Knights of Columbus
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas State Council of the Knights of Columbus has donated $71,000 to eight pregnancy centers throughout Kansas.
The donations were raised at the 122nd Annual Kansas Knights of Columbus State Convention, where $61,000 was raised or pledged to support the Aid and Support After Pregnancy Program (ASAP), an initiative to help moms and their new babies. The first $50,000 donated will be matched by a 20% grant from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in New Haven, CT.
The Knights’ ASAP initiative will enhance the significant resources the Knights and local councils already provide to mothers and their children, both born and unborn.
Donations were allocated to two pregnancy resource centers in each of the four Catholic Dioceses of Kansas. Centers receiving grants of $8,875, included Mary's Choices, Topeka, KS; Wyandotte Pregnancy Clinic, Kansas City, KS; Pregnancy and Family Care, Iola, KS; Open Door Pregnancy Center, Hutchinson, KS; Life Choices Ministries, Manhattan, KS Hope's Place, Sherman County Regional Pregnancy Support Center, Goodland, KS; Birthright of Great Bend, Great Bend, KS; and Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas, Dodge City, KS.
“These centers are often the lifeline new mothers and their babies need, offering vital support when needed the most”, noted Michael Grothoff, State Deputy for the Kansas Knights of Columbus. Grothoff noted that, “often these centers operate on funding from local sources alone and over 80% of centers receive no government funding.”
By the very nature of their founding, Knights of Columbus members are called to care for the widow and orphan. The Knights of Columbus believe in the dignity and worth of every human life, and work tirelessly, through prayer and action, to support mothers and their children. In 2021, Knights of Columbus donated $4.6 million and 469,000 volunteer hours to pregnancy centers and maternity homes, providing maternity and baby clothes, diapers, food and other items to women and children.
Founded in 1882 to assist working-class and immigrant Catholics in the United States, today the approximately two million members of the Knights put their faith into action through a broad range of charitable causes locally, nationally, and internationally through financial contributions and hands-on service. To join a local council, visit www.kofc.org/joinus.