By Jessica Meditz
jmeditz@queensledger.com
Bill Kuil, Don Gander, Ken Engesser, Aiden O’Callaghan, Gerry O’Callaghan, Sal Laurenzano helped collect items for the catastrophic floods in Kentucky.
Although Kentucky is hundreds of miles away from New York City, distance didn’t stop local Knights of Columbus councils from helping folks in need.
The Knights of Columbus of Msgr. Sherman Council No. 5103 in Glendale organized a drive to help the victims of the catastrophic floods in Kentucky.
At the end of July, eastern Kentucky as well as parts of Missouri, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia and the Las Vegas Valley experienced severe floods over a week-long span.
At least 39 people died as a result of the flooding in Kentucky, and countless people lost their homes and all their belongings.
In an effort to provide relief, the Knights of Columbus collected items in high demand, such as nonperishable food, cleaning supplies, water jugs and hand sanitizer.
The Knights of Columbus will make the trip down to Kentucky on Tuesday.
They held a series of drop-offs at the Council this week and the one prior, and will load up a truck to transport the items to Kentucky themselves, making the 11-hour drive next Tuesday.
The Council received close to $10,000 between cash and nonperishable supplies for the people that need support from the flooding.
A total of four trucks among Council No. 5103 and other councils across Queens and Brooklyn will combine their donations and drop them off to a Knights of Columbus connection they’ve made in Kentucky.
They also received donations from parishioners of Sacred Heart of Glendale.
Past Grand Knight Gerry O’Callaghan said that this is not the first time the Knights of Columbus have helped their friends across state lines, in fact, he participated in relief efforts for New Bern, N.C. when the city experienced severe floods.
“When we had Hurricane Ida, the people we helped out in New Bern and in Texas immediately called up and said, ‘What do you guys need?’ For me, it was a chance to give back because when we needed help as a community in New York, they came to help us,” he said.
Other members of the council simply feel it is their duty and calling to help people in need.
“When asked why we’re doing this, I refer to the watch words of the Knights of Columbus, ‘If not us, then who?’ That’s why everybody gets so involved,” said Deputy Grand Knight Sal Laurenzano.
