If someone were to ask me (nobody has) what are the major characteristics of my work with the Army of Good, it would be these things:

I am open and transparent. I report and document everything I do, in words and photographs.

I focus on the needy and the vulnerable and commit small and proportional acts of small kindness. That is, we fill the holes in people’s lives, we do not perform miracles or alter lives in a drastic way.

During a time when refugees are reeling from one of the most sustained governmental assaults in our history, and the elderly are marginalized and hidden away, voiceless and often forgotten,  I am committed to fighting on their behalf.

And giving them a voice. As the descendant of refugees, I believe this is my patriotic as well as my moral duty. This work has been successful and effective beyond my imagination and expectation.

I fight for these people and do not quit on them, and one of the refugee children I will not quit on is Melak, a 16-year-old prodigy driven out of two homes by ruthless and unrelenting violence – Iraq and Syria.

In addition to surviving bombs, assassinations, civil war, assaults and brutality, she made it to the United States with her family, has learned to speak English well and made her way to Bishop Maginn High School, where she has found safety, encouragement, and friendship.

And I will be honest: I’m struggling to raise the money Melak needs to stay in the school.

I do not fight for her because she is a refugee from some of the most dangerous places on the earth, I fight for her because she is kind, idealistic, incredibly bright and committed to becoming a valuable citizen in our country. She is among the most exceptional refugee students I have yet encountered.

Her family, quite understandably, has no money, and I have been trying to raise tuition funds for her so that she can remain at Bishop Maginn High School.

The reduced tuition for her is $4,000, but we don’t need that much to keep her there,  and out of danger – she had a very rough time in other schools. This school is committed to helping these battered refugee children and will do almost anything to avoid forcing them out of the school.

In the interests of being honest and transparent, I need to share the fact that we have raised very little money for Melak, a little more than $500.

This is less money than we have raised for any student, from Eh K Pru and Sakler Moo at the Albany Academy to the six boys and girls we have helped to enter and stay at Bishop Maginn.

And we have, of course, raised thousands of dollars in support of Bishop Maginn: computers, microscopes, Ipads for the teachers, security supplies,  a keyboard and music, office supplies for the school and for needy students.

I thank you for that, the school is nothing but grateful.

I don’t really know why Melak’s cause has drawn so little in the way of contributions, and in many ways, it isn’t my business.

I don’t keep track of who gives what and why, and it is not my place to pressure anyone to support a cause they are not willing to support, or can’t for financial or other reasons.

What I do feel obliged to do is to fight for this remarkable young woman, who has suffered enough and who shows so much promise. (She is signed up both for the new choir and my Writing Workshop). I don’t waste anybody’s money, that’s important to me.

I try to support good and worthy causes. This is a historic time in our country, and I feel called to stand up for our real values.

I will never scold and reproach anybody for the financial decisions they make – we are not a wealthy army, just a dedicated one.

But I’d like to keep making the case for Melak, for her, for our country, for the cause we have worked so hard to support – giving a hand to those Americans who need a hand.

Today, Melak and her family could never gain admission to the United States, and our government is rapidly abandoning any pretense of supporting the refugees who made it here, legally and in good faith and desperation. Tens of millions of refugees are trapped in Syria with nowhere to go. We will not help any of them.

And the subsidies that once sustained the refugees who are here for their first difficult months have all been slashed or eliminated.

When Melak talks about the cracks tearing her house in Syria apart from the bombs and her family prays and trembles, this stirs my heart and my own sense of moral duty. I know when I look in the mirror that I need to see someone who is trying to help.

And I do understand the limits we are all under.

We don’t need much money to keep her in the school, small contributions add up, we may not be rich, but there are lots of us, and we have already performed miracle after miracle, transforming the Mansion Assisted Care Facility and Bishop Maginn High School.

I’m hoping for another small miracle, another act of great kindness.

If you wish to help Melak, you can send a contribution directly to the school, to Principal Mike Tolan, Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202.

These contributions are tax-deductible.

My pledge. I will never lie to you, and I will never quit on her.