There are a bunch of new heroes in my life. Some of them are shy and anonymous, like the members of the Army Of Good.

They rushed to help when we discovered that students and their families were going hungry and that 21 students were cut off from their friends, teachers, and classes because they had no computers or Wi-Fi.

They were in awful isolation.

In less than two weeks, we raised more than $7,000 in laptop computers and special charging cables for older computers so those students (the school arranged for free Wi-Fi) could connect with their friends and teachers and the mobile classroom the school hurriedly set up.

Some of the donors wrote small checks; some wrote large ones. It was a challenge for me to track down all those laptops; every school in the country seemed to be looking for them. It was rewarding, and thanks, you know who you are.

Those donors were heroes, and I will never forget them. Dr. John Harden, the head of Bishop Maginn’s English Department, was another.

All by himself, he set up a mobile network, distributed most of the laptops we bought for the school last year – he delivered each one to the students who needed them –  and registered and set up the new laptops we bought and hooked them all into the Mobile Classroom network.

Every one of the computers is working now, and Dr. Harden worked seven days a week and 10 to 15 hours a day to make it work. Dr. Harden gets a statue in or Hero Hall. He is exhausted, and on Spring Break starting tomorrow.

Thanks to you (and Dr. Hardin), every single student at Bishop Maginn has his or her computer and has access to the school’s Mobile Classroom. And no Bishop Maginn student or family that we know of it going hungry, a miracle since we learned so many were running out of money to buy food.

These laptops will change their lives well beyond the life of the virus.

This is such a big deal, Army Of Good. The Gods will shine on you and yours.

(We are helping the Mansion also. Special dinners and desserts, easels, art supplies masks, books, and movies, the new Pen Pal program. Adopt a resident and write to them, either by e-mail c/o [email protected]) or by mail, The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)

We’ve done an incredible amount of good work in a short time. Thank you.

Our Price Chopper Gift Card Program has raised nearly $4,000 to feed these Bishop Maginn High School students and their families. They are grateful beyond words.

Three more gift cards were delivered to the farm today.

We’ve gotten at least 150 cards. I’m hoping to keep this program going, the families were hit brutally hard by the coronavirus Pandemic and will be fighting to get back on their feet for some time.

Sue Silverstein is distributing the remaining cards to the families who most need them. Some of the kids were showing up early in her homeroom to get some breakfast, which she was paying for out of her pocket.

Other teachers were doing the same.

I know many of you have your difficulties in navigating this hard time, I understand if people can’t donate right now. Take care of your needs first.  If you can, please consider buying some Price Chopper gift cards. Sue says she has never seen so many people asking for help to feed themselves and their families. Any amount will help.

The cards will need to be sent to Bedlam Farm, they can’t be sent to post office boxes, and the school is shut down. If you are purchasing one or more gift cards, please send them to Jon Katz, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

(Some of the cards may need to be activated. If so, you will be notified by e-mail. Most don’t require activations.)

And thank you!