The St. Peter Claver Knights of Columbus have now reached a milestone in fundraising for St. Agnes Home.

From left: Grand Knight Kevin Walsh; Lorna Little, St. Agnes Home Executive Director; Reverend Robert Kwiatkowski, Pastor, St. Peter Claver Church; Phil Prespare, Chairman, Birdies for Babies with the most recent donation. Submitted photo

Submitted

The St. Peter Claver Knights of Columbus, Council 10817, reached a milestone in 2016 with over $200,000 raised for St. Agnes Home of West Hartford. In 2009 the St. Peter Claver Knights of Columbus identified St. Agnes Home as the local charity they would support with their major fund raising efforts. St. Agnes home has provided residential care and supportive services for pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers and their infants since 1914.

The initial effort of the Knights began with a “Bottles for Babies” campaign where parishioners of St. Peter Claver Church were given a large plastic baby bottle to collect loose change over a period of several months. The support of St. Peter Claver parishioners has been overwhelming since the initial campaign began. In 2011 the Knights held their first “Birdies for Babies” golf tournament at Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford. This now annual event has raised over $100,000 for St. Agnes Home and the next tournament will be held September 11, 2017. “The support of our parish and the community has enabled St. Peter Claver Knights of Columbus to exceed our initial goal and we thank all who have supported our efforts.” said Tournament Chairman Phil Prespare.

Lorna Little, St. Agnes Home Executive Director, stated, “The support of St. Peter Claver Knights of Columbus over the years has enabled St. Agnes home to undertake many key improvements for our young mothers and children. With their support we will now undertake another key renovation to provide a new dining area for the mothers and their children as well as a new creative play and learning area for the children.”

The Knights of Columbus was founded as a fraternal benefit society at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven in 1882. The organization counts more than 1.8 million members worldwide and last year Knights donated more than $167 million and 70 million hours to charitable causes. Council 10817 has been chartered since the early 1990’s, and supports many charitable and service projects for the church and community in addition to their support of St. Agnes Home.