ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — If you need something chopped, carved, peeled, emulsified, cleaned, raked, shoveled, poured or spoken about, then the Father James Kirwan Council of the Knights of Columbus in Robertsdale is ready, willing and able to do the job.

Having celebrated 10 years of “Charity, Unity and Fraternity” on Friday, Aug. 20, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church with dinner and special guest speaker Ray Carney, KOC State Deputy, the nonprofit Kirwan council provides assistance with educational, charitable, religious, social, welfare, war relief and public relief efforts throughout the Central Baldwin area, Grand Knight Nick Cillo said.

Separating from the Bishop O’Sullivan Council of Elberta in Spring 2000, the Kirwan Council started out with 42 members, 32 of them already knights, and have grown to 76 members and room for plenty more, Cillo said.

“The only requirements for being a member is paying dues of $35 and be a practicing Catholic. We are always looking to recruit more members from our St. Patrick’s parish,” Cillo said.

Baldwin County has four councils: Robertsdale, Elberta, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and are part of the 13,000 worldwide councils boasting 1.7 million members. Founded by Father Michael McGivney of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., in 1882 to give financial aid to members and their families, the KOC gives 1.8 billion to charities annually, according to the KOC web site.

Edward Kane III was the first grand knight for the Kirwan council with a shot gun raffle being their first fundraiser. In 2004, the council built Father James Hall right next to St. Patrick’s school and according to Cillo, who is the sixth grand knight, have put in 22,103 service hours, 1258 gallons of sweat, 1,108 pints of blood and $82, 286 to various church, community and council activities.

Cillo said a new grand knight is elected every two years but they have to have been a knight for at least one year to be elected grand knight.

“We will help anyone who needs it. Sometimes we hear about needs and sometimes people come to us with requests. We are here to serve the community and welcome anyone that needs out services. We have built ramps, picnic tables and fences and cooked for banquets, bazaars. lunches and dinners. We do it all,” Cillo explained.

Two of the biggest events for the council every year are the Harvest Fest fundraiser in October and cooking for Catholic Social Services Volunteer Valentine Banquet.

Paying $100 a ticket for a gourmet meal and quality entertainment, Cillo said 125 people attended last year and they made $10,000. “This is a really great event for us and everyone who comes has a fun time.”

In addition, the council provides a hot dog lunch for the St. Patrick’s students on the first day of school each year and has also put on a dinner theater for 200 people in Gulf Shores.

“We want to do more with the youth and the pro-life movement and make the pie bigger. Have more fundraisers and volunteer more often. We want to do what we can to help as many people as we can,” Cillo said.

The council also coordinates Honor Flights for war veterans, sponsors a “Family of the Month” and “Knight of the Month and Year” as well as retreats and pancake breakfasts, Cillo said. They also sponsor hay rides, kids’ outings, scholarships, food and hurricane relief, essay, poster and free throw contests and have had fundraisers for special needs families. sports teams, Brownie troops and migrant workers.

For more information about the Kirwan council, contact Nick Cillo at (251) 978-8699.