August 31, 2023

Empowering Members to Make a Difference

Ricardo Coy Sr.’s Fraternal Legacy Rider donation to the Diocese of Gary will have a lasting impact on the community he cared about.

Ricardo Coy is shown wearing a uniform and holding a trumpet.

Through the Fraternal Legacy Rider1 attached to his Catholic Order of Foresters life insurance policy, Catholic Order of Foresters member Ricardo Coy Sr. left a $10,000 legacy donation to the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, after he passed away in January.

The Diocese of Gary has expressed its gratitude for the gift, which will be used to support the diocese’s ongoing charitable efforts.

According to Judy Holicky, the Diocese of Gary’s development assistant in its Office of Stewardship and Development, Ricardo’s gift was allocated toward the diocese’s Bishop’s Charities Fund.

Previous charities that have been supported by this fund are: Catholic Charities, acting as the charitable arm of the Diocese of Gary, provides and advocates for the physical, emotional, and social needs of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. The Albertine Home, a Catholic senior care home in Hammond, Indiana. Mercy Fund Endowment, which provides annual grants to local ministries that serve and support through the Catholic Foundation for Northwest Indiana. Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which assists families and individuals in need with material and financial assistance for housing and utilities. Lake County Right to Life, whose purpose is to promote and protect the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. And Calumet College of St. Joseph, a Catholic liberal arts college founded and served by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.P.P.S.) in Whiting, Indiana.

Ricardo’s donation is a shining example of the power of legacy giving. Through the Fraternal Legacy Rider, Catholic Order of Foresters members can make a lasting impact on their community and support the causes they care about long after they’re gone. By leaving a legacy of compassion, faith, and generosity, members like Ricardo Coy Sr. ensure that their commitment to service lives on and continues to make a difference in the lives of others.


Right: Elizabeth Coy presents a $10,000 legacy check to the Very Rev. Christopher Stanish, moderator of the curia/vicar general of the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, on behalf of her father, Ricardo Coy, who named the Diocese of Gary as an additional beneficiary through the Fraternal Legacy Rider on his Catholic Order of Foresters life insurance policy. Judy Holicky, left, development assistant in the Diocese of Gary’s Office of Stewardship and Development and General Agent Jim Pappas are also pictured.

1A rider added to your life insurance policy allowing COF to pay one or more Catholic charities a death benefit on your behalf, in addition to your named beneficiary(ies) receiving their designated death benefit. Eligible death benefit face amount starts at $50,000. Charitable contribution death benefit paid to a Catholic charity(ies) not to exceed $250,000. Not available in all states. Fraternal Legacy Rider forms: ICC17-FLR-UL, FLR-UL17, ICC19-FLR-TRAD, FLR-TRAD-19, FLR-TRAD19-FL. Click here to see terms and conditions.