I’m asking for some help in purchasing 6-10 sewing machines for Sue Silversltein’s Art Class at Bishop Maginn High School so the students can learn to sew, make art, to make and fix clothes for themselves, their families, and the Afghan refugees arriving every day.
I’ve just purchased three, they cost $117 each, a good price. It’s a special offer, and I didn’t want to lose out on the price.
This is a wonderful example of how good breeds good and thus becomes powerful. Good is a virus we would love to spread, lies need competition.
I was surprised by the intense interest the refugee students at Bishop Maginn had in learning how to sew when Maria came yesterday, the boys as well as girls. Maria and Sue Silverstein were talking about teaching the kids to hand sew.
Sue Silverstein also says all of the mothers and daughters in the refugee families sew.
And several of the students explained their interest to me, as we prepared four quilts Maria put together to give to the newly arriving Afghan refugees:
The refugee families sew all the time, they said, they make new clothing like shirts and pants, and they fix old clothing when it’s ripped or falling apart. They don’t buy new clothes because they can’t afford them – both the refugees who have been here and certainly, the Afghan refugees who are arriving. Sewing is not a hobby, but an essential tool for living.
So a bulb went off in my head: why not buy some sewing machines for Sue Silverstein’s art class? Maria is going to be teaching some sewing classes, and she said sewing machines would be so much easier and more effective for the students and for Sue’s teaching (and Maria’s.)
(If you wish to help buy some sewing machines for refugee students to learn and work with, you can donate via Paypal, [email protected] or Venmo, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)
The class could also learn to make clothes and sew for the new refugees coming, the kids all said they were eager to learn , this explained the interest of some of the boys. They want to make clothes for their brothers and sisters, and for themselves.
I asked Sue about the sewing machines, she said she would dearly love one (she doesn’t ask for things often) and I said I thought we could do better than that.
I’m asking for help because I have about $900 in the refugee fund and I’d like to hang onto it for a bit, as the Afghan refugees are arriving in greater numbers. They need everything. I know many of you have donated things already, please don’t put any financial pressure on yourself.
If any of you can help, this is a very good cause and fits our mission of small acts of great kindness. We can’t meet all of their needs, but we can meet some. We do the best we can for as long as we can. Thank you in advance. If there is an overage, it will go to the main refugee fund, which is going to be busy in the coming weeks and months. The Afghan refugees are here.
Contact me. I will send money for 6 sewing machines. Can I give or ship them to Bishop Magin for the tax benefit?
Elizabeth, thanks. We have enough money now for the machines we need, thank you so much for the generous offer. Between the money that already came in and the money promised, we’ll have enough, how great. Any additional money will go towards buying toys and blankets for the refugees coming in from Afghanistan. You can contribute to that if you wish. How kind of you to think of it.
P.S. To get the tax credit, the donation has to be a school supply, which I imagine this is. Money that goes to the school has to go first to the Diocese, which processes and distributes it, and that can take time, so I deal in smaller units that can be purchased directly and quickly. Lalrge donations, which I don’t get, can of course go to the school and do. No tax credits there, they are just gifts.
Elizabeth I just talked to Sue Silverstein. She said that large donations to the school are tax-deductible and they can write and send a tax credit quickly. They only do this for large donations, or for people who have made large donations to me, since they don’t have the staff or time to buy things. I spent many hours a day buying things. I really work to keep the scale of the army of good small and manageable – small acts of great kindness. I have no stomach for the paperwork and bureaucracy of a non-profit so the smaller donations to me are not tax-deductible, although as I said, people who make larger donations to me for Bishop Maginn can get a tax credit, as many do. Hope this helps clarify things. Sue says we’re okay on the sewing machines, she wants to start slowly and see where it goes. We might end up giving them to needy families who sew their own clothes as well as for the classes. RIght now, we’re buried in Thanksgiving and soon, Xmas. If anyone has any questions about getting a tax credit they can contact Sue Silverstein at [email protected]. Thanks.
Good morning Jon, I was happy to see the plan to get some sewing machines for the school. I donated $150.00 through Paypal but it did not provide a way to specify how the funds should be applied. Please use the money to buy another sewing machine.
Thank you for the continuing commitment to ‘doing good’ and inviting us to join you.
All the best,
Thanks Janis, the money was applied to the sewing machines, we have enough now and thank you.