Council 10240

The Knights of Columbus, Council 10240, in San Antonio Texas put a twist on the “Coats for Kids” campaign this year. In addition to the traditional purchase of new coats for children and youth, the Council reached out to the church community to help expand the program to include providing coats to everyone in need.

With the support and help of their Priests, making weekly pulpit announcements requesting donations of new and gently used coats of any size, the council was able to collect over 300 coats. A collection rack was setup in the lobby of the church and staffed before every mass over a nine-day period. All the collected coats were cleaned, combined with the new coats purchased by the council and then sorted by gender and size. Distribution was then made to those in need with the help and assistance of the St Vincent de Paul Society at both St Luke and Christ the King parishes and Catholic Charities via Our Lady of Guadalupe Center.

Under this expanded effort and partnerships, the council was able to maximize available resources and serve over 360 individuals and families in need. This first-year effort also brought an increased visibility and focus to the council during this nine-day effort and served to expand awareness within the parish of the charitable works of the Knights of Columbus.