Knights donate to Birth Haven

Oak Ridge — The Knights of Columbus Milton/Oak Ridge Council #5510 recently donated $2,500 to Birth Haven, a shelter in Newton for homeless, pregnant women and girls. To raise money for the donation, Joe Ozoniak, who chaired the program for the Knights, with cooperation of Monsignor Fitzpatrick of St. Thomas the Apostle Church, ran a Baby Bottle fundraiser, asking St. Thomas parishioners to voluntarily take home a bottle and fill it with their extra change. The proceeds, along with a contribution from the Knights, was donated to Birth Haven. “The donation was indeed a godsend,” said Kate Yaskovic, Birth Haven’s executive director. Birth Haven is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week by a professional staff that provides refuge, education, life skills training, counseling and nurturing to young women who have chosen to carry their pregnancies to term. As many as nine women and their infants reside at Birth Haven through their pregnancies and up to six weeks after delivery.