Knights of Columbus Council 3667 at P.O. Box 1077, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 US - Who we are
Who we are
The Knights of Columbus was founded in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882 in the basement of St. Mary's Catholic Church by Fr. Michael J. McGivney and a handful of Catholic laymen. The aim of the founder and those first members was to set up a parish-based lay organization that offered insurance benefits. In an era when parish and fraternal societies were popular, Father McGivney felt there should be some way to strengthen the religious faith of his flock and provide financial support for families overwhelmed by illness or the death of the breadwinner.
Today we have grown from that one local unit, or council, to over 11,100 councils in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Guam and Saipan. Membership is nearly 1.6 million dues-paying members plus their families - approximately 4.5 people total - many of whom are actively involved in volunteer service programs for the Catholic Church, their communities, their families, young people and one another.
The Knights of Columbus, at all levels of the organization, contributed a record high aggregate $110.7 million to charitable efforts and volunteered more than 55 million hours of personal service to the Catholic Church, community projects and youth programs in 1998. The figures are based on reports of activity received from 73 percent of Knights of Coumbus councils, Fourth Degree assemblies, Columbian Squires circles and other jurisdictional entities responding to the Kngihts' annual Survey of Fraternal Activity. Of the approximate $111 million, $90 million was raised by local councils and state councils, which donated directly to charitable causes of their own choosing. (The monies raised at the state and local levels are expended exclusively for state and local program.) The remaining $21 million was given by the Supreme Council and Knights of Columbus-designated funds. Church Support Assistance to Church groups such as parishes, schools, religious-education programs, seminaries/seminarians, vocations, promotional efforts and miscellaneous Church projects totaled $33.3 million in 1998 and $289 million in aggragate over the past ten years. The early system of fraternal benefits has grown into a top-quality life insurance society, offering a variety of policy plans to members and their families. Both A. M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor's rate K of C insurance "Superior" - A++ and AAA, respectively - their highest designations.
The Knights of Columbus, the world's largest organization of Catholic men and their families, has been called "the strong right arm of the Church," and has been cited by popes, presidents and other world leaders for supports of the Church, for programs of evangelization and Catholic education, for civic involvement and aid to those in need. "Protecting Families for Generations" is a motto that captures the Knights' adherence to the legacy of its founder and fidelity to his vision.