The local Knights of Columbus branch is running their annual Bottle Drive for Special Olympics on Saturday, November 16. The fundraising effort will take place in two locations at the same time – St. Mary’s Catholic School in Chesterville, and St. Daniel the Martyr Catholic Church in South Mountain. The bottle drives will run from 11am to 3pm at both locations. Typically, the event raises about $1,500, which goes toward supporting the Brockville chapter of the Special Olympics.
“The bottle drive is nothing special,” Mark van Delst told the Times. “Three or four guys hanging out in the church parking lot accepting any empties that people want to bring by to drop off. We’re always good for a chat.”
Mark explained that the Knights of Columbus as an organization is a significant supporter of the Special Olympics in general, with individual local councils being encouraged to participate. “We’ve been doing the bottle drive for 10 years at least,” Mark added. “Our local chapter of the Special Olympics is out of Brockville. I know they run a soccer program. Since we are kind of far away, we don’t get directly involved with their activities so we focus on financial support.”
The other fundraiser that the Knights of Columbus is known for locally is the annual Duck Race in South Mountain. All the money from that is given to local charities. “Beyond that, we do several parish activities and focus a lot of effort on parish physical and spiritual needs,” explained Mark. “Most of our guys are also involved with other community groups and activities.”
Come out to one of the two locations and support a great cause by bringing bottles on November 16. A nice friendly chat will be included for free!
