Report on Donations to TCI victims of Hurricane Ike

Dear [Donor name]

Thank you very much for your generous donation to help the TCI victims of Hurricane Ike.  I really appreciate your responding to my plea on their behalf. 

We raised $5,575.00 [in 72 hours] through The iPINIONS Journal, in amounts from $5 to $1000. You’ll be pleased to know that not one dollar of your donation will be subject to the political manipulations that have marred this relief effort (e.g. government officials stamping party labels on goods donated through the Red Cross, and doling out generators only to loyal party members). 

Instead, I have entrusted the total amount of our donations with Mrs Misick for her to use in any way she deems will help the greatest number of people regardless of political affiliation. This will include establishing a work for food program to foster community involvement in the clean-up phase of the rebuilding effort.

(Incidentally, a number of other relief funds have sprung up lately, but I doubt any of them could boast of such a trustworthy trustee….)

In deference to appropriate focus on Ike’s landfall in Houston today, I plan to wait until next weekend to publish a donor list for public accountability purposes as promised.  

I’m not sure if you added any comment with your donation in this respect but I did not receive any. Therefore, please reply to this e-mail to let me know if you’d like me to list your name and the amount of your donation, just your name, or neither.

Thanks again!

Anthony

I e-mailed a version of this letter to all donors on Saturday, September 13. Clearly, I intended to wait until this weekend to publish a donor list. But keen and impatient interest in it has compelled me to do so today.

Please recall that I provided the means for readers to donate through this website only after a number of readers expressed wariness about honoring my request for them to donate through the British Red Cross.

However, since so many of my close friends and business associates responded immediately to my initial request and donated through the British Red Cross, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to them for doing so.

I have decided to discontinue fundraising on this website after only 72 hours because a veritable cottage industry has developed amongst local groups asking for money on behalf of our victims, and I see no point in duplicating (or detracting from) their efforts.  Especially since the government has even appointed a fundraising czar to ‘coordinate’ it all….

At any rate, here, as promised, is the list of those who donated through The iPINIONS Journal and agreed to have their names published:

Edward E Smith, PhD – $150
Stephen Bowden
Patrick Culhane – $200
Jaclyn Berke – $1000
Richard Berke – $1000
Leslie Turkson
Rad Milosavljevic
Iain Franklin – $40
Bisenija Kisovec
Tianave Boyd
Carol and Gavin Cochrane – $500
Don and Lesley Grilley – $500
Bill Samuel
Frank Patry
Kerry Cavender – $200
Jennifer Sharpley

NOTE:  Because I decided to publish the list today instead of on Saturday, the names of those donors who have yet to respond to my e-mail do not appear. But, to ensure that they get proper recognition, I shall republish the completed list on Saturday as originally planned.

* Published originally on Monday, September 15

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