The following statement appeared on the national bullying helpline website today:
TRUSTEE STATEMENT
Trustees of The National Bullying Helpline Charity decided with regret at a meeting held on January 4, 2011, to discontinue the helpline service with immediate effect and take steps to close the Charity down.
TRUSTEE STATEMENT
Trustees of The National Bullying Helpline Charity decided with regret at a meeting held on January 4, 2011, to discontinue the helpline service with immediate effect and take steps to close the Charity down.
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The "Trustee" who said its a sad loss was very probably David Pratt, one of the three trustees. The other two were appointed post February 2010. The statement is here translated into English (translations in brackets).
ReplyDelete“This last year, calls to our helpline have trebled ...
(We have had hardly any calls as a result of the total destruction of our credibility when Christine went for one headline too many, although we have been inundated with enquiries from journalists and Charity Commission investigators)
"... and we have had to take on additional Volunteers and resources to meet demand.
(like Max Clifford, although he wasn't interested because he said he wanted proof of our allegations before he would help. And we struggled to try and find some patrons and trustees after all the old ones dumped us when we needed their credibility the most.)
"Without doubt, this demonstrates that a free anti-bullying helpline is a much needed and much valued life-line for the general public – adults and children alike.
(We **still** want the world to think we ran a "free anti-bullying helpline")
"We believe our Charity was unique.
(Our charity was unlike any charity you have ever imagined)
"We believe there is no other UK bullying helpline today, quite like The National Bullying Helpline,
(We know that no-one was as audacious as we were, and it is most unlikely that any other helpline is actually a marketing tool for a commercial business run by our longest serving trustee)
"...providing assistance to both adults and children who are affected by anti social behaviour in the community, the home, the workplace and/or the playground.
(where the assistance was limited to a badly written, technically incorrect Word file that cost £10, and a charming phone voice recommending that callers introduced us to their employers. We did not provide assistance to people who were the victims of our own anti social behaviour.)
"Undoubtedly, the closure of our Charity will be a great loss to the public.
(Undoubtedly, the closure of our charity will be a great loss to us)
“May we thank our founders,
(May we thank ourselves)
...our Ambassador,
(a well-meaning sucker who we persuaded to let us use his name)
...our dedicated team of Trustees,
(we thank ourselves again)
...Volunteers,
(more well meaning suckers)
...our Sponsors
(ditto)
...and all Associates for their invaluable input over recent years,
(ditto)
...to this worthy cause.”
(to this exceptionally clever marketing project that was working so well at one point)
Maybe the demise of this strange charity has something to do with a Charity Commission inquiry report, which must be imminent as an official investigation started last February. I'm sure there will be a lot of people interested in finding out what the CC thinks about the breach of confidence and the income generated for the Pratts' firm. Surely the website should be removed if the charity has closed, or is it staying online because it advertises the Pratt's private firm? They're fairly shameless in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThese people are beyond the pale. Despite telling the public they are closing the charity they are STILL trying to get money in through flogging the extremely well respected Tim Field's books. I see they have updated their website today about that.
ReplyDeleteI hope Tim's family complain to the Charity Commission. He was a great man and the trustees of the NBH shouldn't be using his name for this tarnished venture any longer. Is it even legal to continue to 'trade' in these circumstances.
Wonder just how much the Pratts' private firm has made over the years out of helping desperate people? According to the Companies House website their private firm's last annual return is seven months overdue. The NBH annual return is similarly overdue.
Strange this was a charity that had increased its apparent workload, and taken on volunteers that cost nothing, ehich of course introduces the whole concept of avoiding the minimium wage by using a charity to obtain extra labour. If the charity commission concludes that the two entities of NCB and HR & DM Ltd. are the same entity the this becomes a potential legal issue, along with the VAT and corporation tax issues of HR & DM Ltd.
ReplyDeleteIt's totally disgusting that the Pratts have put a new notice on the National Bullying Helpline website, saying that the charity has closed down due to lack of funds and USING THE CHARITY'S WEBSITE TO ADVERTISE THEIR OWN COMMERCIAL VENTURE!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen is the Charity Commission going to report on this scandal in which people who go to what they believe is a charity website are diverted to a commercial one owned by the people who used to run the charity?
What a disgrace.