I wanted to let people know that last night we reached the $8,000 goal of the gofundme campaign to pay for the funeral expenses of Milan Reiss, the son of Bishop Maginn High School Teacher Kevin Reiss.

Thank you, Kathleen Houlahan, for pushing us over the top.

We also gave Kevin more than $1,000 in donations that came to me, and his other son is getting a Sony Play Station 4, to be delivered today. The gofundme campaign will continue, anyone can continue to donate directly if they wish. The family can use the help.

I’m going to be moving on, fund-raising job, this is one of the most meaningful things we have done. I think our work is finished here. Any additional donations that come to me (Paypal, [email protected]) will go straight to the family, perhaps for rent.

Many thanks for helping this family out of an awful situation. It seems overwhelming, but we do it one thing at a time, one person at a time, one sweater at a time, one small act of kindness at a time.

Our country may appear to be cruel at times, but for me, the heart and soul of the American experience is compassion and generosity, not hatred and contempt.

Focus is everything in this work, and I think the next need is some tuition support for refugee and other needy children who need to get into the school but whose families have no money. Now, with school starting, I’ll get to meet more of these quite wonderful young people, figure out what they need, and how we can best help them.

I’ll also get to talk to the teachers and figure out how we can be useful – small acts of great kindness.

This is also the time to support some of the school’s new programs: the choir, dance program, sports, computer and science classes. Small things, I think. Tomorrow, I’ll get to meet Judy Merriam, the new choir director.

Ron Dre, an extraordinarily gifted young student (photo above), has been admitted to Bishop Maginn High School, we raised tuition for him for the next three years and beyond. Your help made that possible, you have changed another life.

There are now six new students coming to Joseph Maginn who are there because of your support. We not only change their lives, but we are also enriching the school. Every one of them is an honors student, hard workers with great promise.

I’m meeting with two sisters seeking admission, their family is desperate for them to go to Bishop Maginn, and they have been admitted. But they need to pay at least some of the tuition. I’ll have more details when I meet them.

Tomorrow is Open House at Bishop Maginn, I’ll be there. I’ll get a look at the newly spruced up classrooms, and the rooms we help create: a music room, new art room, new computer lab, a new science lab, new banners, and school supplies.

Your contributions went a long way.

I’ll also get to meet and speak with some parents, and the refugee and other students starting the school year. I’ll figure out who needs shoes and sweatshirts and personal items, male and female.

This is an exciting new chapter for the school, I’m grateful to be a part of it. I’ll be teaching an eight-week writing workshop, we hope to self-publish a book about the school.

I see the school as a metaphor for the choices facing our country – to do good or to spread anger and division. We’ve made our choice, this is our stand, our new American Revolution.

I’ll also be busy at the Mansion. Today, I’m bringing a carload of sweaters and flannel shirts for the cold weather when I go over there to do my weekly story session. This is the time of year when I make sure everybody gets to stay warm.

I can’t thank you enough for the support you have given this idea of the Army Of Good. I believe it really is a Compassion Revolution, we are all revolutionaries and patriots in the purest sense of the term.