, the Shrinés official philanthropy is Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of nineteen orthopedic hospitals and three burn institutes that providing expert, no cost orthopedic and burn care for children under 18. more... See more text