charitable endeavors
and community causes
Club is dedicated to
charitable endeavors
and community causes
By jennifer kohlhepp
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK — Men who want to help their community can join the local chapter of the Knights of Pythias.
"We are constantly in search of innovative, imaginative thinkers and leaders to present and develop new programs and concepts," Knights of Pythias public relations Chairman Larry Kalb said.
The Knights of Pythias was organized in February 1864 during the Civil War by Justus Henry Rathbone in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to heal the wounds of the civil conflict, according to Kalb.
To date, the Knights of Pythias have initiated 2.5 million men throughout the United States and Canada.
The nonsectarian, fraternal order includes approximately 1,800 Pythians in 15 lodges throughout the Garden State from as far south as Franklinville in Gloucester County to Paramus in northern New Jersey, according to Kalb.
Locally, Pythians from East, North and South Brunswick and the surrounding vicinity meet every third Thursday of the month at the Friendship Parkway Lodge at Odd Fellows Hall, on the corner of Cedar and Chestnut streets in North Brunswick.
"In New Jersey, Pythians are very active in the communities they live in, and their efforts and achievements are what make ours the growing and dynamic organization that it is today," Kalb said.
Kalb said "charity" is the Pythians’ middle name.
"Charity is what our members, families and friends strive for so they can help those less fortunate and improve the quality of life for those who need that smile to be worn with pride on their face," Kalb said.
Examples of Pythian activities include a recent Wives and Girlfriends Appreciation Night, an annual May Hands of Friendship Day, an annual September raffle event and fund-raising drive for the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, the Coats for Kids clothing campaign, and a 911 cellular phone and computer donation program for not-for-profit organizations.
Kalb said the Pythians’ annual May Operation We Care fund-raising drive for cystic fibrosis raised $15,000 this year for the Cystic Fibrosis Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
"Pythians practice friendship, charity and benevolence in their daily lives," Kalb said.
To honor the charitable work of all of its members, the New Jersey Grand Lodge Knights of Pythias will hold its second annual summer picnic July 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, located at 299 Eisenhower Parkway south in Livingston.
For more information, call local membership chairman David Weintraub at (732) 238-1219.