A Buncrana man who has helped to raise more than €91,000 for the Donegal Cancer Bus in the past two years says he is standing by the charity.
A Sunday Times newspaper article at the weekend raised questions about the Letterkenny-based Good and New Charity, which reported a surplus of more than €400,000 to the charities regulator over the past two years.
However, John Porter says there are “no allegations of any misappropriation of funds” and he will continue to back the charity unless “something bad is revealed”.
“I will certainly still keep on collecting for the charity. I was out this weekend as normal gathering collection boxes from shops and pubs in Buncrana.”
“As far as I’m concerned the Donegal Cancer Bus is a fantastic charity that helps so many people in desperate need in this county. People might not realise that the charity gives lots of families a wee helping hand when they need it too, as well as running the bus service.”
“There are no allegations of any misappropriation of funds here and there isn’t a charity in the country that doesn’t have money in the bank,” he said.
In its return to the regulator, the Good and New shop reported income of more than €815,000 for 2015 and 2016. However it spent less than half of that sum in the same timeframe: €101,130 in 2015 and €289,740 in 2016.
Mr Porter says expenditure rose significantly last year, compared to 2015, because the charity invested in a new 37-seater bus.
He told the Inishowen Independent that he gets a receipt for every donated sum and that he will travel to Letterkenny this morning, Tuesday, to lodge a further €1,200 into the Good and New building society account.
“I will lodge the money into the account and bring the receipt to the staff at the [Good and New] shop as I always do. All the money I raise is accounted for and all the receipts are kept for the auditor,” Mr Porter explained.
The Buncrana man firmly believes that those involved with the Good and New charity act in a voluntary capacity, apart “from some small expenses for the driver to get his dinner”.
“There are heads of charities down the country getting €200,000 or €300,000 per year,” he said.
Mr Porter says he is confident that the people of Inishowen, whom he praised for their generosity, will continue to give to the good cause.
“I have more boxes out and will collect them in the New Year,” he added.
Over the past number of years Inishowen residents have helped raise hundreds of thousands of euro for the charity, which was established in 2009.
Inishowen cancer patients and their families are also regularly among those on the bus to and from Galway.
The need for the bus service here is diminishing all the time however as the new cancer centre in Altnagelvin begins to treat more and more Inishowen patients. The Derry radiotherapy unit will eventually have the capacity to treat 85% of all Inishowen cancer sufferers.
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