Last summer, Jennifer contacted Mike Tolan, Principal of Bishop Maginn High School, and asked if it would be all right for her to make special masks for the students and mittens for the winter.

He said yes, and a few weeks ago, the masks and the mittens arrived. The students love them, and I wanted to share some images of them being worn by three freshmen.

Thanks, Jennifer, you are an angel.

(It is always a good idea to contact the school before sending any gifts or clothes. There are countless new health restrictions about what the school can accept and what the students can have. If you have any questions, you can contact me, [email protected], or Sue Silverstein, [email protected], or Mike Tolan, [email protected]. Thanks – used clothes cannot be accepted, if a child needs an article of clothing, I look for a new one. Thanks.)

I ought to say in all honesty that one of the most difficult chapters of my life was watching our government’s cruel and unrelenting war against the refugees and immigrants who saw, though all their troubles, America as a place of light and refuge.

What a shock to them when they arrived.

For four years now, I’ve seen the barbaric toll our government’s policies have taken on people whose only crime is to have had their lives and homes savagely upended in wars and genocides and to see America as a beacon of hope.

They came here in good faith and faced a wall of exclusion, suspicion, and brazen bigotry. The Trump administration has done many cruel things, but this one cut to the core of my soul. Part of that is because I am so close to the refugee experience – my own family.

The other part is that this kind of cruelty and indifference to desperately needy children and their blameless parents is wrong by any standard of morality I have ever encountered.

Through all of that, these children and their parents remain deeply loyal to their adopted country and work hard every day to be good citizens and productive people. They seldom complain or whine as so many native-born Americans do.

The end of this shameful chapter in American life may be coming to an end, but the pain and suffering of these children and their families have just begun. I will stick with them.

Every time I visit Bishop Maginn High School, I hear stories of hunger, deprivation, bigotry, and brutality – children beaten senseless, had their hair set on fire, ridiculed and taunted, ignored, forgotten, and hospitalized.

For them,  Bishop Maginn is the shining city on the hill, America, their parents dreamt of. I am so proud to work with these people and also with your people and help them.

The Army of Good has done so much to brighten their lives – food, gifts, safety supplies, coronavirus safety equipment, Christmas presents, laptops, winter boots and jackets, CD’s, pencils and paints, graduation gifts – honestly; I could never recount it all.

It has lightened my heart to see that this war on these brave and decent people is about to ease and hopefully end.

That alone offers great hope and promise for our country, soon to be a gentler and kinder place. Through your generosity, these children have received a strong dose of the real America. Blessings to you.

(P.S. If you wish to support this work,  you can donate via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)