Knights of Columbus, Racine WI

ANNUAL COATS FOR KIDS DISTRIBUTION BENEFITS CHILDREN AT SHELTER, PARISH

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:17:43 -0600

Children kept coming up to Dr. Shirley Heck, beaming with pride over their new winter coats. “Look at my coat!” exclaimed one student, showing off her colorful new jacket.
For the director of the Pope John XXIII Educational Center at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, that was a good day. “The children were so excited about those coats. We are so thankful to the Knights of Columbus for this program.”
For dozens of Racine families this winter, the Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program means something new to bundle up against the cold wind. Children at the Pope John XXIII Center tried on different sizes and colors when the Knights visited on Feb. 8. “Could I bring a coat home for my brother?” one boy asked. “He couldn’t come today.”
A middle school girl stopped by the distribution with a friend. “Would you like to pick out a new coat?” she was asked. “No, I’m good.” A few minutes later she returned and said, “My Mom says I need a coat.”
The 2011 Coats for Kids distribution was the third carried out by Council 697 since the program was founded in 2009. More than 400 Racine-area children have benefited from new coats during that time. Retail value of the coats would top $18,000. In January, coats were also handed out at the HALO homeless shelter.
Nationally, Knights of Columbus councils distribute more than 15,500 new coats each season in cities from Racine to Fort Dodge, Iowa, Worcester, Mass., to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Coats for Kids is part of the Order’s “Help a Child in Need” campaign.

KNOWLEDGE & FREE THROW WINNERS SET

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:45:28 -0600

Winners of the annual Knights of Columbus Council 697 Knowledge and Free Throw Contest have been announced. The competition was held Jan. 22 at St. Catherine’s High School in Racine.

MATH COMPETITION
Grade 5
1st place - Achintya Krishnan (Jefferson Lighthouse)
2nd place - Lilly Flynn (St. Lucy's)

Grade 6
1st place - Joshua Bote' (The Prairie School)
2nd place - Kijung Kwak (Walden III Middle School)

Grade 7
1st place - Beau Blake (21st Century Prep School)
2nd place - Ryan Busey (St. Catherine's Middle School)

Grade 8
1st place - Roman Palvanov (The Prairie School)
2nd place - Sapan Smith (The Prairie School)

SPELLING COMPETITION
Grade 5
1st place - Zachary Moen (Jefferson Lighthouse)
2nd place - Veronica Jutley (West Ridge)

Grade 6
1st place - Kara Breidenbach (McKinley Middle School)
2nd place - Jordyn Radtke (St. John's Lutheran)

Grade 7
1st place - Ben Schultz (McKinley Middle School)
2nd place - Kyler Krenzke (The Prairie School)

Grade 8
1st place - Elizabeth Skantz (McKinley Middle School)
2nd place - Jamie Morelan (The Prairie School)

FREE THROW COMPETITION
Boys Age 10
1st place - Troy Mikaelian (The Prairie School)
2nd place - Nolan Wolf (The Prairie School)

Girls Age 10
1st place - Kailey McIlvaine (St. Rita's)
2nd place - Molly O'Brien (St. Lucy's)

Boys Age 11
1st place - Jack Long (St. Rita's)
2nd place - Logan Krekling (The Prairie School)

Girls Age 11
1st place - Olivia Carpenter (The Prairie School)
2nd place - Cayven Palacios (Dr. Jones)

Boys Age 12
1st place - Colton Kowalsky (St. Edward's)
2nd place - Mitchel Krekling (The Prairie School)

Girls Age 12
1st place - Danielle Palmen (The Prairie School)
2nd place - Morgan Connaughton (St. Sebastian's)

Boys Age 13
1st place - Ryan Busey (St. Catherine's Middle School)
2nd place - Hansen McIlvaine (St. Rita's)

Girls Age 13
1st place - Sara Hartl (St. Edward's)
2nd place - Kayla Clement (Yorkville Elementary)

Boys Age 14
1st place - Nick Jaworski (St. Lucy's)

Girls Age 14
1st place - Aly Andersen (McKinley Middle School)
2nd place - Tiffanya Reyes-Citero (Park High School)

KNIGHTS FOR CHRISTMAS LAUNCHES NEW ‘KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS’ TV CAMPAIGN

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:27:58 -0600

A coalition of Knights of Columbus councils and assemblies from southeastern Wisconsin is about to launch the annual “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign with a new television commercial and ‘Knights for Christmas’ Web site.
The television campaign will kick off Saturday, Dec. 11 on Time Warner Cable throughout Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin. The 30-second spot will air during the “Huckabee” program on Fox News Channel between 8 and 9 p.m. Central Standard Time. On Tuesday, Dec. 14, the commercial will air across the region on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News Channel. O’Reilly airs between 7 and 8 p.m. Central. Additional airings are planned on a wide range of cable networks. A schedule will be announced shortly.
The TV spot features artwork from the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The companion Web site (www.knightsforchristmas.org) includes a news blog with the latest attacks on Christmas across the United States, a feature on the Incarnation Dome art work, an online version of the TV commercial, and a page on how to order Keep Christ in Christmas materials.

