As  the Council 4584 Activity Director I am asking all Brother Knights to consider volunteering a few hours of their time and their talents this year in support of Council activities that serve our community.  I am particularly seeking participation from newer members. Working along side other Knights to accomplish Council goals is a great way to put your beliefs into action and build relationships with other like-minded Catholic men. We have an active Council that has a positive impact on our community. If you have any questions about any of our activities, if you are interested in volunteering a little of your time or if you would like to take charge of an event, please contact John Hagen at 458-4072, 249-1187 (cell). Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Our Council provides the volunteer workforce needed to run Bingo at the Hall on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Bingo revenue pays for operation and maintenace of the Hall. Significant roof repairs have been made recently and more roof and structural work needs to be accomplished to ensure that the building continues to be the tremendous asset it has been to the council and the community for many years. Four 10-person teams are required to keep the Bingo events going. The four teams rotate duty so that each team only works one Sunday and one Wednesday every four weeks. Each team has a Captian who is responsible for recruiting replacements as team members are lost. Due to transfers, illness etc. all of the teams currently have multiple vacancies that must be filled as soon as possible. We are asking that all new Knights and currently inactive Knights consider becoming active in the Council and volunteer to fill one of the vacancies on the Bingo Teams. If you are interested or would like more information please send an email with your contact information to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   and we will have a team captain contact you. 

Can you answer these questions: "What does Knights of Columbus Council #4584 do?, How do they pay for it what they do? and, "How can I do my part?"

The answer to the first question is, each year our Council contributes over $20,000 and more than 20,000 volunteer hours to efforts that benefit our community and our church. Specifically, we: pick up litter along Hwy. 90 three times a year as part of our Adopt-a-Highway commitment; host a kick-off dinner for the Annual Catholic Appeal which supports 26 charities in our diocese; provide assistance to sick Brothers and Widows in need; provide financial support to area Catholic Schools; clean-up and weed the Historic Fry Pioneer Cemetery twice a year; host a Christmas Party for disadvantaged youth; provide support to the Parish's Life Teen Program; serve as greeters, ushers. Eucharistic ministers and lectors during worship; support the “People with Intellectual Disabilities” program; participate in the parish clean-up, parish ministry fair, church building fund and parish picnic; set up and staff a Pro-Life booth at the county fair and following Masses on the 1st Sunday of each month; host the annual Care-net dinner; provide scholarships for local students;  sponsor a Scout Troop; contribute to the Special Olympics; support Saint Joseph Youth Camp with volunteers and camper scholarships; provide support to the St. Vincent de Paul Society through donations and volunteers; support vocations and seminarians through donations; and, maintain a Website to promote our community projects and charitable projects.

The answer to the second question is, We raise funds through various projects like: a Car Show; a New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance; ethnic-food-themed dinners; Lenten fish fry dinners; a St. Patrick’s Day dinner; an annual charity golf tournament; table and chair set-up for hall rentals; Christmas Card sales; member dues; a Tootsie Roll Drive; coffee and donuts after 1st Sunday Masses; the Oktoberfest; and Raffles.

The answer to the last question is simple, come to meetings and visit the website regularly so you know what's going on and then just show up to help with activities. We are fortunate that our Council continues to attract more Catholic men to join our ranks. However, more members doesn't help accomplish our goals unless those members actively participate. 

Vivat Jesu

Dear Grand Knight Larry Carter,

I am writing to you on behalf of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. Together with the United Way of Tucson, we are organizing the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for all of southeastern Arizona. The main focus of the program is to provide low-income families with free tax-return preparations, because many families are not taking advantage of all the deductions they are entitled to. For the average low-income family here in Arizona, a properly filled out return is equivalent to an additional three paychecks, which can be a huge boon to those families living hand-to-mouth.

As the Knights are a service-minded organization, I was hoping that you could forward some information about our program on to the members of your council, in hopes that some of them would want to help out as volunteer tax preparers. While the tax season itself does not start until mid-January, our training sessions for the Sierra Vista area are beginning very soon. There are three classes in total, each running about 6 hours. The first will be held this Saturday, Dec. 10th, at Cochise College, Room 703. It will run from 9 am to approximately 3 pm. The second and third classes will be held on Dec. 17th and Jan. 7th, at the same hours and location as the first. At the conclusion of the training sessions, all volunteers will be certified by the IRS to prepare basic and intermediate level tax returns for 2011. During the actual tax season, i.e. Jan 21st through April 17th, we will be operating on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings from 5 pm to 8 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm. We are asking that anyone who wishes to participate be able to attend at least one of these sessions per week.

If anyone is interested in joining the VITA program, all they need to do is show up on Saturday with a photo ID. We would ask, however, that they call Eryka (the course instructor) to confirm their plans, as we do not wish to overbook our limited space at the college. Her number is (520)458-2770. Alternatively, they can email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If you have any questions or concerns, or if you want more information about the VITA program, feel free to ask me, either by email or my number, (520)622-2801, ext. 112. I hope that we can work together to help the families of Sierra Vista get all the benefits they are entitled to, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Nathan Vomocil

piodecimocenter.org

Rick Young operates the sound system for the services at St Andrew the Apostle.  He really needs a couple more helpers with this ministry. No experinece is necesary and he will train anyone who is interested in being a sound tech at church. Give Rick a call at 378-0483 if you have any questions or would like to volunteer.