A special task for the Army Of Good.

The children in the photo above are all members of the RISSE (refugee and immigrant support center) Girl’s Basketball Team – six were running at a track meet yesterday – or the RISSE Soccer team, which has one girl.

RISSE has made a big decision regarding these children. They are all students in the Albany Public School system, too old now for the RISSE after school program. Many are struggling with English and other basic studies, RISSE wants to hire a part-time teacher to work with them as they approach high school, and hopefully, different forms of higher education.

Some of these children have not learned basic English and Math, and this becomes critically important as all of them approach high school in the next few years. The women’s basketball team will have nine members, the soccer team about 18 players.

The teacher will be paid minimum wage – $12.50 an hour – and will work in the afternoons when these young athletes are available. I think this is a very caring and important idea, and I’ve offered to try to support the hiring of a teacher. RISSE can raise some of the money, I hope we can help them.

Together, I believe this is quite doable. And I can’t imagine anything that will have a greater impact on the lives of these children. The public schools in Albany are chronically underfunded and overcrowded, these kids can’t be given the individual tutoring that they need. Some can barely speak English.

I’d like to take it one month at a time, RISSE is looking for about $10,000 for the year, possibly less, possibly more, depending on what the kids need and how this special tutoring goes. Ali told me this would be, in his terms,  “the greatest thing.” I think so too. Over time, I think we can offer some concrete help.

I believe in small acts of great kindness, our mission is to fill the holes in the lives of the refugees and immigrants and the Mansion residents. These children are coming to the Mansion on April 6 to serve lunch to the residents there.

If you can help with this or other refugee support work, please send your donation to me, Jon Katz. P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark your contribution “teacher/RISSE” and thanks.