KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS DONATE $100,000 TO SEVERAL L.A. FOOD BANKS IN EFFORTS TO HELP FAMILIES IN NEED DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
April 22, 2020  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

The Knights of Columbus, working through the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Hearts to Serve hotline program, has made a $100,000 gift to local food banks as part of a new national initiative to provide assistance to communities hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hearts to Serve was launched in March by the archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice, and Peace in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus. The hotline offers support to those in need, especially the elderly, homebound, and pregnant women. Shortly after the launch, Providence Community Health joined the effort by providing health professionals, such as social workers and registered nurses, to help answer the hotline calls and to offer additional services including assistance to navigate the healthcare system.

“The Knights of Columbus have long been good friends and partners in our work of serving the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez. “We are very grateful for their leadership in this national health emergency. Their generous gift is a beautiful sign of Christ’s compassion and will bring help and hope to thousands of families in need.”

Due to the positive response of the local program, the Knights have established their new national initiative, “Leave No Neighbor Behind.” The new program encourages Knights to assist their neighbors, including those in the community and parish, their fellow Knights of Columbus and others. Knights are also being encouraged to make blood donations, especially given current shortages.

The first phase of the national program will begin this week in Los Angeles, where the Knights have made a $100,000 commitment will be distributed to the following food banks based on their current needs:

  • Saint Francis Center (Los Angeles, CA.) – $25,000
  • Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission Catholic Church (Los Angeles, CA.) – $25,000
  • St. Joseph Center (Venice, CA.) – $25,000
  • East San Gabriel Homeless Coalition (Hacienda Heights, CA.) – $10,000
  • St. Madeline Catholic Church (Pomona, CA.) – $10,000
  • Foothills Kitchen (Monrovia, CA.) – $5,000

“We are facing a pandemic situation in which hunger is a growing concern for an increasing number of unemployed individuals and their families,” explained Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight and CEO Carl Anderson. “As an organization, we have provided vital support at key moments including during the 1918 flu pandemic, during two world wars, and after natural disasters. Our ‘Leave No Neighbor Behind’ initiative continues that tradition, and we will work directly with food banks to help ensure that food reaches those most in need in communities from coast to coast.”

As part of the national initiative, the Knights of Columbus is also asking its 1.25 million U.S members to help food banks by volunteering at their facilities and helping deliver food to those in need. The organization is also providing spiritual resources to its members and other Catholics geared to current circumstances in which access to mass and the sacraments are limited.

For more information on “Leave No Neighbor Behind,” or to donate, please visit: www.kofc.org. To connect with Hearts to Serve hotline call 855-423-6780 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

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