By Christina Leslie | Correspondent
Why would a group of guys spend hundreds of hours building a wheelchair ramp for someone they didn’t know?
When you learn those guys are members of Medford’s Knights of Columbus St. Mary of the Lakes Council 6520, the answer becomes clear.
“This was just a guy who needed help. We can accomplish more with a bunch of us than on our own,” stated John Zawatcki, grand knight of the council whose online mission statement reads, “In service to one, in service to all.”
Zawatcki and about 25 brother Knights recently completed the construction of that wooden ramp to aid a Tabernacle resident gain access to his home.
The man, a former Green Beret, was a retired N.J. State Trooper who flew Medevac flights, ferrying wounded to hospitals via helicopter. He had broken his neck and became paralyzed this past August. A temporary aluminum ramp wouldn’t allow for the man’s independence, so the Knights sprang into action.
Knight Charlie Kojeski, a general contractor by trade, organized the build. Others investigated grants with outside agencies, still others accepted donations of the supplies necessary to build the project, the fifth such ramp constructed by the Knights council.
“Everyone has different areas of expertise,” Zawatcki explained. “We all did different things: dug post holes for the footings, poured concrete or did framing. You ask a couple of guys to help, and give them on-the-job training. “
The $3,000 project took a month from start to finish; inclement weather and inspection delays couldn’t deter the Knights from their selfless task for the stranger in their midst.
“We were under a time crunch,” said Zawatcki. “[The resident] was getting out of Magee (Rehabilitation Hospital, Philadelphia). We didn’t actually meet the guy until we were waiting for inspectors last week.”
The grand knight deflected praise during a recent phone call, his voice elevated to be heard over the sound of an electric saw: he and the council were again building a ramp for a worthy recipient.
“That’s what we Knights are all about,” he stated. “We can accomplish more with a bunch of us than on our own.”