April 20, 2011; Source: Los Angeles Times | Updated April 21, 2011 9:55 a.m. Time and time again, charities learn the hard way that for all the attention celebrities bring to their organizations and causes, they might have been better off saying “thanks, but no thanks.”

The latest example: during one of his “Violent Torpedo of Truth” appearances in Canada, Charlie Sheen promised that he’d match donations to a local bipolar disorder group dollar for dollar.  However, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders (OBAD) hasn’t received any money and its leadership can’t reach Sheen or his reps.  

Apparently Sheen led a charity walk from his hotel in Toronto last Friday to the hall where he performed. Reportedly, hundreds of fans joined the walk, and according to the Times “Sheen asked for donations for OBAD of at least $1.” During his show, he also auctioned off several items – allegedly for the charity – that included a signed Toronto Maple Leafs jersey and T-shirts.

OBAD had high hopes for the money, which between the auction and walk were said to have brought in thousands of dollars.  “We are a small charity — we want to support the mental health community in Calgary and spread awareness as far as we can,” said Kaj Korvela, the group’s executive director.  

Korvela says Sheen’s representatives aren’t responding to phone call and emails.  “It seems that his group doesn’t want to talk to us directly,” he added.  

Larry Solters, a spokesman for Sheen, claimed no knowledge of phone calls or emails and actually said he’d been trying to reach the group “for days.”  That claim seems a stretch at best because the Times said it “reached the organization easily through numbers and email addresses on its public website.”—Bruce Trachtenberg

[Update: CTV Toronto reports Thursday morning that Charlie Sheen will deliver on a promise to donate to the Calgary-based Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders, after the group voiced frustration that they had not heard from the actor.]