My donation today: Red Ceramic Heater, $14.99.

These two young women – very recent immigrants to America – wanted so much to thank you personally for the donations you have sent them through a special Amazon Gift Page that they came to the warehouse where the gifts are being sent and signed released forms agreeing to be photographed.

I can’t use their names or provide any specific details about them – they feel there are great risks to doing that in America right now – and in their original countries, it is rare for women to be photographed or have their pictures shown in public. The volunteers said they said “thank you, thank you,” at least ten times.

They showed up because they wanted to thank you, they were smiling ear to ear and wanted to make their gratitude and appreciation to you  known. I thank them for that. They are quite brave to do this.

They need so much.

This week more refugees are coming to this area, mostly women and children, rushing to skirt the proposed ban.

They have all been repeatedly investigated and tested and vetted – often many times, and for years.

They have suffered greatly and are no threat to you, your family or our country. They lost everything in their own country, and to come here and need everything, especially inexpensive household appliances, blankets, comforters, coffee makers, teapots, silverware, toothpaste, deodorant, citizenship application guides, socks and diapers.

The U.S Committee on Refugees And Immigration and it’s very dedicated volunteers are  regularly updating its gift page on Amazon to reflect the evolving needs of these new Americans. They are our brothers and sisters.

Your gifts are not only valuable in their own right, they also serve the purpose of showing these refugees that they are safe and welcome in America, a land they have always believed to be welcoming and generous.

This is a way to do good, inexpensively and effectively. Every penny goes directly to the refugees and the suggested items range from $6 to $50. You can also donate Amazon gift cards.

Thank you so much. Your donations filled the volunteer warehouse, which is already emptying out as the packages are being quickly distributed. Many of these refugees didn’t know they were coming here until a few days before they left. They have all been traumatized by the sudden ban on immigration, they fear they will ever see their loved ones again and wonder about their lives here.

They arrived to encounter their first winter – an upstate New York winter – and need just about everything to fill the apartments that have been found for them. Thanks for contributing, and if you can continue doing that – again the items are inexpensive and utilitarian – you will be doing good and feeling good. Thanks.

For me, this transcends the idea of charity. It is about who I am as a human being, who we are as a people. This could well be my grandmother, cold and frightened in a strange country thousands of miles from home. Don’t argue. Do good.

My donation today: Red Ceramic Heater, $14.99