Efforts to raise funds in support of the deported Batalla-Charris family took another step forward on the weekend as the Saint-Élie-d’Orford chapter of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic men’s service organization, offered their support in helping structure efforts, mainly by offering donors the opportunity to receive a tax receipt. “We couldn’t have found a better organization to work with,” said Marc Nadeau, who has been working to support the Batalla-Charris family from afar along with his wife Audrey Pinsonneault. “It really fits into their mission. Charity is one of the four pillars on which the association was established.” Although the support of the Knights of Columbus at this point is largely administrative, Nadeau said that he and Pierre Côté, the Grand Knight of council 8053, see eye to eye on the situation of the family who were sent back to Spain late last year. “They’re very much into helping people in need, and they were very receptive to our cause,” Nadeau said, arguing that the Knights of Columbus do a lot of good work that goes largely unnoticed. That in mind, he said he would not be surprised to see the local group take on a more active role in the fundraising effort in the weeks and months to come. See full story in the Friday, Jan. 3 edition of The Record.
