Family vows all funds will be used for search
By Kristen Green
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER February 11, 2002 As soon as the search for Danielle van Dam got under way, strangers wanted to know how they could contribute to the cause, and a bank account was established. Fund-raisers are being held in Danielle's name throughout the county, including a radio station-sponsored concert at Mission Valley Center yesterday that brought in more than $5,000. It's unclear how the money will be spent. But last night, Danielle's parents, Damon and Brenda van Dam, said through a spokeswoman that all donations will go toward the search for their daughter. Any money left over will go to a charity, said the spokeswoman, Sara Muller Fraunces. "We don't want one cent out of this," Damon van Dam said through Fraunces. Bill Libby, a friend of the van Dams who helped set up an account at Wells Fargo Bank, said the donations probably will be spent on posters, banners and ribbons – anything that will remind people to look for Danielle. More than $6,900 has been raised, but none of the money has been spent. In initial conversations, Libby said the money also could be used to pay a public relations specialist the family hired to help land interviews with national television networks. He said he paid Fraunces, who owns the marketing-consulting firm OutSmart, a $500 retainer fee out of his own checkbook. Fraunces said she returned the retainer check and will work free. "I will not be accepting any money from the fund – period," Fraunces said last night. "I'm going to be paying for things out of my own pocket." Yesterday, the family also retained Lynn Rubenson, a senior vice president for Fleishman-Hillard San Diego, to work with Fraunces. It wasn't clear yesterday who would pay Rubenson's fees; she did not return calls. At the Channel 93.3 fund-raiser yesterday, morning show host A.J. Machado said the proceeds from the event, which attracted a couple of hundred spectators, would be deposited in the fund. "My feeling right now is just about Danielle," Machado said. "I can't control how she gets helped. I just hope the resources are there for what's needed." Two local musicians performed, and Machado raffled off more than a dozen donated items. Amanda Brown of Lemon Grove bought three raffle tickets for $15. She said she doesn't care how her donation is used, as long as it goes to the effort to find Danielle. "We wanted to support finding her," Brown said. Yesterday, more than 125 volunteers searched a 11/2-mile area around Danielle's home, looking for signs of the missing 7-year-old. Danielle's parents believe she was abducted from her bed early Feb. 2 while the family was sleeping. On Friday, a Smoothie King in Poway set aside more than $400 – 20 percent of the day's receipts – for the fund in Danielle's name. Carl Mikeska, a neighbor of the van Dam's who recently opened the franchise, said he wasn't sure how the money he raised would be used. "We're going to put it to the fund, and we'll let them decide what they need to use it for," Mikeska said. "I'm sure it's going to be used appropriately. I'm hoping that happens with it." Donations are being routed through Community Bible Church in Scripps Ranch. Rev. Barry Minkow said the van Dams aren't members of the congregation. But the account had to be set up by a nonprofit, and a family friend who belongs to the church asked Minkow if it could be done in the church's name, Libby said. Libby promised the donations would be handled properly. "The money is about getting the word out that Danielle is missing," he said. |