Columbiettes? Ask Louise

July 14, 2025

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She’s rather quiet and unassuming, certainly kind and self-effacing, but by no means bashful or lacking confidence. Louise Welch simply goes about her own personal dedication to doing good for others and making life a little better for those with whom she comes in contact.Columbiettes

It was 15 years ago when Louise was one of the driving forces in creating an auxiliary for the Vincent T. Lombardi Council of the Knights of Columbus in Middletown. Louise was installed as the first president of the Columbiettes Women’s Auxiliary and has been hard at work with the Auxiliary ever since.

The Middletown resident still remains active with the catholic women’s organization, is still leader, and the auxiliary now also serves as the auxiliary for the Rev. Joseph Donnelly Council of the Knights of Columbus, active in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help St Agnes parish in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.

The Auxiliary now has 33 members, accepting four new members this month and always eager to welcome any female catholic over the age of 18 who would like to be part of the organization.

They are a busy group, the Columbiettes. In addition to running a variety of fund-raising events, the women assist the knights in their many activities, including the monthly Breakfasts offered at no cost to all and held during the summer months on the second Sunday of the month at St. Agnes Church hall after all the masses.

The women also collect hundreds of thousands of soda and beer can caps and bring them to the Ronald McDonald House for their drive in collecting and recycling the caps to sell and raise funds for all their charitable work. Collecting pull tabs and metal bottle caps makes it easy to recycle and helps the Ronald McDonald organization. Their services help provide services for families with seriously ill or injured children. The amount of funds raised after recycling is determined by the total weight of the tabs and current redemption value.

Since pull tabs are easy to remove and store, it is easier to handle large volumes of donations with much less storage space. Louise said their last donation literally filled a truckload of tabs to the Ronald McDonald house. The Columbiettes also collect school supplies and backpacks for distribution to youngsters in need, a project which is kept out throughout each of the five dioceses in the state. They also collect toiletries and needs for women and children in homeless shelters and Hope House.

Louise and all the Columbiettes members encourage women to join he organization and have made it a practice for members to allocate their own schedules and contributions. There are no specific requirements or amounts of time to spend, everyone participates at whatever level of commitment that makes her comfortable, and women have the opportunity to use their special skills and talents, including needlework or other hobbies which may assist others.

Louise, who is an officer and active in the South East Chapter of the Columbiettes as well as all her activity locally, said she continues to do it because ”I love helping, I love the people who are involved, and I love sharing the time with so many of my friends.”

Generosity, kindness and devotion to the Knights and their works runs deeply in the Welch family. Her husband and son are both Fourth Degree, the patriotic order of the Knights of Columbus, as well as active in the Fr. Donnelly council, where Tom is in the color guard and is faithful navigator of the 4^th Degree Assembly.