The Knights of Columbus Fr. Vincent S. Sikora Council, in
partnership with Church of the Nativity in Burke, recently
built two homes for poor families in rural Kentucky in less
than three weeks. These were the 17th and 18th homes built by
the council alongside the Appalachian Construction Crew since
2001. With the help of their largest-ever group of
volunteers, it was the first time the team completed two
homes back-to-back without any outside assistance.
Appalachian Construction Crew is a nonprofit corporation that
builds homes for families unable to afford adequate housing
in McCreary County, Ky. – one of the poorest counties in the
nation. Bob Corsi, a Father Sikora Knight who previously had
worked with the crew, became aware of the challenges they
were facing more than a decade ago due to lack of funding and
reliable workers, and offered the council’s assistance. Corsi
is now council coordinator of the Appalachia home-building
effort, and this 15-year partnership has put several
impoverished families in newly built homes.
Corsi said the Appalachia home-building effort is special in
that it helps the “very poor” rather than the “working poor”
– reaching families who are not eligible for assistance from
organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. The families
helped by the effort are not required to have a certain
income or make monthly payments on the home. The house is
forever theirs if they own the land, carry insurance and make
a formal agreement to not sell the home for 10 years after
moving in.
The council and construction crew work with Good Shepherd
Catholic Chapel in Whitley City, Ky., to identify families in
need. The two families selected for this year’s build, the
Gibsons and the Moores, both have annual incomes of less than
$15,000.
Corsi said the Knights contribute $3,500 a year to the
project to cover transportation costs, and the rest of the
fundraising is done with donations from Church of the
Nativity parishioners. With parish support, the council has
provided more than 70 percent of both the designated funds
and the crew in past builds.
This year the council was able to cover more than 90 percent
of the costs and labor, due in large part to one generous
parishioner, Nora Sinclitico, who died in 2014. Sinclitico
left a percentage of her estate specifically to the
Appalachia home-building effort. Corsi said at first, they
had no idea what that percentage equated to. They were soon
amazed to discover it was $80,000.
This brought the total funds raised to $120,000 for the
build, with another $10,000 worth of furniture, appliances,
clothing and school supplies donated by more than 40
families.
Church of the Nativity pastor, Father Robert C. Cilinski,
said he is inspired by the generosity of parishioners, and
called the project “an amazing witness.”
Both homes are approximately 1,000 square feet and include
three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a common living
and eating area. The Virginia crew of 20 knights and one
parishioner from Nativity worked 12-hour days from June 1 to
17 to complete the project. The Gibson family moved in June
20, and the Moore family moved in a week later.
Corsi said the project follows the philosophy of Father
Richard Martin, Church of the Nativity’s previous pastor who
passed away two years ago. “You’ve got to take your good
works outside of this parish, across the street, across the
state, across the country.”
He said the relative affluence of the Northern Virginia area
combined with its strict building regulations and high
construction costs meant that the council could make a much
larger impact in Appalachia than in their backyard. The
Knights and their construction partners already are planning
their June 2017 build of a home for a widow and her four
children.
