Fresh news: the refugee families have used up all of the gift cards we sent them, their food supplies are low or gone. Details below.

Claudia sent over her drawing of the Bedlam Farm coloring page Maria sent her a few days ago, we are trying to perk up the days inside the Mansion, I’ve been sending masks, lunches, desserts, art supplies and easels and toys for the children of the Mansion aides.

I’ve also been sending special pizza orders for the Mansion aides, lunch and dinner.

Maria is making new coloring pages, which she is selling on Etsy for people who want something creative to do or need activities for their children or grandchildren. You can download them for $3 here

Thank you for helping the refugee families and students at Bishop Maginn High School receive Price Chopper Gift Cards to keep their families from being hungry.

Some of the family members are sick – several work at local hospitals cleaning floors, and some have lost their jobs and are struggling to feed their families and pay their bills.

We are also learning that few, if any, of the refugees are entitled to receive a government benefit check. Most of the money they have or an earn goes for rent.

About 30  refugee families are running out of food altogether. Sue Silverstein, the Bishop Maginn teacher who is distributing the gift cards, says their food supply condition is “critical.”

These are not people who like to ask for help. The school hopes to re-open, at least in a limited way, sometime in May.

The laptops we purchased a month ago for the students learning at home have been an amazing success, the school’s mobile schoolhouse is all wired up and working.

Food pantries in the area are running out of food or have little food left. We believe the virus has struck members of at least four families we know of. Those families are under quarantine.

I just bought $200 in cards, we could use some more help. You can buy a Price Chopper Gift Card here (the store is in the refugee neighborhood).

Purchasing a gift card is simple –  you do have to fill out all the fields – and you can purchase cards in any amount, from $25 up. If you buy a card that costs $300 or more, you might be asked to activate it by e-mail a few days after the purchase.

The cards need to be sent to my farm since the high school is closed and the cards cannot be sent to post office boxes. The address here is Jon Katz, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. 

I overnight them to Sue as soon as they arrive.

If you want to avoid purchasing a card online, you can send a contribution to me via Paypal, [email protected], at the farm, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 1281 or at my post office box, Jon Katz, P.O Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I’ll be happy to buy them for you.

The lunch and dessert program at the Mansion is a big hit and an enormous morale booster.

it breaks up the day and the monotony of institutional food. Wednesday, the lunch – catered by Jean’s Place – was lasagna with salad and rolls, and five different and very delicious home-baked pies. Friday, Jean’s Place is bringing a Mac N’ Cheese lunch with fresh-baked rolls, salad and dessert.

The lunches cost about $250, they feed the residents and the aides as well. And the work is helping Jean’s Place to hang on.

If you wish to support the work of the Army Of Good, you can do so via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Mansion/Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Your support at this time is very much appreciated, we’ve made a big difference in the lives of some vulnerable people.

Thanks for your support.

As always, it is so much better to do good than argue about what good is.