17 November

Bishop Maginn Students (And You) Rally To Make Thanksgiving Day Baskets For The Afghan And All Refugees. Thank You. See What You Did.

by Jon Katz

(Above The contents of each Thanksgiving Basket for the incoming Afghan Refugees and the refugee families needing food relief in the Bishop Maginn High School community.)

It was a wonderful thing to see today—an almost sacred day.

A classroom stuffed with volunteers – refugee and inner-city children working hard and joyously to press the big and bulging Thanksgiving Baskets that will go to at least 50 families in the Albany, N.Y. area. I saw a river of good flowing from pure hearts in and out of the school, hour after hour. This country has so much good; I don’t believe anyone who says otherwise.

All kinds of food from noodles to muffins to cranberry sauce to puddings and potatoes and sauces and stuffings. Inside of every large bag, there is also a $25 gift certificate so each family can purchase a turkey if they wish or something else if they prefer.

Most families are eager to celebrate Thanksgiving, as they see it as a way of giving thanks for being in America. They are grateful to be here for all of the troubles they face; it is so vastly superior to the horrors and dangers that so many of them have faced.

The basket stuffing began just after 11 a.m. and ended at 1:30 p.m. The food was donated by the Army Of Good, Bishop Maginn Alumnae, and several community groups in the Albany area. Starting this afternoon, the refugees can come to the Bishop Maginn Free Store and pick up their baskets, or teachers and social workers will deliver the baskets to them.

This will not make it a joyous holiday for many of these refugees, who came here with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. But it will help.

The families are happy to see the toys that you have donated, more than $1,000 worth of books from the Army Of Good are arriving on Monday and Tuesday.

We can’t solve many of the enormous problems the refugees face in this country. Still, we can make sure no student or refugee family goes hungry, has no mattresses to sleep on, soap or deodorant or toilet paper, blankets and sleeping bags and comforters,  or does not have enough money to buy healthy food for three meals a day.

Sue is once again giving warm breakfast cereal and snacks to her students who show up early on empty stomachs to get something to eat.

As always, Sue Silverstein did a fantastic job organizing the basket stuffing.

She had all of the donated food boxes on large shelves in the rear of the classroom. She and several students opened the boxes and distributed the food to other students, who carried them to students sitting at tables all over the room with a bag opened in front of them.

It sounded like a riot, but it worked smoothly.

As they were handed the boxes, the bags began to fill out, which worked like clockwork. Sue has a fantastic relationship with her students, and they worship her and listen to her. They didn’t need any cajoling. Many of the students are refugees themselves, and they jumped at the chance to help other refugees.

The boxes were taken to the Free Refugee Store on the school’s second floor when they were done.

The Bishop Maginn Free Store will be open starting later this week so the new refugees can come and pick out the blankets, clothes, household appliances, bedding, toiletries, and other things they might need. The store has been cleaned out at least four times but will keep going as long as it can.

At least five or six non-profit refugee support groups have rushed to help, and I believe the refugees will get more support than any refugee family has received over the past four or five years. This time, the government is on their side; that makes a huge difference.

It was a beautiful and uplifting day for me. I helped stuff the bags, took photos for Sue, helped flatten the boxes, and had a powerful interview with Caleb, a Bishop Maginn freshman who learned last summer that he has “Diabetes 1” (technically called “Type One Diabetes.”) We talked about how it had affected his life  – he was out of school for months – and what he hopes to do in the future to help other kids with the disease.

I’ll write about that later in the week.

Thanks so much for your support for the baskets; the food just kept pouring in, as did the toys and the blankets and comforters. Of course, I’ll stay in touch with Sue Silverstein and keep in touch with the refugee coordinators I’ve been talking to. If there’s something further we can do to help, I’ll write about it, and we’ll see what we can do. I’m also excited about getting to know the Bishop Maginn students once again after a prolonged Covid interruption.

17 November

Windowsill Gallery: Off To Albany, Thanksgiving Baskets For The Afghan Refugees

by Jon Katz

I notice that Maria put some ceramic bird salt and pepper shakers up on the windowsill, we bought them to use, but they don’t work well. She found a home for them in the living room.

This morning, we’re heading for Bishop Maginn High School, we are helping to set up the Free Store and the Thanksgiving baskets and gift certificates for the Afghan refugees.

The store is on the ground floor of the high school, which has become a center for aid and support for the new refugees. They know how to do it.

Maria will teach six students how to sew on the new machines we bought, and I’ll help with the baskets and perhaps interview one of the students.

I’m leaving Zinnia behind, it’s going to be too chaotic and some of the refugees are not familiar with big friendly dogs. We have to be careful and thoughtful.

I’m excited about today, a big injection of good and affirmation.

16 November

Beautiful Books On The Way To Bishop Maginn For The Afghan Refugees

by Jon Katz

The first load of books ($500 worth) is shipping out tomorrow for the free store at Bishop Maginn High School, a central service point for the Afghan refugees to get some of the things they need.

Maria and I are going to the school in the morning to help assemble the Thanksgiving Basket items and gift certificates the Army Of Good has so generously donated.

Maria will teach her class how to use the new sewing machines we sent to the school. I’m planning on interviewing another of the remarkable students at the school; I’m planning on making this a series – The Students Of Bishop Maginn High School and their stories.

Today, I went to the Battenkill Bookstore to look over the beautiful books chosen  By Connie Brooks (after much research) specifically for the new refugees: how to leave a pet behind or a grandmother or friend, how to start a new life and make friends in a new country. Some also deal with the trauma of the refugee.

