I asked for help yesterday, I am seeking donations to replenish the Mansion/Refugee fund, thinned out by having to buy a lot of supplies and clothes  for refugees and their school, and for the elderly at the Mansion, we are focusing on the old and the young, boys and girls, men and women, artists and poets.

We buy underpants and thrift shop shorts, school supplies,  laptops and microscopes, sneakers and art supplies for students, puzzles for their elders. We fill the holes in people’s lives, we have no miracles to perform.

We operate on a small scale, carrying out small acts of kindness, but this is one of the seasons of need I appreciate your support. If you wish to help, you can donate via Paypal, [email protected] and also by check, Jon Katz, Refugee/Mansion fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I got this message this afternoon from Julie Plant, all I know about her is that she lives in a big city and sends beautiful messages. Quite often, readers of the blog say things better and more clearly than I do, embarrassing for a writer.

But very affirming for me.

“I live in a larger city, Jon,” she wrote, “and the scale of it is just paralyzing–it’s so hard to know where to even begin to help in a meaningful way. Giving often just feels like throwing money at something, rather than genuinely making much of a difference.

I’m inspired by the thoughtful and very real way you are defining and meeting needs. I know it takes some effort to share the stories, but you truly honor not only the people behind the need, but those of us in the cheering section. I am so appreciative. It is not about someone’s need to receive, but our need to give, isn’t it?”

This was quite wise, I thought. It is not only about the need to receive, but the need to give, which can be as lasting and as powerful. I have always said it is quite selfish when I do  good deeds, I have never felt  better, stronger and more relevant to humanity. It has given me an enhanced sense of purpose in my life, along with Maria, my blog, photography and wonderful dogs and donkeys.

It is good and hard work to share and document these stories, it seems to be my calling and I love it. The harder work is, of course, money, everybody wants it but not everybody has it. I appreciate what people like Julie do, and also the $5 and $10 donations I get regularly. What a lift.

This work has given my life new and deeper meaning, it permits me to feel my soul lifting up every single day. It has healed more wounds than decades of therapy.

Julie was right. This is something I need to do, just as donating to this work is something she needs to do, and struggles to find a coherent way to do. After I read her message, I went to the Bishop Maginn High School Amazon Wish List and bought a gift card for  $25. It feels good.  A laptop costs $200, a microscope costs $89.00. Those inexpensive gift cards can add up.

We have some laptops and just six microscopes to go. These things are desperately needed. Many thanks to you, Julie. Thank God for people who need to give.