Supreme Council Article

KNIGHTS RESPOND TO CANADIAN FLOODING

5/23/2019
By Andrew Fowler

E-BLAST Sent on May 14, 2019

 Rising Waters…………

                                  Knights in Action assist !!!

On Sat May 11^th, District Deputy 36 Jim Kay with brother Knights, arrived at Clarington (east of Oshawa) to roll up their sleeves to assist local residents fill sandbags in preparation of rising waters along the banks of Lake Ont.

Approximately 1300 sandbags were filled in 4 hours.

Knights doing ‘Our Faith in Action’ Program -Disaster Relief, are making a difference in the lives of communities in Ontario.

State of Emergencies in Ottawa, Pembroke, and other areas of the Province have been declared (see attached report from the NGO Alliance Ontario)

I have asked Brother Harold Marcotte of Ottawa, and Brother Jerry Hayes, Communications Director, to coordinate our efforts together with the NGO Alliance (Non-Governmental Organization Alliance).  This Alliance works together to coordinate disaster response in areas not covered by the government.

DISTRICT DEPUTIES:
Please put out a call to your Grand Knights asking them to solicit their members to give their names and numbers if they would be able to volunteer when a call is received?

Not sure what is happening currently in Ottawa as work remains in a holding pattern awaiting the waters to subside.  We may be asked to help in some way with the clean up effort.

Recognizing that some of us have limited physical capabilities the areas where we would be asked to assist would most likely be:

1. sandbagging (many areas have sandbagging machines) filling sandbags, placing or removing sandbags;
2. helping to distribute water, food, or clothing.  I have been in contact with Supreme and they will assist with providing these types of items and we are arranging ‘Staging areas’ for pellets of water and other items to be delivered to assist with the needs we know we will soon be called to provide.  Supreme Council has already provided $30,000.00 for the flood relief and we are accepting donations from Councils, Assemblies, Organizations and individuals;
3. hosting and/or cooking meals;

1. any other areas where we can be of the most assistance.  What we do not want to do is to duplicate any service that is already being provided, this is why we are coordinating our efforts with the NGO Alliance of Ontario.
2. Pray for the victims of the Flooding throughout Ontario and Quebec.

It is important to be ready for deployment when the call come to us for help.

Many areas are not safe to do actual cleanup yet due to the raging waters so we are in a holding pattern just now, but the time will come soon for us to assist.

If YOU or other members go to help;

• WEAR KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS clothing (hats, shirts)
• Report on how many and how long You/members work
• Take PHOTOS identifying the names and council #s involved
• SEND your Report and photos to Brother Jerry Hayes [email protected] and myself, [email protected]
• SPREAD the word among your friends and church community encouraging others to step up  -This is a great opportunity for EVANGELIZATION

In conversations I have had with many young people, they tell me they want to “do hands on work and not just do fundraising”.  This is the chance to involve those young people (older aged high school and university students Catholic and Non-Catholic).

As I mentioned above, the Supreme Council has already provided $30,000.00 for the flood relief and we are accepting donations from Councils, Assemblies, Organizations and individuals.

Donations can be made to:
Knights of Columbus Ontario Charities Foundation

And mail to:
Knights of Columbus
393 Rymal Rd West, Suite 201
Hamilton, Ontario L9B 1V2

Let’s pray for the victims of the Flooding and assist wherever you are able!

Dan Heffernan
Ontario State Deputy

[email protected]

*See Attached Report from NGO Alliance Ontario.  Knights of Columbus are listed in RED (my highlights)