A few hours after I published this Berty reached out and for the past 3.5hrs we’ve been in discussion face to face. I acknowledge that my first CFH feature upset him and his team as the JPG I used to promote that feature was nothing more than ‘click bait’, designed to get attention in order for people to read the feature. For this I’m truly sorry as I didn’t think it would cloud him and his team from reading the real meat of my story. At the same time I forced Berty to read my first article and acknowledge that my final line was that I hoped for a meeting with his team to still happen in order to discuss if CFH could build a better bridge for people suffering from depression.
Berty showed me the figures, but more importantly he gave me his word that he has never personally taken more than $5 from CFH for his own personal benefit since inception. I might have my own personal doubts, but at the end of the day I have to believe him as it’s his word against thoughts which cross my mind. So for singling him out and questioning him in public (which he and many others would take as accusing him), I apologise wholeheartedly.
Also, I was wrong about his fancy helmet as it cost him $150, and his S2000 was a seal at $11k.
In regards to what CFH spends their money on. Berty managed to explain that anyone who donates to CFH gets a personalised letter from CFH to say what the money goes into. I questioned why he would only give that information to those who donated, and why not share that information in order to inspire more people to donate. The point was taken. I also again questioned the vagueness of the CFH web site in general, and again, point taken and Berty assures me they are working on it.
Ultimately Berty had to ask whether this was the end of our friendship, and whether I would continue to question CFH in future. My answer was NO! Of-course we’re still friends, and if anything, if CFH did edit their web page they should let me know so I could share it with my community.
To all those CFH supporters who are upset with my thoughts. I apologise for making anyone upset, it wasn’t my intention. I was merely trying to explain why I wanted to remove the CFH banner from the ZEN Garage blog. I rest my case, and will not continue to express my opinions on CFH as I feel I’ve said more than enough. I acknowledge that the primary goal of CFH is to create awareness around the subject of depression, and in doing so they have saved lives, which is an amazing thing full stop.
Here’s an official response from CFH: https://carsforhope.com.au/2019/03/thank-you-for-fighting-against-stigma-with-us/