I couldn’t ask for a sweeter birthday gift than the photos Sue Silverstein sent me of the art supplies and books pouring into Bishop Maginn High School (where many refugee children and inner-city kids go) after our recent wish list sold out.

Thank you. The Wish List asked for approximately $2,000 in support for their Fall programs. The list sold out in a few hours.

Of the score of wish lists we’ve done for the Mansion and Bishop Maginn, this one sold out the fastest. That is a wonderful message to send to these students, who often say the outside world doesn’t care much about them.

I confess to buying a bunch of books myself.

The packages stacking up outside the principal’s office tell them otherwise, and send them a message they desperately want and need to hear.

A lot of people messaged me to say the wish list disappeared so quickly it was empty when they got to it. Good for the Army of Good.

But if you got there too late for our Wish List,  you can still help needy refugee children in Albany. RISSE, the immigrant and refugee immigration center, is looking to raise money to send their child out on field trips this summer and fall. They always wear masks. You can see the RISSE gofundme project here and down below.

I loved this list, it means the students at the school can launch into a slew of fun art projects that boost their confidence and their creativity.

A number of Bishop Maginn students know friends who have been shot on the street in Albany. None, blessedly are from  BMHS.

The English department got a slew of culturally relevant books for kids who are eager to read but have few books that reflect their lives.

Thanks to you, that is no longer a problem. Bishop Maginn is on a roll, their reputation for teaching these kids and getting them to college is growing and their Fall enrollment is the highest ever.

The school will start for these students amidst a horrific outbreak of violence around inner-city Albany. These tools will help them weather the trouble. Thank you, thank you.

This week I’m going to the school to re-visit a refugee girl from Myanmar – her family lost everything in the genocide there. When she got to a high school in Albany, she became a target in the early years of Trump refugee baiting and was beaten so severely she had to be hospitalized.

Her family sent her to Bishop Maginn, where she was loved, protected, supported, and educated.

She has gone on to enter a highly competitive awards program offered by the State University At Albany for especially gifted students with great grades.

When I met this then very shy and anxious student, she barely spoke English. She speaks it fluently now.

I look forward to catching up with her this Wednesday and writing about her. She says she’s excited to talk to me again.

For those of you who couldn’t get there fast enough, but want to help refugees,  here is another way you can help the large and refugee community in Albany.

Risse, the Refugee Immigrant and Support Center is seeking to raise $3,000 to send refugee children out on field trips this summer and the rest of this year. They’ve set up a gofundme project, you can contribute here.

RISSE is not connected to Bishop Maginn, the two operate independently of one another. 

Some of you might recall that Risse was the very first place we tried out the Wish List idea for fund-raising for refugee families. It worked.

Francis Sengabo, the Operations Director at Risse (they are seeking a new Executive Director) is a friend and an honest and dedicated supporter of the refugees coming to America. He is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and spent years in refugee camps in Africa.

He helps a lot of people will put any donations to good use.