Some news from Bedlam Farm: good works, a Venmo contribution button coming next week, and a new cancel button, so canceling subscriptions is as simple as starting one.

Please help if you can.

We went to Bennington, Vt. this morning to pick up some more appreciation cards for Army Of Good donors – I send them as contributions come.

(Check out Emily Gold’s wonderful collages, cards, tote bags, and pins on her website, papercakescissors.com. Her virtual collage classes are a hit also.)

I wanted to let you know that as I move to get Donald Trump out of my head and off my blog, I focus on small acts of great kindness.

And asking for some support.

As the people in my life get their vaccines – the Mansion and Bishop Maginn High School – I’m plotting things: food gift cards are urgently needed for the refugees in Albany and three Mansion aides.

I’m keen on starting up regular lunches for the Mansion from Jean’s Place; I’d also like to get some fresh art and drawing supplies for the Mansion residents. Bishop Maginn also needs some school supplies.

I’ll be more specific about these things in the next week. My web designers are installing a Venmo button on my blog and other ways to donate – Paypal ([email protected]) and major credit cards.

The Mansion/Refugee fund needs some loving; I don’t let money lie around; I make sure it goes where it’s needed. Food security will be an issue for as long as it takes to get people vaccinated.

The easiest cards to purchase and distribute are Wal-Mart cards, good for food and personal items like soap and deodorant and feminine hygiene.

You can buy them in any amount; they need to be sent to me, Jon Katz, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. If you’d rather buy them, you can send a contribution to me via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz. Mansion/Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The gift cards are a godsend to refugee families. Things are looking brighter for them, but the next few months will be challenging.

I am especially proud that no Mansion aide or Bishop Maginn family went hungry all of this year, thanks to you and your generosity.  Gift cards matter. Just a few months to go before things ease up.

I’ve added a third Mansion aide to our card list; two members of her family have tested positive for Covid-19, she can’t work for the next few weeks or get paid.

She has small children to feed. I gave out $400 in food cards to Mansion aides last week and $600 to Bishop Maginn families.

If you look at my blog posts, you’ll see a new button: cancel subscriptions. In the interests of honesty and openness, I want it to be as easy to cancel a subscription – $5, $10 a month, or $ 75-year – voluntary payment subscriptions.

Please remember that the blog is free and will always be free.

I’ve also signed up to join and work for the Poor People’s Campaign, an organization committed to the moral revival and helping the needy.  I’ll be writing about the group as the year goes on.

Of course, you can contribute to the general Army Of Good fund; this afternoon, I’m heading out to buy some flannel and warm clothes for the men at the Mansion and some elastic fit pans for the women there.

One of the things I do is make sure everyone has the clothes, blankets, and shoes they need.

It costs about $300 a meal to send those lunches with salads and dessert. This year and last, they make a big difference in morale.

This coming week, I expect to have a Venmo button to offer another way for people to contribute one-time donations—details to come. Venmo is increasingly popular; 100 percent of the donation comes to the fund, they don’t take a cut.

Venmo is increasingly popular.

The election has liberated my head; I know there are hard days ahead, but I want my mind to be full of love and creativity and stories that matter, not argument and anger.

I am completely committed to the work the Army of Good is doing.

Thanks, as always, for your support. I want to arrange for some boat rides and outings for later this year. Most Bishop Maginn students have never had an outing; I’d like to fix that.

The Mansion residents love their boat ride in the fall. Zinnie resumes her regular therapy work this week. I stay outside.