A limo firm is accused of taking hundreds of {dollars} {that a} nonprofit donated to assist in giving younger Eaton hearth survivors a promenade evening to recollect — then vanishing with out a phrase, leaving two dozen dolled-up youngsters with out a experience.
College students at Marshall Elementary Secondary Faculty, lots of whom misplaced their properties within the January firestorm, had been stood up Saturday by limousine service Wize Man Leisure, which nonprofit group Alice’s Children had paid to move them to the dance, based on the pinnacle of the nonprofit.
“Alice’s Children is outraged and heartbroken over the failure of Shawn Lasley, proprietor of Wize Man Leisure, to offer limousine companies — for which he was paid $4,320 — companies meant to offer 24 deserving highschool college students affected by the Eaton wildfires a particular and memorable promenade evening,” Ron Fitzsimmons, Alice’s Children govt director, stated in a press release.
Longtime Alice’s Children supporter Steve Carell launched a video in March saying that the Virginia-based nonprofit would donate $175,000 to cowl promenade tickets for some 800 college students at six colleges in Altadena and Pasadena. Fitzsimmons then traveled to Los Angeles final weekend to attend a preprom celebration and provided to cowl the price of the limo rides as a bonus.
Lasley didn’t reply to The Occasions’ request for remark. The Wize Man Leisure web site was taken down after a slew of destructive evaluations had been left by livid dad and mom on the enterprise’ Yelp web page.
Altadena mom Carrie Meyers stated she was enraged when she realized that the youngsters had been being stood up. Meyers misplaced each her residence that had been within the household for 4 a long time and her enterprise Steve’s Pets, which was based by her uncle in 1971, to the Eaton hearth.
This 12 months has been a nightmare for the entire household, and she or he stated this fiasco on an evening that was meant to offer a joyful respite felt like a sucker punch.
Thankfully, the scholars nonetheless made it to promenade after dad and mom ordered Ubers for the group, Meyers stated. However they did must miss an expert photograph shoot that was scheduled to happen en route.
Fitzsimmons stated Alice’s Children is dedicated to holding the limousine firm accountable for the alleged no-show.
“As a nonprofit devoted to serving to kids in want, Alice’s Children finds this breach not solely unacceptable, however a misuse of charitable funds,” he stated. “We’re demanding a full refund and are ready to pursue each authorized and public avenue to make sure accountability.”
Meyers added that oldsters of the affected teenagers are additionally upset.
“The purpose is, you don’t mess with my youngsters,” she stated. “All us mothers, you don’t mess with our children.”
