PLEASE STAY CALM AND PLEASE BE KIND AND CONSTRUCTIVE AND HAVE EMPATHY FOR ALL IN NEED Youve probably seen the news with the controversy surrounding the fundraising. We are saddened by the media coverage as we feel the people affected by the fire have already been through enough and as often seems to happen, information has been misconstrued. There has been a bit of hysteria as a result which seems to be neither justified nor helpful. In fact, the plan for allocation of the funds has long been in place and was published on LMCs website some time ago. 1. firstly the suggestion that money is being withheld by Council is not the case - the Committee has said they have made a first round allocation. Some people have jumped to the conclusion that the Council is retaining part of the money - but they do not have the money - it is with Bendigo Bank. It is a tightly locked fund controlled by the Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre and the allocations are controlled by the Committee, not Council. 2. when Darcy Byrne was Mayor, the Rozelle Fire Relief Fund was established to raise money. It was not made clear who the recipients would be but it is our belief that in the main, people living and working in Rozelle thought ANYONE AND EVERYONE IN NEED would receive help whether they had lost a loved one, their home or business/livelihood or needed support. It is quite possible that this was not the perception of many living outside Rozelle who are unfamiliar with the close relationships we have with our business owners who have been very long term members of our community and indeed who are also, in many cases, residents of Rozelle. The point is that it was not made clear from the time the fund was established. 3. we learnt after about a month, and certainly after the concert was held, that tax deductible donations cannot be attributed to a business. We queried whether a person with a business (such as James from FoneLife or Chris from Darling Street Meats, or Dora from HairDorama, or Seang and Young from the Laundromat, or Ali from WizTrips, or Belinda from Iku or many of the others who have suffered terribly) can be a recipient but it was not taken up by the Committee. Darcy Byrne was the Mayor at this point. We were hoping the fund would look after everybody. We wanted everyone to be cared for fairly. 4. subsequently, as it became apparent that no part of the Rozelle Fire Relief Fund was going to be attributed to people whose livelihoods had been affected, including James, and in addition to other worthy people, the community undertook to fundraise for them separately and will continue to do so into the future. Some businesses have been selling raffle tickets and specially donated books to fundraise for specific business people in need and they have seen a very positive response from Rozelle residents. Tillys held an auction at the Rozelle Village Fair to fundraise specifically for the four businesses who arent yet operational in the immediate instance. This includes James as well as other business owners. There are other plans to assist the business people. For they are people too. When Rochelle Porteous became Mayor, she has extended assistance to the people with businesses impacted by the fire in various ways, including James as well as Young and Seang, Ali and Dora - but also many more too who need our help. In reflecting on this, please dont shoot the messenger. Please think carefully about what you say. Please think in terms of not denying ANYONE much needed help. And also remember that this whole incident came about through someone being in trouble. Surely that has taught us that we need to ensure everyone is okay. Unless people are intimately involved in this process, they cant possibly know all the facts and I may too have misunderstood something along the way. We are not qualified to make judgements. WE ARE JUST HERE OFFERING OUR FULL SUPPORT TO ALL THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS FAR REACHING TRAGEDY, WHOEVER THEY ARE. IF THEY NEED HELP, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY GET IT. WE WANT TO BE HERE FOR THEM, YES?
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:16:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015