Disabled Girl’s Parents Sue N.Y. Charity over Fund Drive
September 12, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
The parents of a girl with spina bifida are taking a Brooklyn-based charity to court for using their daughter’s story and image in a fundraising campaign from which the family says it received no aid, reports the New York Daily News.
Masha and Shaul Yakobzon, also of Brooklyn, are seeking $5-million in damages from the Aleh Foundation, which assists disabled children in Israel and has a U.S. fundraising arm. The couple’s suit says the charity did not have permission to use their daughter Ayala’s image on its website and that “monies have been collected but have not been provided to her.”
The solicitation, which was recently removed from the Aleh site, featured a photo of 5-year-old Ayala and stated that the foundation “is here to help her family adapt their home to become disabled-accessible, and to ease their staggering financial burdens.” Messages to Aleh and top foundation officials were not returned, the Daily News says.
