The current balance for the Noel Clarke fund is $2,225.32. I'd like to thank everyone who's deposited money in the account. It's a great show of your goodwill and, it seems trust.
Although I've assisted in other campaigns I'm a rookie when it comes to this kind of fund raising. I'm going into new unchartered territory and have followed what I thought was the correct protocol. A couple of days ago while having a conversation with a friend while in NZ and airing my disapointment that the direct deposit part of the fund raising wasn't working as well as I'd hoped, he told me that he'd heard that 'many' people were reluctant to put money into the account because it was in my name and not Noels or in a trust name. I was quite taken aback by that and was shocked that my honesty would have been challenged. I had genuinely believed that protection of my public profile within our movement would have been enough to show that I could be trusted with handling the donated money. If I had used any of the money, even the spare 32c, for anything other than supporting Noel I would lose any credibility I may posess in the vintage movement, something that I take very seriously. Quite simply, I'm an honest man and would never consider doing anything dishonest, especially seeing that Noel and his family are dear friends of mine.
After brooding over this for a couple of days I can now see that the account being in my name may give cause for hesitation in donating from some people. I realise that not everybody knows me and with money being at a premium these days they possibly have good reason to be wary.
When I enquired into opening the account I at first tried to open it in Noels name but he would have to be a signatory on the account which made that a bit out of the question. I then attempted to open the account in Klub Kevlars account as a charity account (or something similar, I'm having trouble remembering the details) but because KK isn't a registered club or organisation that wasn't an option either. In the end I just opened another account in my name as I was the only signatory there and it was the easiest option. I've now been told that I could have done it differently but my naivity and inexperience in these things got in the way. Until that conversation in NZ, nobody had even shown one iota of concern or offered an alternative so I figured that I'd done the correct thing.
To show that everything is above board, it had always been our intention to post the transaction details in their entirety and/or send them to anyone who requested them. That of course still stands with one proviso. Once we decide that the fund raising has come to its natural conclusion we will make all of the transaction details available to anyone who requests them. Before I post the details on the forum, I feel that the donors privacy should be considered. Some donors may wish their contributions to be kept private so if that is the case, please let me know by PM and I'll make adjustments to disguise your identity.
In closing, myself and the small number of Klub Kevlar members involved are doing this out of our wish to help out a fallen mate, no other reason. There are no ego, greed or dishonest motives involved here and believe me, there are many other things in our lives that aren't recieving the proper attention they should because of the time involved in this. I promise that every single cent donated will end up with Noel Clarke and no other place. I'm a bit upset at this doubt at my motives and honesty but when I sit outside the fence and look at it from the eyes of somebody who doesn't know my and my partners in the fund raiser's integrity, I can see their point.
I hope the above explanation has convinced those of you who have held back for the above reason to have a change of mind and contribute to this great cause. Maintaining my integrity and respect in the vintage movement and my wish to see Noel get some financial support are far greater than the temptation some see me yielding to......thanks Mark.
