Dec 18, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The Knights of Columbus is urging television viewers to help children in need this Christmas. The Catholic fraternal benefit society has been at the forefront of helping needy children and families throughout its 125-year history.

The 60-second television message, which features a rendition of Away in a Manger sung by country music star Patty Loveless, will air Dec. 18-25 on U.S.-based cable TV networks CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and CMT (Country Music Television). In Canada, it will be broadcast on CTV National and CTV Newsnet, as well as on local stations in Toronto and Montreal.  Catholic programs airing in Hartford, Boston, Detroit, Orlando and Long Island will also show the spot, as will the U.S. Catholic cable channel ETWN.  The spot may be viewed by going to the Knights of Columbus website, www.kofc.org.

Opening with a photo sequence of sleeping children and the superimposed message: “Jesus slept in a manger for one reason: no one made room for Him,” the spot concludes with a shivering child alone in the cold and invites the viewer to help a child in need. The Knights of Columbus Web site offers lists of international, national, state and provincial charitable agencies focusing on the needs of children that are already supported by the Knights of Columbus, together with web links to those charities.

Founded by Father Michael McGivney in 1882 to address the needs of widows and orphans, the Knights of Columbus has always considered charity its first principle.  Its life insurance program now protects hundreds of thousands of Knights and their families.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson invited viewers to go beyond simply giving gifts to friends and family this year.  “When we recall that Christ was born in a stable, it reminds us that there are millions of children around the world who live in far less comfortable surroundings than we do, and many of them desperately need our help.  Their lives and ours will be made immeasurably better by a heartfelt gift, given in love.”

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, with more than 1.7 million members in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Last year the Order and its members donated more than $139 million and more than 64 million volunteer service hours to charity.