Knights Create Ripple Effect Through Charity

Knights are leading their families by example through charitable donations and the Leave No Neighbor Behind initiative

With countries still in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bonds of community are needed now more than ever. Knights know that how you live your faith in your community has a ripple effect that changes the world — and that’s why they lead their families, their domestic churches, in living their faith in action.

With the demands of social distancing, Knights have adapted the outreach to their local communities by providing funding and food to food banks, giving masks to hospitals and making supply runs for the elderly. It’s part of a new initiative called Leave No Neighbor Behind.

Check out some ways Knights are maintaining a sense of community during the pandemic through the initiative. Click here to donate to the Leave No Neighbor Behind fund:

West Park Healthcare
Knights of Columbus members from Cardinal Wyszynski Council 9296 in Toronto donated thousands of masks and gloves to West Park Healthcare when the clinic asked for more personal protective equipment for their medical staff.

Andrew Kwiatkowski, a Knight from Council 9296, said, “The novel virus COVID-19 has affected us all. We would like to recognize the tremendous work of all the local healthcare workers who are on the front lines, keeping us safe and healthy.”

Hearts to Serve
Los Angeles Knights of Columbus councils are partnering with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and St. Vincent de Paul Society to provide “Hearts to Serve,” a hotline serving those in need, especially the elderly, homebound and pregnant women during this difficult time.

Feeding South Dakota
When Knights from Holy Family Council 15748 of Sioux Falls, S.D., began holding a Food for Families drive at the beginning of Lent, never did they imagine that their collection would fulfill such a dire need this season. Now, they have more than 5,600 pounds of food ready for mission Feeding South Dakota.

Texas Makes 60,000 Phone Calls
The challenge was to make 50,000 phone calls. The state council wanted to make sure that local Knights and parishioners had enough supplies and were safe during the pandemic. Forty-eight hours later, however, they had reached out to more than 60,000 people. “It seemed to jump-start the councils into creating phone trees, emails and texts,” said Texas State Deputy Mark Evans. “That’s the fantastic part of this. We wanted phone calls, and instead we got whole new systems for councils to set up and start a regular program to stay in touch with their fellow man.”

Join us in our charitable outreach and donate to the Leave No Neighbor Behind Fund. You can also share your story of how your council is offering support during this time by emailing knightline@kofc.org.

Originally published in a special bi-weekly edition of Knightline, a resource for K of C leaders and members. Access Knightline’s monthly archives.