As previously mentioned, we’ve been following the Success for Fred campaign pretty much right after it went viral and right before it turned into a hot mess. It appears that the saga is finally nearing its conclusion.
In case you missed our earlier coverage, we shall attempt a TL;DR. So, Casey Blaney heard about this dude that was living on a tent on the campus of the college he was attending. She felt hella bad about it, gave him a few bucks and put him up in a motel. But as she was sitting in her privileged house with her privileged husband reflection on Fred’s truly destitute circumstances, she wanted to do more. To GoFundMe we go! Well, the campaign raised over $184,000 and Blaney decided it was way too much to deal with so she closed donations. Then she insisted that the money go into an educational trust despite the fact that she never indicated all funds raised were to go to Fred’s education but whatevs. That’s when the shit hit the proverbial fan, as she and Fred have duked it out over which lawyer gets to set up the trust. GoFundMe froze the funds while they work their shit out. Sufficiently caught up?
OK, so according to Fred (p.s. don’t even read the comments on his FB page, it’s like World War III over there), the two parties have finally agreed on a lawyer and apparently Blaney can’t wait to be done with this crap. I really can’t blame her, she’s been taking a pounding in the media (a well-deserved pounding, I might add) and probably never expected this whole thing would blow up in this spectacular fashion.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
But Barley, 19, said on his Facebook page Monday evening that the impasse was at an end: his attorney and Blaney’s lawyer had agreed on the establishment of a trust that will cover Barley’s living expenses and tuition, he said.
“Mrs. Blaney would like to turn over everything to her lawyer, and does not want anything to do with the trust account any longer,” Barley said in his post. “Together, my attorney and her attorney are working cooperatively to ensure that all assets donated go strictly to me and in a trust that I agree with.
“Thank you everyone for your prayers and standing behind me through everything. God makes a way.”
AJC wasn’t about to touch base with either Blaney nor Fred himself, however they were able to get a statement from GoFundMe. As you can imagine, they’re pretty happy the drama will soon be over as well.
“We’re pleased everyone agreed to set up an Educational Trust for Fred,” Bobby Whithorne, with GoFundMe, said in an email to the AJC. “As soon as the trust is fully established, the funds will be directly transferred to the trust.”
