WHO ARE WE

The Knights of Columbus was founded in New Haven, Ct, in 1882 in the basement of St. Mary's Catholic Church by Father Michael J. Mc Givney and a handful of Catholic laymen. The aim of the founder and those first members was to set up a parish-based lay organization that offered insurance benefits.  In an era when parish and fraternal societies were popular, Father Mc Givney felt there should be some way to strengthen the religious faith of his flock and provide financial support for families overwhelmed by illness or death of the bread winner. 

Today we have grown from that one local unit, or council, to nearly 11,000 councils in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Guam, and Spain.

Membership is nearly 1.6 million dues-paying members, nearly 150 in Pawleys Island - many of whom are actively involved in volunteer service programs for the Catholic Church, their communities, their families, young people and one another.

Over 50 million hours of volunteer service and $100 Million is  raised and donated to charitable and fraternal projects.

The early system of fraternal benefits has grown into a top-quality life insurance society, offering a variety of policy plans to members and their families. Both A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor's rated K of C insurance "Superior A++ and AAA, respectively -their highest designations.