Knights of Columbus LaGrange Council 6483

2013 Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity results:

Fraternal Survey Numbers Reach New Records

The numbers alone prove once again how continuously successful the Knights of Columbus has been at providing for those in need worldwide. The results of this year’s Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity attest to the Knight’s core principles of charity and fraternity. Members and brothers worked together to change lives in positive ways across the world, setting an all-time record for charitable donations and service hours in 2013.

· State councils, local councils, assemblies, circles and the Supreme Council total contributions: $170,135,754

· Total volunteer/fraternal activity hours: 70,534,278

· Total meetings held during the fraternal year: 308,454

· Number of blood donors: 410,950

· Visits to sick and bereaved: 5,041,154

· Estimated hours of fraternal service: 9,055,523

· Volunteer hours for Habitat for Humanity: 205,788

· Donations to Church activities: $48,083,265

· Donations to community activities: $57,419,054

· Donations to youth activities: $18,030,999

· 10 year cumulative charitable disbursements: $1,515,757,112

· 10 year estimated hours of volunteer service: 682,950,911

These numbers are impressive, but tell only a part of our story. A total of 81 percent of all K of C units responded to the 2013 Annual Survey of Fraternal Activity. Imagine what our numbers would look like if we had a 100 percent response.

For a more detailed look at our Order’s accomplishments in the past year, view the Supreme Council Annual Meeting at kofc.org/convention.

Reprinted from Knightline August 2014

About Council 6483:

May 1973, forty-four men of St Louise de Merillac, St Francis Xavier and St Cletus parishes assembled to organize and inaugurate the LaGrange Council of the Knights of Columbus. St Joseph Academy (now Nazareth Academy) hosted the meetings of the newly charted council. As did Columbus the explorer, the knights ventured forth, through meeting places at Rich Port Realty in LaGrange, the American Legion Hall in Western Springs, the Helping Hand Center on Eberly in Brookfield, and the Helping Hand Center on Kensington in LaGrange, before settling at the rectory of St Francis Xavier in LaGrange. From each location, the knights met and planned community service projects for their neighbors, and social engagements for their families and friends.

Early fund raisers included bake sales and garage sales, and the Mentally Handicapped Drive (now the Intellectual Disabilities Drive / "Tootsie Roll Drive"). The knights loved parades and it showed. They marched in the famous Pet Parade. Then they rode in a decorated van, followed by a station wagon to hold more people, and a pick-up truck to hold even more, and then a limousine just for fun. When the knights got their hands on a big flat-bed truck, they built an award winning Pet Parade float that was invited to the Brookfield Fourth of July parade, too. They were on a roll.

Free throw shooting contests were sponsored at St Francis, Ogden, and St Barbara schools. An essay contest and spelling bee were added to encourage and recognize young scholars. Council picnics and formal dinner dances celebrated successes and attracted more knights to join in the fun and good works of the council.

As times have changed, so have the look and feel and activities of the council. But the good works and good friendships endure. Forty years later, ten of the original forty-four remain on the council roster.

Today, the knights of Council 6483 serve six parishes: St Francis Xavier in LaGrange, St Barbara in Brookfield, St Cletus in LaGrange, Mater Christy in North Riverside, St Louise de Merillac in LaGrange Park, and St John of the Cross in Western Springs. Community service and good works include the Intellectual Disabilities Drive, Helping Hand Christmas Party, Spelling Bee, Essay Contest, Recognition Night, Corporate Communions, Food Drive, Coat Drive, Memorial Mass, and Night of Recollection. We are proud of our history and committed to the future. Part of that future is the recruitment of more men of values who are willing to act upon their values for the benefit of their families and communities. The mission goes on and new knights are needed to continue the good works and create new happy memories in the tradition of the knights. Proudly remembering our past, and firmly committed to the future for our families and communities, we are the Knights of Columbus Council 6483.

Click to contact Knights of Columbus Council 6483