The Knights of Columbus reached a major milestone this month when they donated their one millionth coat through their Coats for Kids program on Nov. 6. 

During an event held at Annunciation Catholic School in Denver, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly took part in the distribution of nearly 1,000 new coats to underprivileged children in five Denver Catholic schools. The donation of coats was accompanied by a donation of $10,000 to each of the five schools involved. 

Since 2009 the Knights have provided high-quality, new winter coats to children in need, with coats being distributed in 49 U.S. states and all 10 Canadian provinces. Coats have also been distributed on U.S. military bases and Native American and First Nation reservations in the U.S. and Canada. 

In an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” this week, Kelly said the program “provides the gift of warmth to children in the coldest months.”

“It really is in keeping with who the Knights are,” he added. “Since our very beginning with Father Michael McGivney, we were in service to the family, and so it’s very much in keeping with our founding vision of serving the family and our founding mission of charity.”

Kelly pointed out that the Knights are seeing an increased need for coats this year. In 2023, more than 1,500 Knights councils will distribute over 200,000 coats.

“Charity really is part and parcel of who Christ calls us to be,” Kelly said.

He shared that many of the teachers at the event told him about the “tremendous need” many of the low-income families have and how essential a coat is for their children. 

The Coats for Kids program helps to “take the burden off the parents,” Kelly explained, by having the Knights provide coats for their children.

So who received the millionth coat?

“We gave it to this wonderful little girl and she was just a star and she was so happy to have the coat,” he shared. “The coat that we gave her was a golden coat and we said we gave it to her because she has a heart of gold.”