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Iditarod boosts race to finish polio |
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Musher Martin Buser joins the race against polio.
It's been dubbed the Last Great Race on Earth, encompassing more than 1,150 miles of mountains, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra, and windswept coast from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, held 7-24 March, commemorated a race against time to deliver diphtheria serum to Nome in 1929. Aided by a Public Relations Grant from Rotary International, District 5010 (Yukon, Canada; east of the Urals, Russia; Alaska, USA) made an agreement with the Iditarod Trail Committee to raise awareness about the need to eradicate polio. All 67 mushers in the race wore bibs with the End Polio Now logo emblazoned across the bottom. Rotary District 5010 sponsored four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Wasilla Sunrise. "Join me in the race against polio and assure that no child has to worry about being able to walk, run, or mush again," said Buser in a public service announcement aired on Alaskan television before and during the race. "Rotary has helped reduce polio in the world by 99 percent. The finish line is in sight, but we need your help," he said, inviting people to contribute to Rotary's challenge via www.rotary.org/endpolio or texting "polio" to 90999 to make a one-time US$5 donation. Viewed by millions of people, the race drew widespread global attention to the polio effort. A pre-race live auction sponsored by the Rotary Club of Anchorage East netted $15,000 for Rotary's challenge. For more on other fundraisers and activities, go to www.rotary.org. |
| Fundraising roundup |
Keeping up appearances - Graham Hart, of the Rotary Club of Chelmsford Rivermead, Essex, England dyed his hair and beard - as well as pinkies - purple to help launch Purple Pinkie Week, 23 February-1 March. Rotary clubs in District 1240 held fundraisers at schools, supermarkets, and railway stations; painted donors' pinkies; and conducted quiz nights, netting US$28,600 for Rotary's challenge.
· Seven End Polio Now T-shirts auctioned off at presidents-elect training seminars in the United States and Mexico netted US$38,514 for Rotary's challenge. The shirts were autographed by RI President Dong Kurn Lee, RI President-elect John Kenny, RI President-nominee Ray Klinginsmith, Bill Gates Jr., and others.
· The Rotary Club of Madras Down Town, Tamil Nadu, India, raised more than US$15,000 for Rotary's challenge through the Mumbai Marathon in January. The club enlisted over 100 donors worldwide to help sponsor club member Suresh Shivaram, who completed the 42-kilometer (26-mile) race in four hours and 39 minutes.
· Australian Rotarians and Twentieth Century Fox arranged prescreenings of the film Valkyrie in more than 20 theaters across the country, raising over US$15,000. Prescreenings of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (a.k.a. Night at the Museum 2) and Amelia are scheduled for May and November.
· The Rotarians' Wine Appreciation Fellowship matched donations of US$100 made by the first 50 contributors, raising $10,000.
· More than 60 Rotarians, family members, and friends joined a February end polio walk-a-thon sponsored by the Rotary Club of San Clemente Sunrise, California, USA, raising more than $10,000.
· An eye-opening fundraiser led by Si Burgher, of the Rotary Club of Bloomfield, Indiana, USA, garnered nearly $1,600 for Rotary's challenge. Burgher, 72, donated his shaggy eyebrows - popularly dubbed "Greene County's Longest Orbital Locks" - by having them shaved off at the club's annual charity auction on 13 January. Over the years, he has donated $7,000 to PolioPlus and has received Multiple Paul Harris Fellow Recognition for other contributions to the Foundation.
 - An artful bid to end polio - At District 5050's (parts of British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, USA) Foundation dinner and auction in November, a painting by Romanian artist and polio survivor Vasile Popovici, donated by the Rotary Club of Resita, Romania, netted US$1,750 for Rotary's challenge. |
| 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:
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| Mobile giving |
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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. | |
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| Hats off to enterprising fundraiser |
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Angel Jimenez's winning bid of US$17,600 purchased the hat that Bill Gates wore and autographed at Rotary's 2009 International Assembly. The hat was auctioned off on eBay in February, with the proceeds going to Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge. Gates had also worn the hat in India while immunizing children against polio.
Jimenez, a member of the Rotary Club of Houston, received the hat from RI President Dong Kurn Lee in March at District 5890's annual conference.
"I will never wear the hat, but exhibit it to try to raise more money for PolioPlus," says Jimenez, who is also a Rotary Foundation Major Donor. |
| Bill Gates Sr.'s book applauds Rotary's end polio role |
A book by Bill Gates Sr., cochair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, includes a chapter honoring Rotary and its commitment to eradicate polio. Titled Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime, the book expresses the values and principles Gates learned, instilled in his children, and continues to practice today. Through several dozen narratives, he introduces the people and experiences that influenced his thinking and guided his moral compass.
In the chapter titled "There's No Problem Bigger Than We Are" Gates writes: "[Rotarians have] shown us how to mobilize people, raise more money than anybody thought volunteers could, and create private-public partnerships that can take on large-scale global problems.
"I believe - as do most experts - that Rotary will achieve its audacious goal of eradicating global polio.
"Along the way they have taught us that when we are inspired to work together in the interest of an engaging cause, there is no problem bigger than we are." |
| Rising to the Challenge |
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Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge 2008 totals*
US$75.3M
*As of 1 April 2009
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| Polio Facts & Figures |
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For the latest on the number of polio cases, progress reports on polio-endemic countries, and other information, go to www.polioeradication.org. |
| Social Networking |
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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. | |
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