Good news for the Army Of Good, Juliie Harlin, the Mansion Activities Director, has posted the new Mansion Amazon Wish List so that we can help the Mansion residents inexpensively and choose what we wish to send them.

I proposed this to RISSE, the refugee immigrant program in Albany, and they have embraced the idea vigorously and received more than $10,000 in gifts from their wish list.

The RISSE wish list has been a great success. We have transformed the after school program there and support the soccer team and the girl’s basketball team.

As many of you know, this Mansion wish list is a radical and innovative new  way in my mind for the Army Of Good to support the Mansion residents in a way that is empowering for the donors. It will be regularly updated by Julie, who knows as much as anyone what the residents need to support their activities.

You choose what you want to donate from the list (make sure the address on your checkout page is 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, thanks). The Activity Room in the Mansion is the heartbeat of the place during the day, that is where the residents gather to be with one another, watch TV, talk to each other and participate in the many activities Julie and others organize.

These activities are often the only companionship and stimulation the residents get. They are important.

I will continue to support the residents in their personal  lives – meeting some of their private needs such as clothing, reading materials, stuffed animals and dolls, flowers and things for their rooms. I scour thrift shops for pants and shirts, bras and underwear. I also support outings like boat rides, lunches, special reading programs,  trips to animal parks.

Those kinds of things are not on the wish lists.

The gifts include Sombreros for skits, mind games, puzzles, indoor gardening tables, there are items as low as $6 and some for $99. I know there are many demands on your money, but I hope the Mansion Wish List will feature in your plans for doing good.

You can support my work by sending your donations to The Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. I am very happy that this idea for giving to the vulnerable is catching on.

I see the wish lists as bringing balance to our support for the Mansion residents.  This broadens and deepens our work.

You choose the gift, how much you want to spend, I warn you it can become a habit. None of the money goes to administrative or any other costs beyond the gift itself.

You can go on the wish list anytime to send a needed gift to the residents, I will continue to photograph and write about how the residents are using them. These recreational gifts and supplies are loved by the residents, who crave stimulation as much as anything.

Check out the wish list and thanks for your support. This opens up yet another chapter for the Army Of Good, I believe we are pioneering new ways to help the vulnerable inexpensively but effectively. I believe in small acts of great kindness, and I believe in doing good rather than arguing about what good is.

Check out the Wish List here.