Knights of Columbus hurricane relief a success

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — "The knights of Columbus response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been one of the most dramatic in our 124 year history," Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said Aug. 28. "As we approach the first anniversary of Katrina’s assault on the Gulf Coast, it is clear that much remains to be done. But it is also clear that the response to the crisis by faith-based volunteer organizations like the Knights of Columbus was a bright spot in the wrenching aftermath of this immense natural disaster."

The Knights of Columbus Gulf States Disaster Relief Fund grew to more than $10 million, and that financial aid was supplemented by hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours of service by Knights in the immediate area, such as work done by hundreds of Knights working eight hour shifts at the Houston Astrodome, and by Knights throughout the U.S. and Canada who collected clothing, food, and other staples for storm victims.

The Knights of Columbus also quickly provided badly needed resources to Catholic Charities in Baton Rouge, La., and Mobile, Ala., when they were suddenly overwhelmed with thousands of people who escaped the storm with little more than the clothes on their backs. The Knights wired $200,000 to Baton Rouge Catholic Charities just a few days after the storm hit, long before resources were available from any other source.

Individual Knights of Columbus at dozens of Knights of Columbus halls in the region served thousands of meals to evacuees, and several Knights of Columbus halls were made available to police and national guard officials for use as temporary command centers.

The Knights of Columbus also made significant contributions to the restoration of Catholic education in the affected areas, including a $500,000 grant to the New Orleans Catholic school system which paid tuition expenses for hundreds of low-income students whose parents were suddenly left without jobs or income. With the help of the Knights of Columbus, 83 of the city’s Catholic schools were able to reopen. State councils in New York and New Jersey adopted Catholic high schools that had been damaged or destroyed, raising $234,000 for Archbishop Hannon High School, which was destroyed, and $65,000 for St. Augustine High School, which is being repaired and is once again serving the low-income community.