Since 2013, Mark Hancock has been Knights of Columbus Council 1252’s envoy for Gibault Children’s Services.

Indiana Knights of Columbus founded Father Gibault Home for Boys in Terre Haute in 1921. It was originally administered by priests of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1934, Brothers of Holy Cross became the administrators, teachers, counselors and overseers. They, in partnership with the Indiana Knights, saw thousands of young boys turn into young men, according to indianakofc.org.

For more than three-quarters of a century, Gibault Inc. has been known for its excellence as a residential treatment facility for delinquent and predelinquent young men.

Now, however, it’s undergoing growth that will allow the organization to serve an even greater population. Gibault recently added a unit for young women, and soon, it plans to expand services to families and adults.

Each Knights of Columbus council in Indiana has an envoy who serves as a liaison between the council and Gibault.

In 2023, Gibault decided to create a new award to hand out at the annual Gibault Envoy Conference.

Hancock, a member of Seymour-based Council 1252, was announced as the first recipient.

“I did not know they were doing that,” he said, smiling. “They were saying, ‘This person has done so much for Gibault this year. … He invited us to his tenderloin dinner.’ I’m like, ‘That’s me.’”

While he said he doesn’t serve as an envoy for recognition, the honor means a lot to him.

“I was surprised,” he said. “It was very kind of them and touching to do that. I do it for them.”

Melissa Reed, director of fund development for Gibault, recognized Hancock during the conference.

“This envoy has really excelled in his role and has provided many opportunities for Gibault to visit his community to spread our mission,” she said. “He also brought a group of Knights along with their wives to visit our Terre Haute campus. They took a tour and spent time learning of our rich history in our memorabilia room.”

Reed said Hancock invited her to attend one of Council 1252’s tenderloin dinners, where she worked alongside members serving food and had a chance to meet people and share Gibault’s work.

She said Hancock also presented a new opportunity for Gibault by getting his council on board to host a dunk tank during its annual Frühlingsfest, which raised $1,000 for the organization.

“When he brought his council to visit, they brought doughnuts from their local bakery and treated all of our kids and staff,” Reed said. “Thinking outside the box and having consistent contact with Gibault is the most we can ask of our envoys. This gentleman truly is a liaison between us and his council. He is an awesome envoy.”

Besides these two fundraisers, Hancock said Council 1252 gives a donation to Gibault at the annual conference.

This year, he said the council also plans to help with a Christmas effort in a different way.

“All of the councils give Christmas presents to the kids … and we make sure that they have a good Christmas,” Hancock said. “We always donated to it in the past, and we still will. (This) year, we’re going to have a drive ourselves.”

Gibault sends a monthly e-newsletter to the envoys so they can share with their council to see what’s going on there and what its needs are.

Hancock encourages people to support Gibault. Donations may be made through him or at Knights of Columbus Council 1252 in downtown Seymour or they can be made online at gibault.org.

“One thing they always say, some of these kids when they go there, they bring their clothes in a garbage sack or a Walmart sack or nothing — they are literally holding them,” he said. “They want those kids to have something and leave better than when they came, so every kid gets a duffel bag when they leave Gibault, and so they always need duffel bags.”

Hancock has been in Knights of Columbus since 1996. He said he first found out about Gibault when he was attending Indiana State University in Terre Haute. When Council 1252 needed someone to attend the annual envoy conference, he stepped up.

“I said, ‘I could see my old stomping grounds, check out ISU again and see what it’s about,’” Hancock said. “I just fell in love with it after that … just seeing what we give to and seeing all of the wonderful things they do and how it helps those kids.”

Gibault serves children with mild to severe emotional disturbances, aggressive and oppositional behaviors, substance abuse issues, victims and perpetrators who exhibit sexually harmful/reactive behavior, learning disabilities and diagnosis on the autism spectrum and a variety of clinical issues in residential and community-based environments.

For information, visit gibault.org.

“They are just a wonderful organization that helps kids that are in a bad spot,” Hancock said. “I highly encourage people, you don’t have to be a Knight, you don’t have to be a Catholic, go there. The kids that are on good behavior, they’ll tour you around. You’ll see the facility and see what it is they do here in Indiana that’s for kids. … I would encourage people, make the trek up there sometime. Just see what we as Hoosiers do for kids in need.”