The Knights of Columbus Monsignor James S. Conlan Council #5329 held a Coin Drop Fundraiser on Saturday; October 2, 2021 from 10AM-1PM in Pine Bush, New York. The Coin Drop was a big success as we totaled $978.00! We wish to thank all the Brothers Knights that came out to donate their time to to collect donations from the very generous and gracious folks at our locations on Boniface Drive near Hannaford’s Supermarket. A big thank you to those who gave donations and their well wishes, to the Crawford Town Clerk, Town Board and administration, the Crawford Police and to Hannaford’s management. This event would not have been such a great success if it were for not all of you! Also thank you to Father Niranjan Rodrigo of the Church of the Infant Saviour in Pine Bush, NY for coming out to help us collect donations, as well as, for allowing us to use the Church Hall after the event to total up donations. This money will be put to good use in our community and our Council is very excited to have the community’s support in all we do, as well as, your trust that your donations will be put to good use.
$76.00 of the donations was in change and this will be put towards this year’s Jerry’s Jars. Each year our Council collects spare change throughout the year and in December collects it into a single jar. “Jerry’s Jars” is named after our past Financial Secretary Jerry Wieczorek who instituted the practice of our members saving change all year to add together at Christmas time so we can give it to a family in need. It is in the spirit of the best selling book, “Christmas Jars” by Jason Wright. Sadly, Jerry passed away only a couple of years after this was started and it is great that we can keep his ministry alive. Once again this year our Council will donate the money to a person or family in need within our Parish area. Nominations come from many different resources and are done so anonymously. Only a few Brother Knights that are vowed to secrecy know who we donate the money to and we never actually talk with the person who gets the donation so they do not even know where the money came from. It just appears on their doorstep on a randomly decided morning. This donation is part of our Annual Charitable Giving plan and is yet another way our Council helps the local community through charitable giving, as well as, volunteer work. Over the years we have given away hundreds of dollars (and really probably over a thousand dollars– we don’t really keep count) to people in need through this program. Along with the money we get donated this year from our Brother Knights, this $76 will make a good starting point for a family in need within our community come this holiday season and we will update you as we get closer to this donation program’s scheduling.
Our Council is also discussing several other items we will use the money towards. We are once again looking at restarting our Annual Christmas Meals For Needy Families program. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to hold this program; but we are hoping this year to restart it as an annual charity program. Each year our Council buys everything needed for a complete Christmas dinner and gives those dinners to families in need within our Parish area. In years past we fed over 70 families each year and we would love to do so again this year. This meal donation program is part of our Annual Charitable Giving plan and is yet another way our Council helps the local community through charitable giving, as well as, volunteer work. We normally sponsor a 50/50 raffle to make this program happen, but with this money we will be able to offset some of this cost ahead of that raffle. Once again as we draw closer to this program being scheduled along with the 50/50 Raffle Fundraiser we will let you know. While this fundraiser did not raise all the money needed to host the program this will help us to have seed funds to start collecting supplies. Along with the 50/50 Fundraiser we will be able to cover all the costs associated with this program, as well as, be able to feed a sizable amount of people in need of food during Christmas.
Another program our Council is looking at doing this year is the Coats for Kids Program. We did this program for the first time last year and were able to donate twelve brand new winter coats to Catholic Charities. The hope is we can do this again this year. Our Council utilizes the Knights of Columbus’ Coats for Kids program to source the donation at cost through the Knights Supreme Council’s bulk purchasing system. This lowers the cost per coat by purchasing them at near cost from manufactures that provide them in bulk to Supreme who in turn then is able to distribute them at that same cost to each local Council who then reimburses Supreme that amount from their local charity raising funds. This would allow us to get twelve coats at a price that would normally, in retail stores, only purchase two equivalent coats. The program is another great way the Knights of Columbus use their membership numbers to serve those in need throughout all the communities our Councils serve. Since its inception in 2009, the Knights have provided over 500,000 children’s coats to those in need throughout the world. We are humbled and grateful to be able to continue to advance this mission of charity and mercy towards those in need within the communities served by our Council, as well as, make sure twelve more children will not go without a good coat this winter to keep them warm. We will update you as we also get closer to scheduling this program.
We cannot thank the Pine Bush community enough for its compassion and kindness in giving. Our Council’s expectations were far exceeded and we are so grateful for your support, as well as, appreciate all the patience of those busy residents who waited while we collected donations. You donation of a few minutes will greatly help out so many others in our community as will the financial support of all who gave money to our Council to support the above programs. May God bless you and your loved ones for your charity of heart! Please keep our Council in your prayers as we continue to work on our charity initiatives for those in need!
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