Knights of Columbus put ‘faith into action’ with new winter coats for children

Children from across the Baltimore area were all smiles Nov. 10 after receiving brand-new winter coats from Archbishop William E. Lori and members of the Knights of Columbus. 

The “Coats for Kids” program, which has been part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore for six years and is also run in other Catholic dioceses, distributed 200 new winter coats at Mother Mary Lange Catholic School in Baltimore. The goal of the program is to ensure no child in North America goes without a coat during the winter season.

Other distribution locations included:

• Archbishop Borders School in Highlandtown, 40 coats;
• Cardinal Shehan School in Baltimore, 44;
• St. Patrick’s Assisi House in Fells Point, 40;
• Sarah’s Hope in Rosedale, 80; 
• St. Ambrose in Park Heights, 150; 
• St. Bernardine in West Baltimore, 70.

In total, a dozen Knights of Columbus of the Maryland State Council and their wives distributed 624 coats, with a value of $12,000, according to the Knights. 

With the participation of other councils, the Maryland Knights of Columbus will give out approximately 4,000 coats throughout the state this winter.

Vince Grauso, state deputy of the Maryland State Council Knights of Columbus and a Knight for 25 years, and his wife, Mary Barbato-Grauso, were present at Mother Lange Catholic School, assisting children to find the “right-fitting” coat. They are parishioners of St. Louis in Clarksville.

A seventh-grade girl approached Grauso and said, “Good morning. Thank you. We really appreciate it.”

“It is a great day for us,” he said. “We like to support the community.”

He also said the Knights of Columbus will distribute 350 adult coats this winter to shelters for those experiencing homelessness in Baltimore and Catonsville.

“You put a coat on them and they are happy,” Barbato-Grauso said. “By giving them joy, we get joy out of it.”

Maryland State Chair Terry Waters, a parishioner of St. John Neumann in Gaithersburg, said the Knights see keeping people warm in the winter as “a big need.”

“That is why we go ahead with the program and do what we call ‘putting our faith into action,’” he said.

The chairman of “Coats for Kids” for four consecutive years, Ray Traube, a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales in Abingdon and a Knight since 1991, said the distribution process can get chaotic from time to time, “but there is obviously a need and to see a smile in their faces makes all worth it.”

Paula Langford, a parishioner of St. Ambrose, coordinates with Traube the number and sizes of coats needed at St. Ambrose.

While she was volunteering at Mother Mary Lange giving out coats, a girl approached her and said, “Do I have to leave this coat at school?”

“No, you get to take it home,” Langford replied.

“So the coat is mine?” said the girl again, having a hard time understanding all students would get a new, high-quality coat.

Another student took the chance when getting a picture with the archbishop to say, “This is an opportunity for me, thank you” referring to the newly opened Mother Lange Catholic School, the first Catholic school to be built in Baltimore City in nearly 60 years.

The Knights of Columbus have donated nearly 7,000 coats to children in Baltimore since 2015.

The archbishop, supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, said “the joy of giving” is what makes Coat Giveaway Day unique. 

“It is the Knights doing what they do best: charity,” he said.

Email Priscila González de Doran at pdoran@CatholicReview.org

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