I remember when I first showed up at RISSE five or six months ago, a big man with a big camera, some of the staff were rattled and uncertain over what to do with me.  I was uncertain as well. Nobody knew who I was or what I was doing there. Neither did I, although I was very determined to get to know the refugees and immigrants and write about them, and my former editors will tell you that when I am determined, things usually happen. I always got the story, it was a source of great pride for me.

This  big and smiling man came up me, introduced himself as Amjad Abdullah – “Ali” – and took me under his wing, showing me around, introducing me to people, reassuring everyone it was all right for me to take their picture if they agreed. Ali broke the ice for me, made me feel welcome, sensed right away what it was I wanted to do and how it was I wanted to do it.

We became friends right away. We just got each other. Ali has brightened many lives, he loves the RISSE kids and is a brother/father/friend to them Every week, we sit down together in the noisy RISSE cafeteria, or in a musty old church meeting room and talk about what it needed, what it is I can try to do for Ali and his soccer team and for the other children in the RISSE program.

Next week, for example, is Spring Break. Ali doesn’t like the soccer kids (and some others) to have nothing to do, he worries about them hanging out in the streets, some of them have already gotten into some  trouble. He is building a sense of community, teaching them strong values. He reminds them to look out for one another, and work hard in school

So we plan things when there are empty days. When Ali finds an activity – he wants to go to Sky Zone with the kids on Monday, an indoor gym and trampoline center in Albany, N.Y. Usually, I call up the facility and try to negotiate a good rate for the team. Sometimes I get a discount, sometimes not.

On Monday, no discount, it’s $10 plus a small fee for each kid. Tuesday Al is in meetings all day at RISSE. Wednesday, they are going ice skating, a smaller fee. One of the soccer kids is having a birthday, and since their families rarely have the money for gifts or a party, we sponsor a gift and a party.

The rest of the week, the team goes to the Sportsplex Indoor Soccer facility to  practice for the ongoing tournament (they won 15 to 0 last week). That’s already paid for, as is the pizza and soda after practice.

We have every day of the week except Tuesday covered. We sat down with our Iphone calculators and figured out the cost for all of this, it’s about $400. I write a check and Ali takes it from there. One boy is being teased in public school for is shabby clothes – his single mother can’t afford to buy new ones.

I will write another check in a week or so. Sometimes there is money in the fund, sometimes it is getting too low and we have to slow things down. Right now, there is about $3,000 in the fund, much of that is spoken for, including the check I wrote for next week, and the May retreat at the Powell House, which cost $2,100. I’ve already paid about $1,500 of that. The same fund covers my work at the Mansion Assisted Care Facility.

I like to keep the fund around $2,500. We are small, we do small things, small acts of great kindness I call them. Thanks to the Army Of Good.

I am changing the name of the fund to the Gus Fund, my bank says it’s okay to use that name. You can contribute to this work by sending a donation to the Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].

I much look forward to my meeting with Ali, we are surrounded by curious and screaming children, and we trust one another completely and communicate honestly and easily. The work is a great gift to me, as is his friendship with me, and  his trust and respect.