The 72nd annual WHAS Crusade for Children held June 7-8 raised $5,890,189, which will be distributed to the community “in the form of grants to schools, hospitals and agencies that make life better for children with special needs,” according to the organization’s website.
Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville have long supported that effort. This year, parishes collected $213,689. During the telethon, archdiocesan officials announced the top parish contributions.
Among Jefferson County parishes, the top contributors were: St. Martha Church with $15,282, St. Michael Church with $12,789 and St. Albert the Great Church with $11,824.
The top parish contributors outside Jefferson County were: St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., with $7,572, St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, Ky., with $3,288 and St. Francis Xavier Church in Mount Washington, Ky., with $2,542.
The totals reported by the archdiocese were expected to change as donations continued to arrive after the telethon ended.Since its inception in 1954, the fundraiser has raised — and distributed — more than $222 million, said the website, whascrusade.org. Among the recipients in 2024 were Archdiocese of Louisville schools and other Catholic groups.
