I want to share the two Christmas initiatives I’m planning, hopefully with the help of the Army Of Good.

First off, I’m still trying to raise $700 for the Mansion aides, I want to buy each of them a $50 gift certificate from Wal-Mart. As you know, they work hard and are paid little, and some of them cannot afford to buy Christmas gifts for their own kids.

I’ve raised a little under $300 so far, I still need $400 more dollars to make this happen. If you can and are so inclined, please consider contributing to me via Paypal, jon@bedlamfarm, or by check, Jon Katz, Mansion Aides, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Any overage, if there is one, will go to our winter clothing fund for the Mansion and Bishop Maginn.

These women (and two men) do amazing work, they care for our aging parents,  and I believe they need to be appreciated. We did this last year, and it was a great success.

Secondly, I’m meeting with Bishop Maginn officials this morning in Albany to talk about their upcoming Christmas Amazon Wish List.

We are putting up a short and inexpensive list to make sure that the teachers and the parents of some of the neediest students can give their children something they want for Christmas.

People can purchase these gifts right off of Amazon and ship them directly to Sue Silverstein at the school. That list will go up shortly, I’ll keep you posted of course.

Many of these families can’t even afford heating oil, so presents are far down the list. They are telling us about the things their children want, they are simple and not expensive. Thanks in advance.