NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Sept. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Knights of Columbus has donated $150,000 to help meet the humanitarian needs of recent immigrants arriving at the Texas border with Mexico.

“The Knights are working to help meet the needs of new arrivals along the border as we do in thousands of different ways for people in need throughout our country and the world,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson in announcing the gifts to the Catholic communities in Laredo and El Paso. “The dire needs of individual people must be addressed.”

The gifts of $100,000 to the Diocese of El Paso and $50,000 to the Diocese of Laredo will be used to provide basic necessities starting from food and focusing especially on the needs of mothers and children.

The donations are the first phase of Anderson’s pledge, made at the Knights’ international convention in August, to commit at least $250,000 in humanitarian aid for migrant shelters to help those in camps in each of the border states or in adjoining Mexican communities.

In the Texas initiative, the K of C will partner with the dioceses to help supply shelters for migrants from throughout Central America and other nations.

Speaking about the donation, El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz said, “This inspiring commitment from the Knights of Columbus demonstrates that the ideals of Venerable Father McGivney, including serving Christ in the migrant and Christian solidarity with those in need, are precisely what our country needs right now in addressing the situation at the border.”

Bishop Seitz established the Border Refugee Assistance Fund, which provides direct assistance to migrant shelters on El Paso’s border with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Those who wish to donate to the Border Refugee Assistance Fund may do so at the website for the Diocese of El Paso: www.elpasodiocese.org.

The Knights of Columbus has a long history of coming to the aid of those in need and those who are displaced, including most recently in the Middle East and Ukraine.

About the Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is a fraternity of Catholic men striving to better ourselves and our world by building a bridge back to faith, assisting the sick and disabled, and protecting those who can’t protect themselves—whether they are next door or around the world. In the Knights’ 2018 business year, which ended June 30, the organization gave $185.7 million to charity and donated 76.7 million hours of hands-on service.

The Knights’ nearly two million members come from many places, backgrounds and stages in their lives but share a commitment to investing their time, efforts and resources into activities that reflect their faith and values.

The Knights of Columbus is also a top-rated Fortune 1000 insurance company, which grew out of our founding in 1882 by Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney who sought to ensure the protection and care of members’ families. For more information, visit www.kofc.org. 

SOURCE Knights of Columbus