St. Veronica Knights’ ‘Diapers and Depends’ drive nets record donations

For the past five years, members of the Knights of
Columbus at St. Veronica Church in Chantilly have been organizing collections
of personal hygiene items to assist the rural poor of Madison County and
surrounding counties. 

But the Knights’ most recent collection in September,
dubbed the “Diapers and Depends” drive, broke the group’s previous records,
said Knight Paul Chadowski, who contacted the Catholic Herald recently to
report results of the drive featured in an article in August. Chadowski said
the drive netted 4,300 pounds of donations — more than double the previous
record of 1,866 pounds. He added that many donations came from people outside
the parish who told him they had seen the Catholic Herald article and wanted to
contribute.

The Knights collected items such as disposable razors, deodorant,
toothbrushes and feminine products, which Chadowski noted cannot be purchased
with food stamps. The group also received $410 in gift cards and $4,260 in cash
donations, which were used to purchase personal hygiene items included in the
total. “Considering the challenges of COVID-19, this truly exceeded
expectations,” Chadowski said.

Donations benefit the nonprofit Madison Emergency
Services Association (MESA), Our Lady of the Blue Ridge Church in Madison and Catholic
Outreach for Rural Virginia.