Knights of Columbus spread holiday warmth in Utah

Intermountain Catholic

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Jerry Hanten, the Utah Knights of Columbus state deputy, helps fit a child during the annual Coats for Kids event, which is held in conjunction with Catholic Community Services. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — Children throughout Utah in need of a new coat can stay warm this year, courtesy of the annual Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids.

On Dec. 1, families gathered at Catholic Community Services (CCS) in Ogden to receive coats, hats, gloves and scarves at the Coats for Kids distribution. The six Knights councils in northern Utah collected 300 coats, including five dozen donated by United Way of Northern Utah.

Also, "Saint Rose of Lima [Parish] did a fantastic job of collecting slightly used coats, and Your Valet Fine Dry Cleaning donated the dry cleaning of all those coats," said Joe Hudak, district deputy of the Knights’ District 9.

This was the second year that the Knights in northern Utah distributed in their area; last year, the council at Holy Family Parish donated $1,200 to buy six cases of coats to be given to local children, Hudak said.

This year, "we got the word out to the six councils and together we ordered 16 cases of coats," he said.

In the Salt Lake area, Coats for Kids started three years ago, said State Deputy Robert Masse, Jr. during the distribution Dec. 15 at CCS’ Saint Vincent de Paul Dining Hall in Salt Lake City.

"It’s grown over the years," Masse said. "We started out with 150 coats, we’ve gone to 300 and now we’re at 708 coats today."

Because of the success of the Utah Knights’ Coats for Kids program, the organization’s headquarters hired a video crew and still photographer to document the Dec. 15 distribution, Masse said. "It is nice that we’re being recognized throughout the world."

Other regional coat distributions are planned, Masse said. "We will do distributions in Wendover and Park City, the Summit County area ... and Provo will do some, too."

The Knights worked with CCS for the coat distribution, and "It’s a great partnership," said Dennis Kelsch, CCS program coordinator. "We deal with families that have four, five six kids ... so all of those are served with new coats, which we can’t provide but the Knights can.... It’s great for our families that can’t afford those kinds of things. They’d have to go with maybe a used coat or no coat, and now they’ve got new coats. They do need these coats, there’s no doubt about it, and we all know what new coats cost."

Erika Salinas, whose family was among those who braved the snow to go to the distribution, agreed. "It is really a help for us," she said. "We don’t have enough money to purchase our own coats. It really means a lot to have all of this stuff given out to us. It brings a smile to my little brother and my family."

Hudak said he was delighted to make a difference. "A lot of what the Knights do is charity," he said. "We might give a hundred dollars to an organization like YCC, but we don’t really see the impact of that. In this particular case, the brother Knights were actually able to see these kids put these coats on, and it was like Christmas for them. The smiles were incredible. I saw little girls see a coat that they liked and just clutch onto it like it was a baby doll. They wouldn’t let it go. It was heart-warming. Every Knight that I talked to that was involved with this felt that they were doing Christ’s work on earth."