In a letter to the Supreme Convention in July 1961, SK President John F. Kennedy praised the Knights’ charity and service, writing that their “countless allied activities all unselfishly offered in the name of our common humanity have served to strengthen and solidify their hold on the public heart.”
President Kennedy was a 4th-degree Knight from Bunker Hill Council #62 in Massachusetts. He joined on March 17, 1946. A copy of his original Form 100 is included here.
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The goal of the membership team and of councils is to increase membership in our order. Many ask why growth in the order is so critical and why such emphasis is placed on increasing membership. The answer is simple. Without growth, our programs fail to have new ideas and become stagnant. The various charitable, church, council, and youth programs are what the Knights of Columbus are known for, and those programs require new members.
In the State of Florida and across the country, our order continues to grow. But we need to extend the benefits of membership to all Catholic Men. The insurance benefits alone are a reason that the Knights of Columbus exist. But more to the point, imagine if even half of the men in your local parish were Knights, think of the good charitable works that can be accomplished!
Today, the Order has grown to over 1.9 million members, more than 55,000 of them here in the state of Florida. Our resources are utilized to support numerous causes, programs, and parishes worldwide, and most importantly, in our local communities. Through continued growth, we not only preserve the goal of our founder, Father McGivney, but we also seize the opportunity to help parishes prosper in five key areas of service: faith, community, family, youth, and fellowship. Because of his vision and the hard work of dedicated Knights, today the Knights of Columbus is a well-respected service organization of more than 300 local councils in the state of Florida. Councils that help their community and their parishes flourish.
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