The organizing committee of the Vogalonga, which has suspended (their word) the 46th Vogalonga scheduled for May 31, 2020, has joined a fund-raising drive to help the Ospedale Civile (city hospital) of Venice.
Specifically, the donations are for “acquiring protective devices for the medical personnel and for the support of the patients,” and it is directed to “everyone who rows.”
Here is how the press release from the committee puts it:
“We are all facing a moment of grave difficulty, but those who are fighting on the front lines and who are the first to face the waves and currents of this course (meaning like the route of the Vogalonga) need all of our support to reach calmer waters. This should be an imaginary Vogalonga and, as always, with many participants; a way to row together even if in a different way as we wait to take our oars once again in our beloved lagoon.”
The Committee has weighed in with a contribution of 5,000 euros from the money that was set aside for the expenses of this year’s event. There have been many more donations from people everywhere, it appears. The goal is 100,000 euros.
If one (that would be anybody) would like to join in, the simplest way is via GoFundMe.
7 Comments
Done. Donated. A truly worthy cause. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Erla.
Thanks, Verena. Every little bit helps….
Donated. Such a gorgeous building snd they do good work. My husband and I spent several days in the neighborhood of the hospital last fall.
A thousand thanks. It’s wonderful that people outside Italy would be willing to contribute — there’s no lack of options for donations closer to home. So thank you again!
Thanks, Erla. Done. I once spent several fraught hours at the Ospedale Civile’s Pronto Soccorso, where we Americani were treated with the utmost professionalism and efficiency, leavened with compassion and even a bit of charm. (It wasn’t a busy day.) Now that we New Yorkers have assumed the dubious mantle of the world’s Covid-19 hotspot, I can empathize with the stress that the medical and support staff of the Ospedale are living with, and wish them speranza, salute e corragio. <3
Thank you so much. You will have received an update, the first order has been placed for masks and protective screens. I’m glad you have at least some positive memory of your time at the Emergency Room, a place not noted for positive memories….
Thanks for the update, Erla, and the opportunity to contribute.
I saw some gentleman on Facebook that had constructed a contraption with elastic ropes on his altana which allowed him to row on dry land.