The Knights of Columbus Father Sikora Council No. 7992 at Nativity Catholic Church in Burke built their 28th home for a family in need in the heart of Appalachia earlier this month.
Over two weeks, the 29-member volunteer crew completed the project for a family of three in McCreary County, one of the most poverty-stricken counties in the United States.
Good Shepherd Chapel in Whitley City, Ky., selected the Mitchell family, a grandmother raising her two grandchildren in a temporary trailer, as the beneficiary of this year’s project.
The 22 Knights from Nativity were joined by seven volunteers from Nebraska and Mississippi. Together, and with the assistance of local contractors, they built a new, 1,100-square-foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, complete with a new waste system and heat pump.
Father Ben Horn, parochial vicar of St. Mildred Church in Somerset, Ky., blessed the house June 2.
Over a celebratory dinner, the Knights presented the keys to the new home to the family, along with household gifts furnished by Nativity parishioners.
Patricia, the grandmother, said through tears, “All I can say is thank you for everything you’ve done for my family.”
