I took this photograph yesterday. Maria is an avid reader.
I’ve mentioned we are trying to do less work on weekends; I’m halfway there. Sunday, I read in silence for three or four hours, and it was sweet time. No matter how often I take Maria’s portrait, she seems different. Maria is not one thing but many things. This one is the real here – at times. That is a fascinating and rare thing about her. Every time I look at my portraits, she is different.
“So, too, all who are sensitive to beauty know the almost agonizing sense of revelation its sudden impact brings – the abrupt disclosure of the mountain summit, the wild cherry in blossom, the flower opening, the crowning moment of a great concerto, witnessing to another beauty beyond sense.”
– Evelyn Underhill, The Spiritual Life.
I recently heard from the dedicated teachers in a school in Albany – The Albany International Center that teaches English to refugee children seeking to avoid the violence of the public schools.
They are seeking three kinds of crackers for the younger refugee children at the school, grades 1 – 2. The crackers are for afternoon snacks; some kids are hungry and need protein. The teachers who have been these crackers need help – Graham Crackers, Animal Crackers, Gold Fish Crackers, all inexpensive and available just about wherever food is sold.
The prices go from $2.79 to $24 for bulk boxes.
(If you can help, the address to which to send the crackers is The Albany International Center, 50 Lark Street, Albany, New York, 12210, c/o Agija Van Derwiel. I’ll let you know about this project and the life and needs of one remarkable student the teachers have singled out for help. I’m meeting him next week; his primary teacher says he is an “amazing” student working day and night, and he hopes to become a doctor.)
If you need the school’s Amazon phone number, it’s 518 475 6000. Please do not send me crackers or cash to buy these items; crackers should go directly to the school.)
These kids have had rough lives, driven from their homes and living in refugee camps in America to build and rebuild new lives. Several hundred of them are in a remarkable school founded to help them learn English so they can continue their educations. They are hard workers, but the public schools are not well-equipped to help them, and many are afraid of the violence in those schools – many have experienced some.
The teachers spend their meager salaries on afternoon snacks for the kids, who are often hungry. Their parents are the people you see cleaning hotel rooms and hospital floors and stocking shelves at Walmart. They work hard, often in two or three jobs.
I’m going to the school this coming week to take a photo or two and figure out what they need. It’s Graham, Animal, and Goldfish crackers; nothing expensive. We could send them what they need, but I can’t get to the school for a week or so. I hope to put up a Wish List for the teachers shortly, but I’d love to get them some crackers. So this is something of a test.
The teachers at AIC are asking for help. The kids need these snacks, but the teachers are not paid well enough to keep buying them. They are often hungry and tired in the afternoon.
The center accepts and helps students from K to 12; they have a one-year program funded by the Albany Public School System.
The teachers are buying the three crackers above –Gold Fish, Graham, and Animal Crackers as afternoon snacks and energy boosts. I would appreciate any help you can give these children. I just bought bulk boxes of each. Until the wish list, I’d ask people who wish to purchase the crackers—available on Amazon or any grocery store—to mail them to Albany International Center, a one-year program to teach newcomers to America English so they can return to their former schools. Many of these kids have struggled with violence or crowded classrooms. I’ll get some photos of the school.
Their parents work hard in low-paying jobs and have little or no money to spare. You might remember EhK’Pru, who needed our help and is not in college on a scholarship. She was in a similar program when we met her. “We could use the help,” one teacher told me, and they are asking for very little.
If you can help, the address to send the crackers is The Albany International Center, 50 Lark Street, Albany, New York, 12210, c/o Agija Van Derwiel. I’ll let you know about this project and the life and needs of one remarkable student the teachers have singled out for help. I’m meeting him next week; his primary teacher says he is a “fantastic” student working day and night to become a doctor.
If you need the school’s Amazon phone number, it’s 518 475 6000. Please do not send me crackers or cash to buy these items; crackers should go directly to the school.
Today, it’s Babies 2.10. We got some diapers, but we need more. Thanks for caring. Sarah is asking for help getting Diapers 6 and 3. The urgent item will also be wet wipes for babies. Thanks so much for your support. The diapers fly right out of the pantry when there is a service. They are not an option but a necessity.
Sarah’s choices to help babies and moms:
Huggies Size 6 Diapers, Little Movers, Baby Diapers, Size 6, 16 Count, $9.94.
Baby Diapers Size 3, (16-28 pounds, 26 ct, Huggies Little Snugglers, $9.94.
Urgent Item (and timely):
The Amazon Cambridge Pantry Urgent Wish List is accessible anytime, day or night.
Click on the links here or use the green button at the bottom of every blog post. Every item on the wish list is urgent and updated several times daily. Some people are adopting favored items and sending them when they can. Thanks for the messages; the pantry volunteers greatly appreciate them, and many are poring through them
You can see Maria’s Monday Morning video here every Monday morning or on her beautiful blog, fullmoonfiberart.com.
