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The charitable gifts of the nearly 1.7 million members of the Knights of Columbus reached all-time record highs in 2003. According to the organization's annual Survey of Fraternal Activity, Knights at all levels reported raising and contributing to charity $130 million. For 2002, the figure was $128.5 million.
The total includes $21.5 million disbursed by the Knights’ international office through various foundations, including funds earmarked for the pope, Christians in the Holy Land and the programs of the bishops’ conferences of the United States, Canada and Mexico, among others. In 2003 the Knights partnered with the Wheelchair Foundation to send several thousand wheelchairs to landmine victims and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. Additionally, working with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, the Knights published 200,000 copies of a Catholic prayer book for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"Charity is the first lesson a member learns when he joins the Knights, and these figures show how much that means to him," said Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Catholic fraternal benefit society and chief executive officer.
Knights of Columbus gifts went beyond money, as members reported volunteering an all-time high of 61 million hours of time in 2003. The 2002 figure was 60.8 million.
"We are committed to our communities," said Anderson. "Whether it is volunteering at Special Olympics games, visiting veterans in hospitals, or helping out in our local Catholic parishes and schools, we seek to better the lives of our neighbors."
The annual Survey of Fraternal Activity was filed by close to 12,000 state and local units of the Knights, or approximately 73 percent of all officially chartered groups.
Other 2003 fraternal survey statistics show that 381,128 Knights were blood donors and that members made 5.7 million visits to the sick and bereaved.
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