Tom Soper

The extent of the financial commitment required for Tom has been determined and due to various factors it seems the acute need for financial assistance from all of you is not as pronounced as we had thought it might be at this stage.  What this effectively means is this: Tom’s medical bills and his and Sal’s related expenditure is covered, for a while at least, and so it would be inaccurate to say that “fundraising” for general requirements is necessary.

As someone touched, like you are, by the plight of Tom and his amazing family right now, I guess you feel like I do that assistance is still important as a personal demonstration of tangible help. To this end,  a few of us (with Sal and Tom’s blessing) have given some thought to how we can provide platforms for those of you keen to lend a hand, and do so openly and in a way that does not imply that Tom’s finances are precarious.

There are four general areas where you can participate;

1. Services and logistics support. We’ve amassed a pretty strong team of people with specialist skills in areas as diverse as medical and health, to financial planning and legal, to communications and IT. There may well be a need from time to time for more of this help to be forthcoming, so look out on the site if there’s a specific request. Logistics support could be the lending of a vehicle, the baking of a cake, or simply the provision of a lift here and there. Again, specific needs will be published here, so this will be needs-driven.

2. Community/Show of Strength. This is without question the biggest and most important aspect to Tom and his family right now.  More than money, it is the participation of you all, in your various parts of the world, in activities that bring you together that is needed. Activities that enable you to enjoy the sense of togetherness which has been one of the few bright linings to this dark cloud so far. So to those who have suggested bike rides, family picnics, walks etc. – organise them and do them by all means… take pictures and send write-ups, and it will be this that will enrich Tom most profoundly.  Guidelines on how to publicise these are below, and will help direct you to who should be involved. Money may still be generated from these events, via voluntary and nominal contributions from people attending. Every “Show Of Strength” event will be pre-assigned a “cause” that Tom will choose himself, so everyone will know at all times where their donation will be going. It may be to a general contingency pool, but more likely to either of the “causes” pointed out below.

3. Special Financial Projects. It may transpire that Tom has the opportunity to participate in treatment overseas, or there could  be, for  example, breakthroughs in technology that necessitate new and expensive specialist equipment. Big and acute issues like this would then require special fund-raising attention, so people wanting to make a financial contribution could either do so now on the understanding that if the fund is unnecessary these monies will be redirected to point 4 below, or you can simply wait to see if/when a special need is publicised and donate then.

4. Tom’s Discretionary Fund. This is money that Tom can distribute to third parties at his discretion. Examples could be charities that have touched him or individuals he encounters along his road to recovery who may not be as fortunate as him financially. We all know how important philanthropy is to Tom, and certainly I can’t imagine him being OK with not being able to help those around him when he feels the need.

Thank you from me to everyone who has gotten involved, even just to post a message on the site. I can see how much it helps Tom and Sal (and Jane and everyone else in the family) cope with this life-changing situation.

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Guidelines for “Show Of Strength” Events

These are not intended to constrain your creativity or organisational flair, just perhaps assist with the publicity and ensure that Tom and Sal are aware of what’s happening and able to provide input.

1. If you want to organise something related to Tom’s present situation, please mail the idea to nick@grubb.co.za. Or to Sally. The reason for this is so that the idea can be discussed with Tom at the earliest opportunity. The idea should include the intended venue, date, time and concept, and whether the intention is to collect money from people who attend. If so, include a suggestion on whether you would prefer this money to be allocated to either a Special Project or to Tom’s Discretionary Fund.
2. Once we’ve gotten back to you with the go-ahead, and if there is money to be collected, we will put you in touch with details of the account trustee most relevant to you, and feedback on which project the money will be used for.
3. You will need to liaise with the account trustee to arrange proper transfer of the money and discuss between you how to ensure that the management of the funds is as transparent as possible.
4. The event will have to be first mentioned on the www.tomgilessoper.com web site. Send a draft “blurb” to promote the event to nick@grubb.co.za and after its appeared on the site you are free to promote it elsewhere as you wish, provided wording remains intact. The reason for being pedantic here is that these events are not overtly for fundraising, so we need to ensure that the spirit of it is accurately conveyed.
5. Event organisers will get a login to the site to post pics, write-ups etc as soon as possible after the event. This is important, so please ensure that someone with computer access is assigned to this for every event and let Nick know who it is.

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Details of the bank accounts, and the trustees who oversee each of them, are below. These are collection pools for those of you who want to contribute money, safely and easily.

Donors to these collection funds are asked to do so into the account most relevent to their location, as listed below, and to then email the trustee to alert them to the deposit.

Each donor will receive an acknowledgement from the trustee, and statements of funds will be be made periodically on this website.

We stress that whether to contribute, and how much, is a decision that is yours alone, and no details of individuals’ donations will be disclosed to any parties who are not trustees of these funds without that donors’ express permission.