January 2009

A Message From Admiral Carey

The Good Samaritans of the Knights Templar Foundation continues in our efforts to help the less fortunate in unique ways that are not addressed or covered by others, and through our unique approach and anonymous random acts of kindness and charity through the SILENT KNIGHT Program, I feel we are truly having an impact and making a difference. 2009 brings us many new opportunities and challenges and we are off to a GREAT start already.

Our Knights of State program held its quarterly luncheon meeting at the University Club of Washington, DC and I unabashedly state that the talent level of international expertise around that table would rival any such gathering in Washington on that day. I am constantly impressed with the outstanding high caliber of professionals and senior leaders that continue to offer their talents and treasure to aid the less fortunate, both in the USA and around the world. Further details on the Knights of State are on this web site and can be accessed from the home page by clicking on the Knights of State link on the right hand side of the page. Knights of State membership is by invitation—- for further details, contact Chev. Douglas Kinney at kinneyds@state.gov

Our foundation embarked upon a special program this past Christmas, where we distributed over 200 copies of the book SILENT KNIGHT. It has been our experience that the key to growing the SILENT KNIGHT Program and thus the key to adding to the number of anonymous random acts of kindness that are achieved is directly related to the number of the SILENT KNIGHT books that get read. So with the kind cooperation of COL [Ret.] Craig Carlson, the Author of SILENT KNIGHT, who donated the books, GSKT provided the labor and envelopes and labels and postage to send these books out to selected recipients that we felt would find the charitable mission of SILENT KNIGHT appealing. Responses are now flowing back in to us with glowing reports of the book and an excitement to begin participating in random acts of kindness. If just half of these 200 people perform only one random act of kindness each month, we will have impacted positively on the lives of 1200 people all across this nation. In my opinion, this is EXACTLY the kind of things we need to be doing and to do more of, and we’re going to do just that in 2009.

Special thanks to everyone that responded to our year-end appeal for small donations in order to enlarge our number of donors to meet the IRS donor requirements as a public charity. We asked for donations of $5, and we received almost 100, with some of you sending up to $100. So many thanks to everyone that helped out with this—– we achieved the numbers that we needed to achieve to keep the IRS happy, and we will now make sure that those donations are put to good use in helping the less fortunate. And we will keep you posted on these efforts in future letters from me and in future GSKT Newsletters.

Happy New Year to All. GOD Bless you for all you do for others.

Rear Admiral [Ret.] James J. Carey, Chairman

The Good Samaritans of the Knights Templar Foundation

“We have a living through what we get, but we make a life through what we give”
. . . . . . Sir Winston Churchill