The Knights of Columbus branch at the Church of Our Lady in Moose Jaw recently bought 60 new winter coats and distributed them to the needy in the community as part of their ongoing support of youths, said Al Thiessen with the Knights.
"We're just a small council of about 60 members, but we have a part of our budget allocated to go toward helping youths," Thiessen explained. "We haven't spent any of that, probably since COVID, so we decided we had enough money to buy some coats for kids."
The Knights of Columbus purchase the coats in bulk to maximize how far the funds will go, with the larger organization matching funds from local councils. About 1,000 coats were shipped to Regina, out of which the Knights of Columbus Father Gilpin Council No. 9760 — associated specifically with the Church of Our Lady in Moose Jaw — bought 60.
"We picked a couple weekends, two Sundays after Mass, and advertised ahead of time and laid them out. And people would come and pick up the coats they needed for their kids, free of charge. And once we had finished that, I took the remaining eight and gave four to the Moose Jaw Multicultural Council so they could go to newcomers, and another four to the Moose Jaw Transition House," he said.
Thiessen has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 25 years. It is a Catholic fraternity, a bit like the Freemasons or the Kinsmen, he said, and the men's group is often known as the "backbone" of their local church.
"We raise money for a lot of charities, we have a scholarship we give out once a year, we hosted our 'Keep Christ in Christmas' decoration contest recently, and other things like that. Pancake breakfasts for our church every month or two, we had a ham-and-turkey bingo a couple weeks back, and we do raffles, and that's how we raise money for 'Coats for Kids' and our other charity causes."
Thiessen said he is only one of many who come out to help whenever they're needed, and he thanked all his fellow members for the time and effort they volunteer.
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