California Humanitarian Group Says It is Receiving Donations Intended for a Tennessee Group with Similar Name

Rancho Mirage, CA, February 18, 2010 --(PR.com)-- What do you do when another non-profit organization does the same kind of work you do and is using your name?

That's the question facing Tracey Allen, who co-founded of Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based International Medical Alliance with his wife, Ines Allen, in 2000. The California-based group, whose website is www.internationalmedicalalliance.org, has organized annual medical missions to Ecuador for the past nine years and plans to provide medical care, including surgeries, to indigent people in Nicaragua this summer. Ines Allen is also volunteering her skills as a dental assistant with another non-profit group in Haiti this month.

Meanwhile, International Medical Alliance of Tennessee is generating publicity across the country for its current humanitarian efforts in Haiti. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based group, whose website is www.imaonline.org, indicates on its website that it has previously organized medical missions along the U.S. Gulf Coast, Kenya and the Dominican Republic, places where the California-based group has not yet been involved.

"We didn't know that International Medical Alliance of Tennessee existed until we started seeing news accounts about their efforts in Haiti. Then we started receiving checks intended for their outreach efforts in Haiti," said Tracey Allen, who sits on the California group's board of directors.

Allen said he contacted the Tennessee group two weeks ago and asked them to use their full name with their donors and with the public so that the Knoxville-based group is not confused with the Rancho Mirage organization.

But Allen said he continues to receive checks, which he has returned to the donors along with letters explaining why their donation is being returned. He also continues to see news stories about Haitian outreach efforts, which mistakenly reference the California group.

"We don't want the public to confuse our two organizations and we will continue to return donations we believe are intended for the Knoxville-based organization. We hope the news media will spread the word about this so that people won't be confused about our two organizations moving forward."

For more information about Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based International Medical Alliance, please contact Tracey Allen at (760) 485-8963 or visit www.internationalmedicalalliance.org.

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