See what you did. This is Kathy Sosa’s 8th grade class at the Hackett Middle School in Albany, New York as they get ready to board the bus for a trip they have been hoping for.

They have not been able to take a class trip for several years, neither the school nor the families had the money.

The Army Of Good raised $1,100 to pay for a charter bus (no school busses were available) to take the class to the FDR home and museum in Hyde Park, N.Y.

The class has been studying World War II and Kathy, an extraordinarily dedicated and caring teacher, has been trying to get them to Hyde Park for a long time.

“This is such an important trip for them,” she said, “on so many different levels. They need to learn about FDR, about World War II, and about America.”

I am very proud that we made this study of American history  possible.

I also gave Kathy an extra $200 for ice cream, donuts and souvenirs for the students. Kathy says they won’t forget the day, they have never had one like it.

I almost went, but had too much work to do, and somebody more deserving got a seat.

This picture makes me feel good, the class is a mix of refugee and minority children, this is a special treat for them. They are fortunate to have a teacher like Kathy, who works so hard for them.

This week will be an important one for our work with the refugee students in this area. Wednesday, I will return to Kathy’s classroom to bring  a laptop to an especially worthy refugee student. He doesn’t know about it, so I won’t mention his name here.

He’s never had a piece of technology, this will alter his life. I’m coming to see just how important technology is to these refugee children, and how much good we can do them by supplying some.

That same day, I’m going to Bishop Maginn to bring some more money for clothes and  art supplies to Blue, to bring the right sneakers to Asher and Issachar, to get Issachar’s Joke Of The Week, to  plot my campaign to get 26 Chrome laptop computers and some microscopes into Bishop Maginn classrooms.

There is no technology for students in the school.

These kids don’t have smartphones, laptops, Wi-FI or Game Stations. But the school does have Wi-Fi, they just need some computers to tap into it.

This is something the refugee students in particular desperately need.

We’re seeking about 26 Chrome laptops (details to come, any contributions to this fund will be tax-deductible. Over the weekend, a member of the Army Of Good pledged $1,000 towards the computer program. (The computers will cost about $200 a piece. The project will cost between $4,000 and $5,000. I hope to get it done by September, along with the new choir.)

The microscopes are a different story, on a different scale. They’ll go up on the new Bishop Maginn Amazon Wish List. They don’t have a microscope in the school.

I think we are on a good track, both with the Mansion and also with the refugee children. We are learning what to spend and where, and choosing wisely what it is we can’t do, and what it is we can do.

We are having a great impact on the school in a thoughtful and practical way. We are not changing lives, we are supporting them. We are creating a program for generous donors of all incomes, including people on fixed incomes who send $5 and $10 donations to this work.

These small donors tell me all the time they are grateful to have a chance to participate. I am grateful for them. There is something about a crumpled $5 bill in an envelope from Kansas that lifts me up.

If you wish to support the Bishop Maginn work, you can send a tax-deductible donation directly to the school, c/o Mike Tolan, Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202.

If you prefer, or are sending a small donation, you can send it to me via Paypal, [email protected], or Jon Katz, Bishop Maginn Support, P.O.  Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Small donations from lots of people make a huge difference.

Thanks so much for helping make this class trip come true. Kathy says it is so important for these students to know that somebody out there cares.