The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, family, fraternal, service organization. Our guiding principles are Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.  Since our founding in New Haven, CT in 1882, the Knights have grown to a membership of over 1,700,000. Knights are found in every state of the Union, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and many other parts of the world.  Our top rated insurance program helps protect families with over 44 billion dollars of life insurance policies in force.

At the heart of the Knights of Columbus is our faith.  Knights are referred to as the right arm of the church.  The K of C's Catholic Information Service (CIS) was started in 1948 to provide, at low-cost, Catholic publications to individuals, groups, and institutions requesting them.  Since its founding, the Knights of Columbus has been in solidarity with the Catholic Church, the Holy Father and the bishops, priests and religious.  Our order has a special devotion to our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  By praying the Holy Rosary, we ask Mary to intercede on our behalf to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The order has funded many church construction and restoration projects.

The Order has grown, its benevolence has multiplied. The Order continues to break all previous records for charitable contributions and volunteer service. In the past decade, the Knights donated over $1 billion to numerous charitable causes and nearly 500 million hours of volunteer service. In 2002 alone, the Knights donated $116 million and 57 million volunteer hours to charitable causes.

Closer to home, the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina number more than 12,000 and are organized in 110 local Councils from Franklin in the west to Kill Devil Hills in the east.

Financial support for our seminarians aids the development of future priests.  We sponsor Boy Scout Troop 216, Cub Scout Packs 216 and 218.  Boys and girls compete in our annual free-throw contest.  Religious themed card sales help to Keep Christ in Christmas.  The Knights are a Gold sponsor of Special Olympics in North Carolina.  Our largest charitable effort, the LAMB Foundation of NC has raised over $12 million to help people with mental retardation.  The Read-a-Thon encourages students to read over the summer while raising money for LAMB.   Council 6650 participates in the North Carolina Adopt A Highway program and cleans the roadside of Walnut Street from Cary Elementary to Cary Village Square and Cary Towne Boulevard from Walnut to Farmgate Road.  Fridays during Lent, Fish Fries are held at Saint Michaels by the Council and at Saint Andrews by the Fourth Degree Assembly 2446.   Our council hosts Rex Blood Plan Drives at St. Michael's.  Social events are held throughout the year to give our families time together. 

The fourth Degree of the Knights has patriotism as its principal.  The local assembly, Fr. Paul of Graymoor Assembly 2446 recognizes outstanding work done by emergency service workers, honors the contribution made by veterans of armed services to our country and awards an annual scholarship to an outstanding graduating high school senior.