We’re off to a great start with this new wish list. There are only three items left on the Bishop Maginn Emergency Amazon Wish List, items the school needs urgently. We started out with nine.

All of these items are safety items necessary for the school to open shortly and meet the city, state, and federal guidelines and requirements. It is not a simple task, they are re-tooling the whole school.

They need our help.

On the wish list are three things essential for the school to be able to open and meet their own high standards and the demands of the New York State Health Department.

As most of you know, the Catholic Church does not have a lot of money these days and the school has to fight every single day to open and continue the wonderful work they do.

This school is a holy place for me, they are a place of last resort for the many refugees and inner-city children they accept and love, quite often without tuition. The school has saved many spirits and lives.

So our assistance is critical for their survival. Thank you.

The three items are:

An All-Round Protection Hat with Clear Wide Visor and Transparent Shield. The school needs 30 and we have already purchased 21, they only need eight more. They are $26.99 apiece. These are for the teachers, especially those who are older or at risk.

I have the feeling I’ll have to wear one when I teach my writing class.

Face masks for the students. They are asking for 15 50-mask kits. We have already purchased 6, they need 14 more at $19.99 apiece. They can use all the masks they can get.

Paper towels, 12 roll packs. They asked for ten, we already bought 3, only seven left. Each pack is $23.99.

If you don’t wish to purchase items on Amazon, you can send a contribution to me via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, NY., 12816, I will happily purchase the items for you.

We are close, and I thank you.

The photo is of Principal Mike Tolan and Sue Silverstein, my friend, and a teacher there. They are exhausted from working day and night seven days a week to make sure the students and staff are as safe as possible.

What an awful position for teachers and administrators and students and parents to be in, but they are determined to open the school and serve their students.

Only  50 percent of the student body will be in the school at any one time. Some of the teachers, older and with health issues, are literally risking their lives to be there. We are helping to make them safe.

I got them a bunch of webcams yesterday and we already have purchased 24 laptops.

Thanks so much for your support. Amazon is not as quick as they were pre-pandemic, so some of these items will take some time to arrive. The address, if you need it (you shouldn’t) is Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202. The phone is 518 463-2247.

Thanks so much, if you have any problems or questions, feel free to e-mail me, [email protected]. I mean it.