ANNUAL K OF C MEMORIAL MASS HELD IN REMEMBRANCE OF DEPARTED KNIGHTS

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 00:28:41 -0500

A special Mass was celebrated on Nov. 6 in remembrance of Knights of Columbus and Ladies of Columbus who died over the past year. Thousands of deceased Knights from 108 years of Columbianism in Racine were also remembered at the Knights of Columbus Memorial Mass at St. Lucy Catholic Church.
The celebrant was Rev. Mark Jones, a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
The annual Memorial Mass this year featured a new honor roll listing deceased Knights going back to 1902, the founding year of Knights of Columbus Council 697 in Racine.
The “Memento Mori” book of names was placed at the altar during the Mass. The earliest death recorded in the book was Peter Kohlmann, who died Sept. 25, 1902. Kohlmann was a founding member of Council 697 on Aug. 3, 1902. The most recent death was Eugene C. Nixa, whose funeral was held earlier in the day on Nov. 6, 2010.
In his homily, Father Mark gave thanks for the Knights of Columbus and its members who have the courage to speak the truth of the Catholic faith in a world that often does not want to hear it. He urged Knights and their families to be steadfast, because Satan is active in the world today, seeking the ruin of souls. It is our duty, he said, to fight the influence of evil in our culture and society.
The Mass was said in memory of six Third and Fourth Degree Knights and three Ladies of Columbus who died since November 2009. Knights included:
• John G. Brinkman (March 13, 2010)
• Matthew J. Keefe (September 3, 2010)
• Raymond D. Larsen (November 18, 2009)
• Robert J. Lentz (Nov. 29, 2009)
• James R. Maddocks (May 14, 2010)
• Eugene C. Nixa (October 26, 2010)
Ladies of Columbus included:
• Arlene M. Olson (November 14, 2009)
• Rose C. Recupero (October 7, 2010)
• Lois M. Wood (October 29, 2010)
• Memorial Mass Program (PDF)

LIFE SAVERS FOR LIFE DRIVE OCT. 23-31 TO SUPPORT ULTRASOUND PROGRAM

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:30:31 -0500

Racine’s Knights of Columbus embark on a major new pro-life program from Oct. 23-31, 2010 with “Life Savers for Life” to raise money for an ultrasound machine for area crisis pregnancy centers.
Members of Msgr. Stanley B. Witkowiak Council 697 will be outside Racine’s Catholic parishes after all Masses Oct. 23-24 and Oct. 30-31, handing out free gummi Life Savers and collecting donations for this pro-life program. Knights will wear bright yellow vests with blue lettering that reads “KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS” and “LIFE SAVERS FOR LIFE.”
It is the first year Racine’s K of C council will run Life Savers for Life, an initiative started by the Wisconsin State Council of the Knights of Columbus. Nearly 40 Wisconsin K of C councils are running Life Savers for Life for the first time this fall.
The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative is a national program to place ultrasound machines in pro-life crisis pregnancy centers. Knights of Columbus Supreme Council pays half the cost of the machines, and the local council raises the rest. The first such K of C machine in Wisconsin was placed in the Diocese of Green Bay earlier this year.
The high-resolution pictures from the newest ultrasound machines provide expectant mothers an incredible look at their child in the womb. Availability of ultrasound has been credited with preventing abortions and saving lives across the United States.
Racine’s K of C council will also use part of the proceeds to make grants to local and regional pro-life programs. Anyone who would like to support the Life Savers for Life program can send an e-mail to Council 697.

RESPECT LIFE ESSAY CONTEST ASKS VALUE OF MARRIAGE FOR UNBORN BABIES

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 15:48:51 -0500

The Knights of Columbus 2010 Respect Life Essay Contest asks students in seventh through 12th grades to write on the topic, “Marriage and the Family: Is Marriage Important to the Life of an Unborn Child?”
Essays must follow rules outlined on the PDF sheets posted below. All entries in the Racine area are due by Nov. 6, 2010. All students in seventh through 12th grade are eligible. The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic organization, but entrants need not be Catholic or even adhere to any religious tradition.
Essays vary in length based on age of the author:
• Grades 7 and 8 – 250 to 350 words
• Grades 9 and 10 – 300 to 450 words
• Grades 11 and 12 – 450 to 600 words
Essays must be double spaced, typed on plain white paper. The work must be the student’s original writing. Works and quotations may be cited in the essay, but the student’s original thoughts and ideas carry more weight.
Essays will be judged on the following criteria: expression of idea: 40 points; factual correctness: 10 points; originality: 10 points; relationship to the theme: 20 points; grammar, spelling, etc.: 20 points. Total 100 points.
Winning entries may be published in newspapers. Winners will receive U.S. Savings bonds. See the PDF forms below for complete details on contest requirements. A completed entry form with parent signature is required for each entry.
Entries can be mailed to: William Frayer, Knights of Columbus, 2516 Winthrop Ave., Racine, WI 53404. Questions can be directed via e-mail to Bill Frayer.
• Contest Entry Form
• Respect for Life Essay Contest rules.pdf
• Respect Life Theme.pdf

K OF C NIGHT AT MILWAUKEE BUCKS DEC. 4

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:28:17 -0500

The Milwaukee Bucks invite all Knights and family members to attend the 2nd annual Knights of Columbus Night With the Bucks at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Bradley Center.
The Bucks will play the Orlando Magic. Discounted tickets are available to Knights. Each ticket sold will return $5 to local K of C councils. The ticket order form is posted as a PDF below. For more information, contact John Hummitzsch at the Milwaukee Bucks, 414-227-0572.
• PDF of Order Form

PUNT, PASS AND KICK CONTEST IS SEPT. 18

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 23:40:38 -0500

Knights of Columbus Council 697’s annual Punt, Pass and Kick competition for boys and girls ages 8-12 will be held Saturday, Sept. 18 at Haban Park near Franksville.
The free competition will have open hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Racine Youth Sports complex on Borgardt Road just off Highway C. Athletes will compete for the longest throws, kicks and punts. Winners will advance to the Knights of Columbus district competition.
For more information on the contest, contact Bill Frayer.
• News release
• PPK letter to coaches
• PPK flier.doc