Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

A benefactor of The Home of Charlotte's Children, in Montego Bay, is asking persons to stop using the name of the home to solicit donations without its permission.

The home houses 15 orphaned children between the ages of seven to 16 years old and provides educational and exctra-curricular activities for an additional 150 children within Montego Bay.

"I would like the public to be informed that Home of Charlotte's Children is a privately-run non-profit charitable organisation and no one is allowed to collect funds in our name," said Beulah Plowright-Buzzi.

"The Home of Charlotte's Children and the association, Friends of Charlotte's Children, in Italy are the only organisations authorised to do any fundraising in the name of the home at all," she said.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Mrs. Buzzi disclosed that there were both Jamaican and American organisations that were hosting fundraising events and using the name of the home without the permission of its administrators.

Mrs. Buzzi stated an instance in which she received a call from an American artiste who, having attended a fundraiser which named the home in the United States, wanted to paint a mural for the institution.

New rules

"We still cannot get to the bottom of that one," Mrs. Buzzi said. She added that they have had to implement new rules at the home, such as a ban on the taking of pictures of the children without permission as persons were coming to the institution and taking pictures of the children for unauthorised solicitations.

"The only fundraising that we ever did in Jamaica was for one of our anniversaries and a young lady was introduced to me who helped us to assist things beautifully and the money disappeared. The only thing we were able to retrieve were the cheques," she said. "I am very disappointed in the lack of cooperation and transparency . I did not expect cheating."

The Home of Charlotte's Children is registered with the Jamaican government and Friends of Charlotte's Children is registered with the European Union.