The ‘Knights’ know real charity

By LOU BALDWIN
CS&T Staff Writer

Bill O’Callahan’s eldest daughter, Kellyann, graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 1987 and he faced the expensive prospect of four more kids eventually heading for college.
“I was thinking about remortgaging my house,” he said.
Since then, Kerryann, another daughter, has graduated from Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Conn., as have twins Owen and James. Sean Patrick is a senior at Sacred Heart, and so far his college education alone has cost $108,379.17.
But O’Callahan hasn’t had to remortgage his house. In fact, his four younger children’s undergraduate college expenses — tuition, room, board and books — have been paid in full by the Knights of Columbus.
The O’Callahan children are recipients of an extraordinary scholarship program available to children whose fathers are members in good standing of the Knights of Columbus and who are either war verterans who have become permanently disabled in war or police officers or firefighters who have died or become permanently disabled in the line of duty.
The only stipulation is that the children must attend a Catholic college or university. The Knights pick up all expenses after any government entitlements are taken into consideration.
Bill O’Callahan, who received a permanent disability while making an arrest in 1988, didn’t apply for the benefit until he was urged to do so by his K. of C. insurance representative.
“I was in tears when the letter came telling me my children were eligible. It was like hitting the Lotto,” said O’Callahan, who is deputy grand knight at K. of C. Heart of the Island Council 7262, Farmingville, N.Y. “The Knights are all about helping families.”
His children are not the only O’Callahans eligible for a Knights’ college scholarship. He comes from a family of police officers and firemen. His brother, Danny, was a fire lieutenant killed in the Sept. 11 tragedy. Danny O’Callahan’s two small children are also eligible for college scholarships when they come of age.
This particular scholarship program, called the Matthews & Swift Educational Trust Fund, traces back to the post-World War II era and is named for two former K. of C. Supreme Knights.
During the 2003-2004 academic year $260,937.57 in scholarship funds were disbursed through the trust. That is but a small part of the $1,556,916.54 disbursed this year by the Knights through various programs for college scholarships.
So far, an additional 779 children have been identified for future eligibility for the Matthews & Swift scholarships but the number may grow because, in some cases, the family may not be aware of their eligibility for this unusual benefit.
A disproportionate number, 104, are from New York. Much of this figure is attributable to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, according to Jeanne Graney, the K. of C. officer who administers the trust.
This year, there are 15 Matthews & Swift trust students. Next year, according to Graney, the number is expected to jump to 27.
No scholarship recipient at this time is enrolled in a Philadelphia college, but Patrick Guditus is a freshman at St. Vincent College, Latrobe. His first-year education cost the Knights $25,930. He has a brother and sister, Brian and Katherine, not yet college age who will also be eligible when the time comes.
Their father, Tim Guditus, was a policemen. A New York City detective, his spine was permanently injured six years ago in a scuffle while making an arrest.
“You can’t understand, from my perspective, how phenomenal this is,” said Tim Guditus, a member of Gates of Heaven Council 112 in Huntington, N.Y. “I’m at a loss for words. I can’t believe how fortunate I am.”
In fact, Guditus is so grateful he doesn’t bill the Knights for his son’s books. “I pay that myself, not to burden them,” he said.
Like O’Callahan, Guditus applied for the scholarships at the urging of his insurance representative, but all Knights, regardless of whether or not they carry the optional K. of C. insurance, have the same eligibility.
Since World War II, the benefit for children of deceased or disabled servicemen has been updated periodically to include the latest conflicts.
At this point, the current Iraqi and Afghan actions have not yet been included, but the Knights are expected to add them in the near future. Paul Devin, supreme advocate and general counsel for the New Haven-based Knights, said other changes are also under consideration.
These include: whether to extend the benefit to firefighters other than full-time firefighters; whether to modify the benefit to provide a cap on the amount one individual can receive in a given year; and whether to retain the requirement that the student must attend a Catholic college or university.
In any case, regardless of children’s scholarships, the families of Knights who were servicemen or noncombatants killed in Afghanistan and Iraq already have an automatic death benefit of between $1,000 and $2,500 depending on years of membership.
“The purpose of this additional benefit is is to assist the families of our fallen members who have served their countries in these military conflicts,” said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson.
In the case of the Sept. 11 casualties, the Knights reached out beyond their own membership. The family of every person killed by the terrorists, regardless of religious affiliation, received a check for $3,000 from the Knights of Columbus. This was immediate, and not part of any other aid they would receive later from other sources.
That’s real charity and that’s what the Knights of Columbus are all about, its members insist.
An organization for Catholic men, it was founded in 1882 in New Haven by a diocesan priest, Father Michael McGivney. One of his primary motivating concerns was the welfare of families who lost a father through death.

Contact Lou Baldwin at (215) 587-3672 or lbaldwin@adphila.org