Recent rumblings behind-the-scenes of the hugely successful SaveAngel.org campaign have spilled out into the public domain after a former campaign worker posted the following message on the message board:
Hi all, there have been some issues that have been kept from you. 5 strategists, with well over 4000 posts, have quit this week. WE, were not terminated as you have been led to believe. The fact of the matter is the administrators here do not want their motives questioned. It has come to my attention that the contest was infact cancelled due to misturst of the motives behind it. WE were here to campaign, however, this site has been used in an unethical way (ask the admins which one bought a new car). Joss & the Stars have repeatedly asked the fans not to make donations, becasue 2 campaign sites have misappropriated said funds, if you want to give ANGEL your money - go buy a DVD, a book, a trading card. DO NOT give it to any website or campaign.
While the accusations have caused quite a stir among the fans, the facts speak for themselves.
Currently, SaveAngel.org has raised a little over $700 via PayPal and it is not due to lack of contribution from the fans. SaveAngel turned off PayPal for a long period of time, making it impossible for fans to donate their hard-earned cash due to the fact that the campaign has never relied on the donations to fund it. The reason SaveAngel has remained as prolific as it has is due to the personal contribution of time and energy from the staff members behind-the-scenes and the online fans.
The small amount of funds raised by the website only contradicts the "laughable" accusation that one of the staff members recently purchased a new car. Simon Fleischmann, coordinator of the SaveAngel.org website said, "I ride the bus in Israel so no, I don't have a car, new or old." He also said, "[The allegations] would be laughable, if the person making them hadn't spit on the concerted efforts of fans around the world, over the last four months. That's something to take seriously."
Another staff member also commented on the recent revelations. Andrea Clarke, who has worked on the campaign for over four months said, "I drive a Renault Clio with 64,000 miles on the clock. If I wanted to buy a new car, I would, but with my own money." She went on to say, "The allegations regarding the finances of the campaign are absolutely absurd and there is no evidence to back the statements up. The fact that the person states concerns that the money may have been misused only adds weight to the fact that the person is driven by subjectivity rather than hard facts."
One has to wonder why a person would make such allegations. It transpires that the former campaigner concerned may have used the website in order to make contact with the cast and crew of Angel, despite being asked not to. Simon Fleischmann, issued the following statement:
Contrary to what some may have you believe, a group of individuals invited to be part of the campaign formed a clique to secretly use the resources and name of this site in an attempt to get in with the cast and crew of ANGEL. When told repeatedly they could no longer do so, they resigned.
Fleischmann added, "Writing intentionally fraudulent statements with the sole purpose to damage the reputation of others is libel -- and is morally offensive to all those who put in their time, emotion and heart into the effort to save the series."
Although the facts have been presented to the fans, there is no doubt that the statements have caused many questions to be raised. Clarke stressed, "It's up to the fans to decide whether they believe in the integrity of a campaign that has never asked them for money. It is a shame that all their hopes and dreams of seeing more Angel have been undone by one person. I just hope that they will use what they have learned from the show in this situation. One fan spoke of the former campaigner and said 'You have to wonder if this person is the type of person Angel would save.' My reply was 'Yes, he probably still would, but he would still remain loyal to his family and fight for what he believes in.’ I know the fans will do the same."
One fan has already responded to the controversy. Posting on the SaveAngel forums, "angelluv" said, "Simon, I find it hard to believe that you would be doing all this to help yourself and not the show. All the info and all the time you put into this site is terrific. I want you to know I appreciate all the effort you put into this site and I will continue to support this site and everything it represents. I hope all this gets worked out so we can focus on what's important to SaveAngel."
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