Things we do for our Parish Family and Community
Giving
As you can see, many of our activities are fundraisers. So, where does the money go? We use only the least amount needed for general council operations. We are proud that our council raises money for the following causes:
St. Ann’s Church, St. Ann’s School, Student Scholarships, Vocations, Families In Need, Coats for Kids, Angel Scholarship Fund and Christmas Charity Program.
Bingo
Our Bingo program started back in 2008 as a way to begin funding our scholarship program. We’ve come a long way since then. Thanks to the hard work of many of our members, we all have a great time and give out lots of prize money. It’s a 50/50 – meaning half of the proceeds are used as prizes and the other half goes to our charity programs. Your admission covers 2 initial bingo cards and an awesome meal. It’s usually scheduled every month from September to April on a Wednesday evening – see our calendar for detailed dates/time. Come. Play. Win.
Blood Drives
We recognize that blood supplies often run low at critical times. In partnership with the Keystone Miller Blood Bank, we run several blood drives all year long. Please keep watch for the next one and roll up those sleeves and give so others may live.
Coats for Kids
Your generous monetary donations enable our council to purchase new discounted winter coats through our national organization, which are then distributed to our community children in need. Each year, your generosity enables us to purchase well over one hundred needed coats for children in the Emmaus area and East Penn School District. We also accept gently used coats for St. Matthew’s EC Church for their Community Clothes Closet.
Drive By Food Drive
To help Catholic Charities Diocese of Allentown in feeding a growing population in need and providing supplies to our children in St. Ann’s School, we hold an annual food and school supply drive. It’s so easy to participate. Browse the list of needed items when we post them, purchase them at your local store and then drive them to the Parish Life Center on the scheduled date. Our member volunteers will unload them for you and take it from there. It’s a great way to take care of our friends who need some help.
Fish Frys
A very popular fundraiser event, so much so that we now have 2 every year. They are normally scheduled around Easter and feature reasonably priced meals for adults and kids. Baked or broiled fish, or mac-n-cheese for the kids, our Iron Chefs and their minions aim to please.
Garden of Mercy
The Garden of Mercy is a 56 by 52 foot garden plot on the grounds of St. Ann’s Church in Emmaus. It is tended by our Knights and during harvest time, the fresh delicious produce is contributed to the local food pantry through our association with Plant A Row Lehigh Valley. Donations from other gardeners are also gladly accepted.
Keep Christ in Christmas
Forget the commercialization of Christmas and come celebrate the birth of our Lord with us. We have lot’s of yummy snacks and hot beverages to keep you singing as we gather around the nativity on display outside the school.
Scholarships
We are fortunate enough to host 2 annual scholarship programs. The Thomas J Mulkern scholarship of $2000 benefits graduating high school students and the Andrew J Schock scholarship of $1000 benefits graduating students of St. Ann’s enrolling in ACCHS. Applications are accepted from all St. Ann’s registered high school seniors (from any high school) and St. Ann’s School 8th graders heading on to Allentown Central Catholic. These scholarships are based on service-oriented criteria. Watch for announcements starting in April. Applications will be available on our website.
School Supply Drive/Kids Bingo & Ice Cream Social
Besides being fun for the kiddies, our Kids Bingo and Ice Cream Social helps to collect new school supplies for St. Ann’s Parochial School at the start of each school year because all students deserve to have the necessities to succeed in school. The cost of admission is just a donation of a school supply like glue sticks, 8 pack washable markers, 16 pack crayons, masking tape, transparent tape post-it notes, pens, # 2 pencils, index cards, paper clips, erasers, markers, folders, etc.
Valentine’s Dinner Dance
This relatively new event has quickly become a fan favorite. This annual dinner/dance features live music, an awesome dinner, cash bar, free hot/cold beverages and a dessert buffet. Of course, there will be a 50/50 cash raffle and a basket raffle rounding out this festive fundraiser.