8th Annual Friday Knights Hunger Bowl to Raise money for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Panty
The 8th Annual Friday KNIGHTS Hunger Bowl is scheduled for Friday, September 13th at the Reitz Bowl at Reitz High School. Game time is 6:30 pm. This project raises monies for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. The Hunger Bowl Game will feature the Reitz Memorial Tigers and Mater Dei Wildcats. This is the 8th annual Friday Knights HUNGER Bowl. Sister Donna Marie Herr, OSB SVdP Food Pantry Manager appreciates all the monies from the supporters of Memorial and Mater Dei. Over the first seven years over $90,000 has been raised to help St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. Our goal this year is to raise $30,000.
As successful as we have been, the needs continue to grow and more help is needed. Some sobering facts from last Fiscal year at SVdP Food Pantry:
- Distributed An estimated 94,032 boxes of food weighing 666,108 pounds.
- Not unusual for us to serve over 100 families per day.
- Spent $154,00 on food purchases for distribution, up from $90,000 the previous year
- Coinciding factors were a decrease in the amount of food provided from Tri-State Food Pantry and an increase in the number of households seeking assistance – many were first-time visitors.
The Friday Knights Hunger Bowl began eight years ago with a conversation between Brother Knights: John Sandwell, K of C Council Auxillio Council #16454 (St. Phillips and Corpus Christi parishes) and Mark Hackert (St. Benedict Cathedral K of C Council 7544) over pizza at Deer Head Tavern. The topic was how we can work together with the other councils in the Evansville area and promote the Knights of Columbus mission toward a worthy goal. The conversation turned to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Panty and Sister Donna Marie Herr, the SVdP Food Pantry Manager, who had been a teacher at Mater Dei. From this conversation the Friday Knights Hunger Bowl was born.
Each year the student bodies of Memorial and Mater Dei, the Catholic grade schools, the area K of C Councils, attendees of the game itself and community supporter are involved in the fund raising. Over the last few years, foundations, trusts and businesses have supported this worthy need. Each year we have worked to involve more people to increase the amount of support we can offer the St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank. We again ask for support in promoting this event with the goal of promoting the gift of giving to those in need. The Friday Knights Hunger Bowl will continue to collect money at the football game. Also, to support the event, use the button below.
Web Page: https://www.fridayknightshungerbowl.org
Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FridayKnightsHungerBowl
Knights of Columbus Website: http://www.kofc.org
Knights of SW Indiana Website: https://www.facebook.com/kofcswindiana
For more information on the Knights of Columbus and Hunger Bowl contact:
Mark Hackert
812-319-403 mhackert76@gmail.com
John Sandwell
812-250-1923 sandwell@sbcglobal.net
Contact At St. Vincent dePaul Food Pantry
Joe Cook, Executive Director SVDP/Evansville
812-549-2789 jcook@svdpevansville.org
A Bit about the Knights of Columbus
For More information Kofc7544info@gmail.com
- The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded by Blessed Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, it was named in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus.
- The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a Catholic fraternal service order and charity organization founded in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney and a group of parishioners at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut. The organization’s mission is charity, unity, and fraternity, and its membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. The K of C’s goals include supporting the Catholic Church, providing financial protection for families, and helping the less fortunate.
- K of C is a fraternal benefit society dedicated to providing charitable services, including war and disaster relief, actively defending Catholicism in various nations, and promoting Catholic education. The Knights also support the Catholic Church’s positions on public policy issues, including various political causes, and are participants in the Evangelization of our Catholic faith.
- There are 10 councils serving the Evansville area with over 1000 Knights.(see list below) In addition to SVDP, the councils offer financial and volunteer at their schools & Parishes, Habitat for Humanity, Gibault School in Terre Haute and many other activities. Each council has their own focus of who they serve.
- Knights of Columbus Councils in our area:
- Council 565—Original Council (west side)
- Council 2215—Sts. Peter and Paul
- Council 7544—St. Benedict Cathedral
- Council 8746–St. John the Baptist Newburgh
- Council 10257—Boonville
- Council 12541—Holy Redeemer
- Council 14659—St. Johns/Daylight
- Council 14673—Good Shepherd
- Council 15092—Annunciation (Christ the King/Holy Rosary)
- Council 16454—Auxillio (St. Phillip/Corpus Christi)
- Council 10257–St. Clement (Boonville)
- Membership is open to practicing Catholic men aged 18 or older.
- Pope John Paul II referred to the order as the “strong right arm of the Church” for their support of the church, as well as for their philanthropic and charitable efforts.
- The Knights are also well known for their insurance program with more than 2 million insurance contracts, totaling more than US$100 billion of life insurance in force
