The friends of the Islander Mike Thalassitis have set up a crowdfunding page to pay for his funeral & also donate to charity.
The goal is to raise £25,000 to pay the fees for his funeral following his suicide.
The page was set up to help his family not have to bear the financial burden of having his funeral.
The page, set up by one of his friends, stated,
“Mike Thalassitis was a beloved son, brother, friend and good man to many people.
As everybody is aware we all lost a brilliant person on March 16th. I’m sure that everyone here and all those that were fortunate enough to know Mike wishes that they had done or said something that could have changed this outcome and have helped him in so that this terrible tragedy did not befall Mike and everybody that cared for him.
“Mikes family were doing everything possible to come to terms with the death of Andy’s mum (Mikes Nan) before their youngest son was taken within days of each other.
“Mike’s family are hard working people experiencing a time of intense pain and suffering. Accordingly we are asking for all of your help so that they do not have to face anything alone.
“So we have created this as a collection so all of those who want to contribute can. We will give all donations raised to Mike's mum and dad to help fund his funeral costs and the rest given to a mental health charity of their choice.
We will update you with information on what charity Mike’s parents decide to donate to once they have made a decision on that.Also as a side note if anyone needs to talk about anything please talk to each other.”
However his family want to shut down the crowdfunding page.
In a message on the page the family explained their decision.
Thank you all for your generous donations thus far. I have spoken with Mike’s family and while they are grateful for all of the support his friends have given, they have asked to close the gofundme at this time.
Please be assured the money raised to date will go directly to the family who intend to open a new page controlled by themselves in due course.
All proceeds will then be consolidated and donated to a mental health charity of their choice.
While this particular page was created by his close friends, they are concerned that fraudulent accounts could be activated by strangers using their name.
Therefore, please do not donate to any other pages until an official statement has been made by the immediate Thalassitis family within the next week or so.
