I’ve taken a personal vow to do a good deed and commit at least one small act of great kindness every day.

First, I need to thank John, a long-time member of the military who sent his stimulus check – $1,400-  to me this morning to make certain the refugee families have enough to eat.

He said he and his wife talked about what to do with their check, and they decided they were lucky; they wanted to use the money to help less fortunate people. And he has been closely watching our work with Bishop Maginn High School in Albany.

A million thanks, John, that money will buy a score of food gift cards that will make sure a dozen refugee families able to have three healthy meals a day well through the summer for parents and children.

What a good man. Men don’t get a lot of appreciation these days, but there are many good men. John is one of them.

One small act of great kindness brought a big box of homemade chocolates to the Mansion as a pick-up for the aides, who have been working so long and so hard to keep the Mansion family healthy and safe.

Tania and Tia got the ball rolling; they say the chocolates are delicious, they handing them out to the aides this morning.

I have two remaining small acts of kindness for today: the first is to bring $200 in Wal-Mart gift cards to one of the aides, sick and low on money; she is a single mother with two children to raise.

Early this afternoon, I’m bringing a dozen Amish romance and non-fiction books to the Amish children who are my neighbors and some who live nearby. They love to read but have few books. This is great fun for me.

This is a perfect day by my lights, thanks to the generosity of John and so many others. Blessings to all of you. We can choose to hate or argue, or we can do some good.

(If you wish to help buy Wal-Mart food and gift cards for the refugee families or the Mansion residents, you can purchase them here in any amount.

Please note that cards over a certain amount – they never say how much – must be activated by e-mail, which arrives a day or two after the purchase.

Sadly, we’ve had two or three cases recently where the refugees show up, and the cards can’t be used because they weren’t activated.

Unfortunately, Wal-Mart has no backup system for activating the cards.

I’ve tried and tried.

I hate to see your generosity wasted or the refugees deprived, so please check your e-mail for an activation alert, and thanks.

There are several easy ways to help. One is to purchase the cards directly from Wal-Mart.

If you do that, the cards must be sent to me (can’t go to P.O. Boxes), Jon Katz, 2502 State Route 22, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Many people prefer to send the money directly to me; they aren’t comfortable buying things online:

That’s fine, I’m happy to buy the cards, and I will make sure they are all activated and distributed. Donations can come via Paypal, [email protected], or via Venmo, [email protected].

(If you wish to send general donations, you can do it the same way.)

Or you can contribute by check, Mansion/Refugee Fund, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I thank you for your help. Doing good feels good.

John said our work inspired him to share his good fortune (and his big heart.) His note much moved me.