PARISH-WIDE DRIVE A BIG SUCCESS FOR MOMMA’S HOUSE

On Friday, July 28, Brother Knights of Pope Pius XII Council gathered at our Chamber to sort and pack the dozens of most needed baby & household items collected during our June 24 – 25, 2023 Parish collection for MOMMA’S House. This was the fourth Parish-wide collection our Council has conducted (beginning in June 2021), with the full support of our former Pastor, Rev. Father Holz, to receive the extraordinary generosity from St. Raphael’s parishioners, dedicated to helping our local center for teenage mothers and their newborn babies. We were honored to deliver: dozens of diapers; cases of baby wipes, hand sanitizer, various paper products and a dozen containers of laundry detergent. In addition to these goods, we presented a monetary donation totaling $2,255 to Patricia Shea, founder & Director of MOMMA’S House.

The Knights of Columbus, with numerous other right to life advocates, began the annual “March of Life” in Washington 50 years ago. Determined to support, protect and defend homes for pregnant women and resource centers, to allow pregnant women, who chose life, to have safe places to do so. In response to the June 24, 2022 Dobbs decision issued by the Supreme Court, on July 1, 2022, the K of C Supreme Council implemented the Aid & Support After Pregnancy program (ASAP), designed to enhance individual K of C Council’s donations to the almost 3,000 pregnancy centers across the Nation, with a supplemental contribution. For every $500 in donations, the Supreme Council matches with an additional $100, up to a maximum of $400 per pregnancy center, in each Columbian Year. Our Council is pleased to report that, through our Faith in Action and the generosity of St. Raphael’s parishioners by donating over $2,000 in financial support, the Supreme Council awarded MOMMA’S House the maximum $400 in matching funds in the first year of the ASAP program. This July’s contribution, has given us a great start in this the 2nd Columbian Year. We hope to reach the Supreme Council’s maximum ASAP matching donation threshold for the 2nd year, after our MOMMAS House collection, planned for January 2024.

Brothers, as Catholic men in the Knights of Columbus, each of us are asked to stand up for our Faith; for Life, and to helping out, with the various charitable efforts our Council. We need your dedication to help with upcoming charitable events, such as: the Ukraine Solidarity Fund; Wounded Warrior Project; Charitable & Benevolent (C&B) raffle book sales; Keep Christ in Christmas, as well as the next MOMMA’S House drive. As Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly has stated: Where there’s a need, there’s a Knight.

Pictured below with founder & Director of MOMMA’S House, Patricia Shea; Worthy Grand Knight John Ryan; Deputy Grand Knight Tony Spinelli; Outer Guard John O’Toole, and Brothers Michael Visone and John Farley.