• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Archbishop William E. Lori helps Archbishop Borders School student, Andrea Hernandez, with a new coat during the Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus coat distribution at St. Peter Claver Parish in West Baltimore Dec. 5. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Knights of Columbus warm Baltimore students with 1,000 coats

December 5, 2017
By Emily Rosenthal Alster
Filed Under: Feature, Knights of Columbus, Local News, News, Schools, Urban Vicariate, Video

Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus Warden Tony Salvemini and his wife Kathy prepare coats for distribution at St. Peter Claver Parish in West Baltimore. The coats were given to students attending four area Catholic schools Dec. 5 (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

For the third year in a row, Archbishop William E. Lori joined the Maryland Knights of Columbus Dec. 5 to distribute coats to children in Baltimore.

This year’s event was at St. Peter Claver Church in West Baltimore, where every student from Archbishop Borders School, Cardinal Shehan School, Holy Angels Catholic School and Ss. James and John Catholic School – 1,048 all told – went home with a new coat.

Student representatives from each of the Partners in Excellence schools visited with Archbishop Lori to find a perfect fit, and returned with coats for each of their classmates.

“It may not feel like we need it today, but we’ll be needing it in the days ahead,” Archbishop Lori, chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, said. “Who of us doesn’t need a warm coat in the winter?”

In 2016, Coats for Kids, a Knights of Columbus program, allowed local councils to donate 87,906 coats throughout the United States and Canada. The Maryland Knights of Columbus contributed to that number by distributing 1,700 coats last year, during a similar event at Ss. James and John.

Stephen Cohen, state deputy of the Maryland State Council of the Knights of Columbus and parishioner of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, has been a knight for 42 years.

Archbishop William E. Lori helps Archbishop Borders School student, Jeremy Sanchez, try on a new coat during the Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus coat distribution at St. Peter Claver Parish in West Baltimore Dec. 5. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“(We are here) to give kids coats that may never get a new coat,” Cohen said, adding that the event encompasses several of the Knights’ service points of emphasis: church, community, council, culture of life, family and youth.

“We all care about the kids in the community,” said Lawrence LaPrade, a Baltimore City police officer in the community relations unit in the Western District, where he was born and raised. He and another officer helped load the schools’ vehicles with boxes of coats.

The Maryland Knights, comprised of men from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, donate between 2,500 and 3,000 winter coats to children throughout the state of Maryland each year.

Baltimore City Police Officer Carl Randolph assists Veronica Hernandez with loading winter coats donated by the Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

In addition to the state council, approximately 150 local councils and chapters used fundraisers and direct donations to purchase the coats for about $18 apiece through a retailer that works with the Knights.

“This is just scratching the surface,” said Mark Mangus, state youth activities director and parishioner of St. Louis in Clarksville, who has been a knight for 33 years. “But if we can help some, it’s better than not helping any.”

Mangus coordinated the purchase and deliveries of the coats to St. Peter Claver. Members of the state council and some of their wives helped to unload and sort the coats by sizes to be sent to the schools.

“No kid should be cold,” Mangus said.

Email Emily Rosenthal at erosenthal@CatholicReview.org

 

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Emily Rosenthal Alster

Emily Rosenthal Alster, a former staff writer for the Catholic Review, is a contributing writer. She is a lifelong resident of Maryland and a parishioner of St. John in Westminster.

Emily is a graduate of Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, Pa. She holds a bachelor's degree in business communication from Stevenson University.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Archdiocese dispenses with meatless obligation for St. Patrick’s Day
  • Hold the tuna casserole; pass the crab cake this Lent
  • Theater program hits new highs at Immaculate Conception
  • Trainor to retire from post as Mount St. Mary’s president in 2024
  • Movie Review: ’65’

| Latest Local News |

Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81

RADIO INTERVIEW: Dining with the Saints

Archdiocese dispenses with meatless obligation for St. Patrick’s Day

| Latest World News |

Legendary communist-era priest, Father Blachnicki, was murdered, Polish authorities confirm

Do not be afraid to be a witness to God’s love, pope says

Welcoming migrants, refugees is first step toward peace, pope says

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Legendary communist-era priest, Father Blachnicki, was murdered, Polish authorities confirm
  • Do not be afraid to be a witness to God’s love, pope says
  • Question Corner: Jesus became man so I could become God?
  • Papa: Acoger a migrantes y refugiados es el primer paso hacia la paz
  • Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81
  • Welcoming migrants, refugees is first step toward peace, pope says
  • RADIO INTERVIEW: Dining with the Saints
  • Good politics brings people together, generates care for others, pope says
  • Wyoming becomes first state to ban abortion pills

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED