(Painting by Paw Lway Shee, Bishop Maginn Art Class)

This is America. No school student should have to go without ink and paper do draw on, or crayons and markers.

I’ve been meeting and talking with and e-mail the principal and some of the staff at Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, a Catholic high school with a great big heart and not much of a budget. And an open door to the neediest and hardest working refugee children in the area.

This school is special. There are few, if any, open doors for these refugee children, who have suffered so much. There are many gifted refugee children at Bishop Maginn who were turned down at more expensive private schools because they didn’t have enough money to pay the tuition fees. Some of these schools have multi-million dollar endowments, Bishop Maginn has none.

Next week, I’m going to meet with Principal Mike Tolan (a fellow Thomas Merton and Lab fan),  two brothers from Pakistan whose single mother can’t afford to pay the full tuition (it ranges from $3,000 to $7,000 a year) and may need some help in staying in the school.

Kathy Sosa is bringing two of her female students from the Hackett Middle Public School in Albany to meet with me and school officials next week also.They very much want to go to Bishop Maginn rather than Albany High School.

And I am on fire to help Mrs. Silverstein Gilligan, the religion and art  teacher at Bishop Maginn, which has become a heroic refuge and destination center for refugee children seeking to acclimate themselves to America. She is also a passionate creative, fighting all the time for art and music.

Bishop Maginn doesn’t turn anybody away for money, but like many Catholic urban high schools, they need some tuition money to pay teachers and buy supplies. And urban Catholic schools have very little resources now.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Rubinstein Gilligan usually buys her art supplies with her own money, or from money she badgers her friends and families for. I feel very connected to this school, they are on a mission of love and mercy, taking in the needy and vulnerable – especially the refugee children – that much of the country seems to be abandoning.

I think the people at Bishop Maginn read their Jesus, rather than just use his name. They are very much what Christianity is supposed to be all about.

One of Ms. Rubinstein Gilligan’s students, Paw Lway Shee – one of 35 Myanmar refugees in Bishop Maginn – painted the portrait above It’s remarkable. I was in the art room the other day, it is full of energy and excitement.

“There is so much talent,” this remarkable teacher told me, “there are so few supplies. I buy most o the supplies the kids use, or beg for donations, or ask my family for supplies for the holidays. Coupons are my friend! To get help with art supplies would be an answered prayer. I hate to say not to kids or tell them I’m out of supplies.”

My first goals in dealing with Bishop Maginn is to give them a couple of days to set up their Bishop Maginn Amazon Wist, which I suggested  last week. We can contribute regularly there. But that will take a few days. As you know, I get restless, I am a now freak.

Bishop Maginn is a non-profit organization, donations to them are tax-deductible. If you make a purchase for them, you can work with them to get a receipt for tax purposes.

I am eager to get this very dedicated teacher some supplies. I think this is the perfect storm for the Army Of Good.

Ways to help:

You can wait for the Bishop Maginn Amazon Wish List, due out shortly. I helped set up Wish Lists for the U.S.C.R.I refugee warehouse, for the Mansion, for WBTMAM community radio, for the RISSE, the refugee and immigrant center. All have been successful. People love to contribute in this way.

There are no middle-men.

You can send also send donations directly to the school or to Art Class, Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202.

You can send a contribution to me, and I will take Ms. Silverstein Gilligan to an art supplies store and get some urgently needed supplies to the class right away. I can also bring her a check so she doesn’t have to spend any more of her own money.

Contributions to me should come via Paypal, [email protected] or to Jon Katz, Bishop Maginn Fund, P.O. Box 205 Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Please mark any donations “Bishop Maginn.”

Contributions to me are not tax-deductible.

You can also send any one or more of these items directly to Ms.Silverstein Gilligan, Art Class, 75 Park Avenue, 12202.

re-stretched canvas (all sizes)

Acrylic Paints-all colors

Watercolor paints-sets of 18-24

Watercolor papers-all sizes

Hot press/cold press papers

Stretching boards

paper tape

masking tape

Large jugs of white glue

air dry clay

jewelry making supplies

beads

jewelry findings

Poster boards-white extra-large sizes

Black drawing papers

bulk newsprint

white drawing paper

large paper rolls for murals

Tempera paint jugs (all colors)

Assorted paint brushes

paint trays

fabric dyes

white or linen fabric-bulk

wax blocks

Permanent markers all colors and sizes

markers-all colors/sets

India Ink

Scratch Boards-bulk

Lino block printing supplies

Cutters

Print rollers

inks-all colors

The school welcomes any and all art supplies and appreciates any donations. And needs them badly. This is a very rough time to be a Catholic High School in an urban area.

Oh yes, and we are raising money for the new school choir. I’ve got more than $5,000 already and am shooting for $1,000 or more.

These people are the real deal. I should say this is a Catholic School, but religion is not forced on anyone, nor do they proselytize or convert.