Melissa is one of the Mansion’s most beloved and dedicated aides. She has exhausted herself along with the others to keep the Mansion aides safe from Covid-19 and occupied and loved during their long and lonely lockdown.

She is going to need Wal-Mart gift cards for good and necessities for some time. I’ve already helped her get some Christmas gifts for her children, I’d like to make sure they can be comfortable and well-fed during the holidays.

Melissa is one of the most loving and enthusiastic of the Mansion aides and it is an inspiration to see the love she gives the residents, many of them needy and lonely at the edge of life.

Melissa is in some real trouble and needs our help. I learned from another aide that she is struggling to feed herself and her two children. Although she may be critically ill.

She has been undergoing tests for some weeks now, more to come.

I met her outside of the Mansion this morning to give her some Wal-Mart gift cards and several hours later, she texted me this photo from a supermarket near her.

It simply said “thanks, Angel.”

Melissa is facing some serious medical bills and has had to miss some workdays, which she can hardly afford. She is hard to help, both proud and dignified. She won’t even tell her mother what is happening to her, she doesn’t want her to worry. The doctors are very concerned.

This is not an easy community to break into from the outside. I’m always learning how to do it.

It took a good while, but she is beginning to trust me and let me help. We have great love and respect for the work each of us does. She calls me her angel.

I am getting her the names of several support groups in her town, she is very reluctant to ask for help, I am strongly urging her not to go through this alone, I am getting through.

The best way for me – us, if you wish – to help her is to give her  a steady stream of Wal-Mart gift cards that permit her to buy the food she needs and also any personal necessities like deodorant, soap, and hard-to-find again toilet paper (I got her some of that.)

Wal-Mart cards are the easiest to buy and the fastest to ship.

I will get her in touch with a support group, she didn’t know what that was. I can see she is frightened and worried about her children. Her mother does live nearby.

You can help me buy purchasing Wal-Mart. I know she is frightened and feeling very much alone. I know she need not be alone, and I can and will connect her with people who want to help.

I want to help too. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated. She has devoted much of her life to helping others, she could use some help herself.

Gift cards are not only useful, they allow people in need to keep their dignity and pride. No long lines, forms to fill out, bureaucrats to struggle with.

There is so much need, I am committed to small acts of great kindness, otherwise, I’d go mad. We can only do so much, but we can make sure this family has enough to eat.

I’m in regular touch with her.

You can buy Wal-Mart gift cards here in any amount. Please send them to me, Jon Katz, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. If you prefer, you can send a donation to me, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, and I will buy the cards.