There are pictures, stories, and valuable tips and guides. Some books are beautiful with gorgeous photographs and inspiring and comforting stories. They’ll arrive at the Free Store on Monday.

We have a second-order ($400) of books – picture books mostly, for the very young – shipping out to the store next week. We all feel we have enough books for now. We want to see what’s left after Thanksgiving.

All of the families have blankets, warm bedding, and all of them have gift certificates (they can buy turkeys or anything they wish) and the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner. The toys you purchased on the Amazon Afghan Refugee Toy Wish List are arriving every day, and the families are incredibly grateful for them.

I’m excited about these books, they are lovely and helpful, and I’m proud to be sending them where they are so desperately needed and will do so much good.

Bishop Maginn Teacher Sue Silverstein is very worried about the rise in heating oil costs this winter; this was a problem last winter when we discovered several students were sleeping on living room mats and floors to save on heating oil.

We got several mattresses for these families; I know some were cold.

I’m not sure there is a lot we can do about that.

We need to stay focused on smaller and less expensive things.  We are doing a lot of good. We can’t burn ourselves out. We are helping now, keeping perspective, discipline, and scale.

Several groups are lobbying the Biden administration and local government for more help, and they seem much more receptive to the call than the previous administration was..

12 November

Quilts For The Afghan Refugees. The Free Store Is Filling Up Fast

by Jon Katz

Maria’s project for getting some quilts to the Afghan refugees coming to Albany is moving ahead. It is a big hit. She has her class, and the project has drawn interest, support, and media coverage from all over the country.

She and her class are rock stars. Many of the refugees are experiencing cold for the first time; they ask for quilts, comforters, and blankets. They all have blankets and comforters; the quilts will be a pleasant surprise.

Maria was given new and unused quilt tops and mixed them with her fabric. The students, many of them refugees themselves, are excited. Boys and girls have been asked to join the class, taught by Maria and Sue Silverstein.

“People did this for us when we came,” said Maya, a refugee from Myanmar, “and we wish to do the same.”

We have three sewing machines donated by the Army of Good, and more are coming. Maria thinks the quilts will be ready as soon as they master their devices.

She’s donated all of the new material and fabrics and volunteered to teach the students how to sew. She will be teaching another class next week.

Next Wednesday, Maria, Zinnia, and I will be going to Bishop Maginn to help the staff assemble the Thanksgiving baskets for the refugees.

The Toys Wish List for the Afghan children sold out last week, and the many boxes of toys are now arriving at the school and going straight to the free refugee store.

The store is also distributing gift certificates so they can buy a turkey or any other food and the traditional foods – cranberry sauce, mash potato mix, etc. – that go with conventional American Thanksgiving meals.

The free store is a large classroom on the first floor of Bishop Maginn. It has been thoroughly cleaned out four times. Refugees and social workers can come in and choose what they need.

If the refugees can’t come, the things they need will be delivered to them.

Every family will have the support it needs to be warm, to have enough food for a Thanksgiving feast; however they wish it, and books and toys for their families.

The store is also packed with jackets and clothes, and household items.

More than $1,000 books written explicitly for new refugees to America  and children will be arriving today and Monday (thanks, Army of Good) and placed in the free refugee store at Bishop Maginn or distributed to the refugee’s homes if they can’t yet travel.

We have all the books that will fit in the free store for now.

I’m not planning any other Wish Lists for this year unless some urgent new needs arise; I am told the refugees have nothing but the clothes on their backs. I’m sure they will have additional requirements.

I should say that several other groups are also supporting the new refugees; Bishop Maginn has taken the lead with its free store. This is the best side of Catholicism.

I’m happy to report that the Albany Diocese of the Catholic Church is waiving any tuition fees for Bishop Maginn High School. The school is expecting some new students from Afghanistan in January.

The school is widely known for its expertise and skill in educating inner-city and refugee children.

We have asked to be notified of any special needs – winter shoes and jackets, morning snacks, books, or backpacks for school. I’ll post any requests on the blog.

Thanks for your donations. If you wish to contribute, you can do so via Paypal, [email protected], Venmo, [email protected]. or by check, Jon Katz, Refugee Fund, P.O.Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thank you for everything you have done. I’ll keep you posted, as always.

10 November

Books For The Afghan Refugees. Need Some Help

by Jon Katz

I’m working with Battenkill Books, my local bookstore, to ship $425 to Albany in the next few days to stock our free book store with books for the refugee children from Afghanistan. They range in age from infants and toddlers to adolescents and high school students.

I suggested books to the refugee coordinators, and they agreed that would be tremendously helpful to the Afghan families right now.

Connie Brooks from Battenkill Books books has chosen ten copies of Richard Scary’s Best Word Book Ever, ten copies of the All Are Welcome picture book, and five copies of the first Picture Atlas. to send them.

As we learn more about these children, exactly how many they are, how old they are, and what language they are familiar with, I hope to order more books for them. There are 60 Afghan families in Albany already; more are coming.

I have enough money on hand for these books; I’d like to ask for help buying more books, some that focus on picture books and help me learn English.

The best books are expensive. We are choosing them carefully and thoughtfully. I purchased $200 worth of books for the children last week, my donation.

I’m buying these books in $500 chunks until we get what we need and everyone who wants to read can. The Afghan students are generally not familiar with social media. Their parents would like to keep it that way.

As always, any overage will go to the refugee fund; we can use it.

You can help by donating via Paypal, [email protected] and Venmo, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Books, P.O. Box 205 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thank you. The Afghan Toy Wish List is going up shortly.

Bedlam Farm