Maginn helps families of Myrtle Avenue fire

When a fire tore through Myrtle Avenue in Albany last month impacting more than 40 people, Bishop Maginn High School took action.

“When I first heard about the fire, I said let’s do something,” said Sue Silverstein Gilligan, director of Community Service and Campus Ministry for Maginn. “I said we might as well be a donation site.”

The high school accepted donations all last week with the community providing a steady stream of clothes, shoes, toiletries, diapers and much more to help the people impacted by the blaze that destroyed five multi-family homes on Aug. 23.

In addition, Capital Region Organizations Active in Disaster (CROAD) — a coalition of local non-profit organizations, government agencies, and community partners involved in disaster response and recovery — hosted a multi-agency resource center event at the high school. Agencies represented included: the City of Albany, Albany County Department of Social Services, the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Fidelis Care, HATAS, NY Connects, and the United Way of the Greater Capital Region.

Nancy Studebaker heard about the donation site and brought boxes of clothes last week. Every time she visited, she asked what more she could bring and how she could help: “I heard and I just wanted to help,” she said.

That’s the response Silverstein Gilligan got from the start. After they began collecting donations, Bishop Maginn alumni, families of current students and members of the community all came forward asking how they could help. The response was beautiful, Silverstein Gilligan said.

“People are good. People say that people aren’t good but ­people are,” she said. “The world is a good place, and this community and the Bishop Maginn community always comes through.”

Monetary donations can still be made online at the AVillage website, ww.avillageworks.org. via PayPal. Please also email the office manager at [email protected] to note the money is for those affected by the fire. Checks made out to AVillage…, Inc. with Myrtle Avenue Fire Victims in the comment line can be sent to: AVillage…, Inc., P.O. Box 10152, Albany, N.Y., 12201. Cash and check donations also can be dropped off at the AVillage..., Inc. offices at 3 Lincoln Square and the SEFCU branch at 200 S. Pearl St.

A Block at a Time, Mansion Neighborhood Association, Grand Street Community Arts, Bishop Maginn High School and AVillage…, Inc., sponsored the collection process.