In response to an article published in the Sunraysia Daily today, the trustees of The Lucas Foundation would like to refute any allegations of discrepancies in our financial records.
It is with complete confidence we assure our stakeholders, donors, families and the wider Sunraysia community, that 100% of funds raised since the establishment of the Foundation in August 2013 have been directed to supporting those most in need; the families suffering the heartache, pain and stress of having a sick child requiring medical treatment hundreds of kilometres away from home.
Additionally, we would like to point out in the strongest possible terms that:
As a charitable foundation, our financial records are accurately recorded to the satisfaction of the trustees and lodged with the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission, with whom we are registered.
Our trustees are willing and prepared to appoint an independent auditor to verify the accuracy of our financial records and put an end to these unfounded allegations. Our trustees believe in complete transparency on this issue.
None of the trustees of The Lucas Foundation have ever been, or ever will be, paid or reimbursed for the time they volunteer to help sick local children and their families.
The poor reporting, unfounded allegations and lack of time given by the journalist for our trustees to respond to these allegations in full, negatively impact on our ability to financially support local families in times of desperate need.
Our trustees ask the Sunraysia community to stand by our Foundation and the families we have helped, and those we will help in future, as we put these unfair and unfounded allegations firmly to rest.
Trustee Tania Chapman expressed disappointment in the Sunraysia Daily article, but thanked the many people who had called her to give their support.
“I find it gut wrenching that this article could harm the reputation of not just The Lucas Foundation, but also the amazing volunteers who work with us.
Because of these allegations it’s a very real possibility that the Sunraysia region may lose this charity and thus, the ongoing financial assistance to those local families who so desperately need help in the long dark hours of looking after their seriously ill children.”
“We won’t let those allegations hold us back from our biggest fundraising effort to date, our Black Tie Ball on 25 February.
We look forward to sharing the amount raised with the community, but more importantly we look forward to directing the money towards those people in our community who most need our love and support.”
Any stakeholder, donor, family or community member who would like more information is welcome to email us at admin@wordpress-914606-3174493.cloudwaysapps.com
Tania Chapman
The Lucas Foundation, Trustee
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