Get Involved
Charity in a time of Hardship
Our first principle is Charity. It is the virtue upon which adherence to God's Will is built. We all wish to believe our lives and actions are in accordance with the Will of God. Unfortunately, we have the capacity to rationalize our actions, our lack of actions and our attitudes.
During this time of the pandemic emergency, we have a ready-made reason for lack of action and for a non-charitable attitude. Until recently, we were required to cease gathering in groups, which severely hampered efforts to raise funds for charitable purposes. In this position of Vice-President of Florida KofC Charities, Inc., I have seen the steady decline of both Council and individual donations to our various programs. Unfortunately, I have also experienced various levels of non-charitable attitudes expressed either in person, on phone calls and in emails.
As Knights, we must constantly guard against non-charitable attitudes, words and actions. We must constantly be active in our own conversion and pray for the grace of conversion for others. As Knights, we must keep foremost in our mind our principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism, our obedience to Holy Mother Church and act accordingly.
As individuals, we should always examine our lives and attitudes in the light of our principles, the precepts of the Church and of course, the Gospels. As members of Councils, we should always examine our Council's activities and attitudes in the same way.
Florida KofC Charities, Inc. has seen an increase in the number of requests for grants for various charitable causes, all of which are worthy efforts. Sadly, we have not been able to respond as vigorously as we would like, due to the decline in donations. The majority of donations received are Designated Donations which means the funds received are sent out to the Designated Donees, in the same amount as we received. Charities, Inc. does not charge any fee for processing checks through our bank accounts. Our bank accounts are fee based which represent costs to Charities, Inc. just as accounts for many Councils and individuals.
The various Charities, Inc. programs support those areas of life that we, as Knights, hold dear. Helping Life, Vocations, Citizens with Disabilities Campaign, Mobile Disabilities, Memorial and Healing Mass Cards and Special Olympics support the causes from which the names are derived.
The Raffle supports the General Operations of Charities, Inc. that includes bank fees, audit fees, software costs for bookkeeping, Convention, Organizational and Mid-Year meetings. Charities, Inc., depends upon the generosity of our individual members and our Councils in order to support our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
It is my sincere hope that each and every member in our great Florida jurisdiction will respond generously to the Address Labels that have been recently mailed, our Vocations Letter which will be mailed soon, the Raffle effort as well as our other worthy efforts. It is together that we become a force of charity that can overcome the hardships that our less fortunate brothers and sisters experience every day.
Vivat Jesus!
Steve Ring