leonardcohenforum.com

We have today spoken to a person very close to Leonard, and have been told that a donation in Leonard's name to the hospital on Hydra is the best idea. This way the extra money we will have through the fund raising project benefits the local people on the island.

We will next ask our contacts on Hydra what kind of medical equipment or medical supplies they'd need at the hospital, or if there is some other urgent need on the island. Report to follow!

email received, thanks Jarkko!

B4real wrote:But if we don't raise enough money for the bench, I'm simply pleased to be part of something else Leonard would put his seal of approval to.

So pleased that we have raised the money and it seems that the second part of my quote has been fulfilled as above!

So pleased that the money was raised so quickly! The idea to invest the extra funds into Hydra is logical and especially so with Leonard's stamp of approval.

Thanks to everyone who joined in to enable the successful completion of the project! And may each of us someday enjoy, from the bench, the beauty of the island and sea which so inspired Leonard so many years ago. Ahhh, for a chance to actually gaze upon the deep blue sea and into the starry night skies of Hydra. This is a kind of dream to make real!
Linda

Glad to hear the extra sums will benefit Hydra's hospital.

Finally contributed, sent my donation via Paypal
Really proud to be among the Cohenite community for such enormous devotion and dedication
Thank you Jarkko and everyone for making this come true
And thank you Leonard for the gifts you've provided to our lives
Peace and love
Jordi

PS: I hope to visit Hydra some day and find this magic spot

Here is something for members who like statistics!

Right now we have collected 12 833 eur from 239 contributors (this gives us the average donation of 53,70 eur).
Until today we have received contributions from the following 27 countries (country of highest number of participants first, and so on):

UK (including Northern Ireland)
USA
Germany
The Netherlands
Ireland
Canada
Finland
Belgium
Australia
Norway
Austria
Italy
France
Poland
Spain
Israel
Switzerland
Russia
Portugal
Japan
Greece
The Czech Republic
Serbia
Hungary
Croatia
Belarus
China

We will print all names in the list that will be delivered to Leonard on his 80th birthday.
When the bench is ready, we are going to make a photo book with pictures from Hydra (the bench - history - today), again with all the names.
A copy of the book will be given to Leonard, and another copy will be deposited at the Hydra Museum so that everybody who visits the island may see it.
We don't make the amounts public, just the names and home countries.

If you haven't sent your contribution yet, see the first message on page # 1 of this thread for the information!

This is wonderful.
As for the surplus, which perhaps may get bigger still, although small hospitals can always do with extra funds , a few thousand euros won't go all that far.
I was struck at Bea's comments earlier about the need for 'reforestation' on hydra following fires.
Tree planting is another , perhaps more sustainable, route into health and well being.
There is serious research to support this , and certainly in the uk the movement to plant more trees has a lot of momentum!

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-t ... wgodejwAnA

Perhaps harder to realise than the simple, and in itself beautiful, act of donating to the hospital , but worth considering?

***I have asked our Hydra contacts for the best way to benefit the local people / surroundings. Will come back with any new information! / Jarkko

Jarkko, please include Belarus in the list above - may be, somewhere near China Thanks.

***Sorry Ilia, I noticed that it was on the next page of the sorted file!! Now it's up there! / Jarkko

... So nice to read ... Email received ! Thank You Jarkko
and so happy that there will be money left over for the Hospital in Hydra ...
my THANKS goes out to everyone !!!
Susanne

Money sent by paypal this morning. I am glad to know that the extra money will go to Hydra people. Hope to go there un jour ....

It is great to hear that the fundraising is proving so successful. And it is amazing to think that we now have the welcome problem (I am tempted to say 'popular problem') of what to do with the surplus. Jarkko has already indicated that it will be directed towards the Hydra community, most likely as a donation to the hospital, or possibly (if I understand correctly) to support a local reforestation project, depending on feedback from local contacts. Personally, I would like to voice support for the reforestation project, assuming that this proves to be a feasible and locally-desired option. I suspect that the planting of trees will have a longer-lasting benefit on the community, especially given the amount of money likely to be available in the surplus. It seems reasonable to expect that several trees can be planted with even a modest amount of funds. On the other hand, the costs associated with health care today have become so expensive that it is difficult to believe that the donation of our surplus to the hospital will have nearly as much impact as if it was instead used to improve island ecology. If we consider the the symbolic nature of the gift, the life-affirming symbolism that is inherent in the decision to plant more trees would seem to make our donation all the more meaningful and well-chosen.

Ronaldson wrote: If we consider the the symbolic nature of the gift, the life-affirming symbolism that is inherent in the decision to plant more trees would seem to make our donation all the more meaningful and well-chosen.

Well put. A couple of thousand euros is a drop in an ocean in a health care system, which should be maintained by state in the first place.

I am delighted that the folk of Hydra will benefit in a small way from the fund raising.

Heart warming

Paypal payment made.

Happy to add South Africa to the list of contributing countries.

Hello Jarkko and all who are involved in the project,
I just sent a paypal for the birthday bench project. Sorry I didn't get involved sooner. I have been super busy this summer, so, I haven't been online much and only just learned of the project tonight. I also just learned about the new album and the press release for it coming tomorrow , so I guess I picked a good night to finally check in on the forum.
Cheers,
Dave