9/20/2013
In honor of St. Francis of Assisi and our Holy Father all Knights of Columbus councils are invited to participate in the “Outreach Week” initiative by conducting charitable programs between Friday, Oct. 4 (the feast day of St. Francis) and Sunday, Oct. 13, in honor of our Pope.
St. Francis of Assisi is known as “the man of poverty,” and a central theme of Pope Francis has been service to the poor. Now Knights can show their solidarity with these two holy men than by providing outreach to those less fortunate than ourselves in our communities.
The Order has many programs in place to help people who need help. Councils can visit kofc.org/community for ideas on specific programs to conduct. Councils do an outstanding job of assessing needs in their individual communities and developing programs to meet those needs, so they should in no way limit themselves to the program ideas on the website. Whatever a council chooses to do, the important thing is that each and every council do something.
While councils are conducting outreach programs during this week and throughout the year, it is important to remember that every program represents a membership recruitment opportunity. A great way to convince a prospect to join the Order ― or to get a current member to be more active ― is to invite him to participate in charitable programs.
Encourage each grand knight to tell the Supreme Council about the programs his council conducts during “Outreach Week” by sending an email to fraternalservices. Some of the best programs will be showcased in the Knights in Action section of Columbia, in Knightline and on the website.
