From selling Christmas cards to running family Bingo, Knight of Columbus Don Mailki is always ready and willing to help.
Mailki was born in 1940 in the Pittsburgh area, approximately 20 miles from the Allegheny River. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1963. He later joined the U.S. Army, where he became an officer and served many tours.
Mailki is a parishioner of St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax and a Knight of Columbus. On the Knight’s council he served as director of faith and advertised all the faith activities among the Knights. He also organized first Friday adoration for the parish for 10 years. For six years, he also sold Knight of Columbus Christmas cards.
In 2021, he helped with the parish Labor Day picnic, a tradition that goes back to the 1880s. Due to COVID precautions, the parish couldn’t host its usual picnic, so they did a drive-thru instead. That year, the Knights barbecued 600 chickens and many ears of corn; volunteers packed the meals; and local Boy Scouts and American Heritage Girls carried the boxes to the cars of hungry parishioners.
Currently, Mailki oversees the parish’s family Bingo. This isn’t your typical bingo where individuals just win money. For each bingo game the Knights select a charity to donate the game’s profits. There are five family Bingos throughout the year, including at this year’s Labor Day picnic.
“Volunteering is helping people. You do the work and learn from the experience, but you also provide help for other people,” said Mailki.
When asked for any advice he would like to share with the younger generation he said, “Don’t take the backseat, take the high road. Get involved in various activities from which you can learn. Take responsibility and do a lot of work.”
Mailki’s favorite saint is St. Joseph because, “He showed people what it is to be a father, to take care of the family and provide for the family. He is a role model for how to support your family.” Maliki has a son and daughter.
Last December, Mailki was nominated for the Catholic Herald’s annual “Herald Angel” contest, where readers nominate volunteers who consistently go above and beyond to help others in their community. Fellow Knight Gordon Goetz nominated him, saying, “He is a very quiet and unassuming individual. However, he is also a thoughtful and considerate brother Knight and parishioner. He is a Catholic gentleman who serves where needed, whether as an usher at Mass, running a family Bingo, volunteering to sell Knights of Columbus ‘Keep Christ in Christmas’ cards after Mass, serving in an honor guard or color guard.”
“His impact usually goes unnoticed but cannot be understated or undervalued. It is people like Don that ensure the success of a parish and a Knights of Columbus council. He is always ready to serve and embodies the Knights of Columbus motto, ‘In service to one, in service to all.’ ” said Goetz.
At age 83, Mailki has no plans to stop or take a break from volunteering and helping saying that “COVID gave us the break, now we are trying to get back to where we were before COVID.”
Batista can be reached at [email protected].
