|
Promote Rotary's challenge on World Polio Day |
In a scene from The Final Inch, members of an immunization team carry oral polio vaccine to a village in India. Courtesy of Vermilion Pictures
World Polio Day, 24 October, is an ideal time to raise public awareness of the ravages of polio and garner support for eradication efforts. Communities are more likely to contribute to Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge if they know that ending polio will
· Spare children forever from death and disability caused by the disease
· Save an estimated US$1 billion per year that could be spent on addressing other public health concerns
Rotary clubs and districts can use World Polio Day, a Saturday, to launch or conclude a full week of activities. For example, clubs could arrange screenings of The Final Inch at one or more community theaters. This Academy Award-nominated 38-minute documentary follows health workers, including Rotarian volunteers, as they immunize children in India. The DVD is available at www.thefinalinch.org (click on screenings at the bottom of the home page).
World Polio Day also commemorates the birthday of Jonas Salk, inventor of the inactivated polio vaccine.
For more examples of ways to observe World Polio Day, go to www.rotary.org and search challenge grant fundraising ideas. |
| Fundraising roundup |
Scottish Rotarians magnify end-polio effort
-District 1010 beamed the End Polio Now image on Eilean Donan Castle near the village of Dornie, Scotland, on an evening in March. The historic castle is located on the main tourist route to the Isle of Skye. According to 2008-09 District Governor David Rankin, many travelers photographed the landmark and its message while passing by. Courtesy of District 1010
· A Fashion Fights Polio show, hosted by the Rotaract Club of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, in March, raised approximately C$5,000 (US$4,097) for Rotary's challenge. The black tie gala featured guest speaker William Patchett, Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge coordinator for Zone 22E.
· The Rotaract Club of River Oaks (Houston), Texas, USA, sponsored a rock and blues band concert in February, drawing fellow Rotaractors, Rotarians, and other community members, raising $1,800 for the challenge. |
| Mobile giving |
 |
|
Rotarians and non-Rotarians in the United States can help support Rotary's fight against polio by texting POLIO to 90999 for a one-time $5 donation. Service is available on most carriers. Proceeds benefit The Rotary Foundation. All charges are billed by and payable to the user's mobile service provider. |
| Leading by example |
 |
|
During India's Subnational Immunization Days in April, 2008-09 RI President-elect John Kenny administered polio vaccine to a child in Mumbai. From Kenny's right are 2008-09 RI Director Ashok Mahajan, District PolioPlus Committee Chair Suhas Kulkarni, and District Governor Bansi Dhurandhar. |
|
Youngster forgoes birthday gifts, opts to help end polio |
 Ian Schwartz with one of his displays and money collected from classmates Courtesy Sherilyn Schwartz
Ian Schwartz learned a lot about polio eradication even before he turned 10 in March. His mother, Sherilyn Schwartz, is a member of the Rotary Club of Eugene, Oregon, USA. When the February issue of The Rotarian arrived at their home, the Amazing Stories of Polio comic book and news of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's $255 million grant to Rotary caught Ian's eye. He told family and friends that instead of receiving birthday gifts, he wanted to raise funds for PolioPlus.
Ian made a visual display promoting polio eradication and gave a presentation to more than 360 people at his school, including the entire staff and student body and many parents. He also collected donations during his lunch hour and recess for an entire week.
Initially, Ian raised $284, which his parents matched. Then he gave a presentation to the Eugene club, which responded by contributing more than $900, helping to bring his grand total to $1,640.
The Eugene club's board of directors also allotted Rotary Foundation Recognition Points to Ian's project. Ian became a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF)
as a result of his fundraising, and the club matched his funds with recognition points so that he could have the honor of naming two others as PHFs.
At the invitation of Mike Fischnaller, 2008-09 governor of District 5110 (parts of California and Oregon), Ian spoke to the district's annual conference in late May.
"I'm very proud of him," says Sherilyn Schwartz. "I think polio eradication is a great endeavor. I would like to see more kids ask their friends for donations to a good cause like this than to receive a bunch of stuff for their birthday that they don't need." | |
|
|
|
| Asian districts set challenging pace in DDF donations |
The Rotary Foundation Trustees have approved the use of a special certificate of appreciation to recognize · Clubs that contribute US$2,000 or more to Rotary's challenge · Districts that contribute 20 percent or more of their District Designated Fund (DDF) to the challenge. The following districts in Japan and Korea generously met this goal in 2008-09:  |
| Rising to the Challenge |
|
Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge totals*
US$90.7
*As of 23 June 2009
|
| Major Indian company joins RI against polio |
|
The Aditya Birla Group and Rotary International are working together to ensure polio immunization of 100 percent of children in two districts in Uttar Pradesh, India, a state at high risk for the disease. The two districts are Sultanpur and Sonbhadra.
Headquartered in India, the group is a Fortune 500 company with 40 plants employing 100,000 workers in 25 countries.
"We work very closely with Rotary International and the government, and like-minded institutions - like the Bill [and Melinda] Gates Foundation," says Rajashree Birla, whose late husband, Aditya Birla, led his family's business to become one of India's largest. "Our common goal is to ensure that in the foreseeable future no child should ever again suffer from the crippling effects of polio."
During Subnational Immunization Days in March and April, health workers, Rotarians, and Aditya Birla Group employees helped vaccinate children at immunization booths, in house-to-house visits, and at railway stations, markets, and other public places in Mumbai, Maharastra.
"In the last year alone, [the group] helped administer over six million polio doses to children in the hinterland of the country and in the city of Mumbai," said Birla, who has contributed US$2 million to Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge and is a member of the Arch C. Klumph Society. |
| Polio Facts & Figures |
 |
For the latest on the number of polio cases, progress reports on polio-endemic countries, and other information, go to www.polioeradication.org. |
| We want to hear from you! |
| If you have a success story, we'd love to hear from you! Please email us at: rotary's200millionchallenge@rotary.org
If you need a fundraising idea:
|
| Social Networking |
|
Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Interactors who are registered on www.facebook.com and www.myspace.com are urged to share their Rotary's challenge fundraising stories so others can gain ideas for launching fundraisers in their communities. | |
|
