Have fun while supporting Rotary District 7450 clubs' efforts to help our community!  If you want your club's event listed here, please e-mail details to [email protected].

World Polio Day 2024 is just around the corner on October 24th! Rotary International celebrates this day every year to recognize progress in the fight to end polio and to discuss actions needed to eradicate it for good. This global event is an opportunity to recognize the progress made in the fight against polio and to highlight the importance of vaccination in protecting children from the disease.

Rotary has been working tirelessly to eradicate polio for over 35 years, and their efforts have led to a 99.9% reduction in polio cases since 1979. But, the work isn't done yet. Afghanistan and Pakistan are still endemic with polio, and continued efforts are crucial to keeping other countries polio-free. Efforts to eradicate polio are ongoing, led by global health organizations and local governments. Despite progress, challenges persist due to factors like conflict, vaccine misinformation, and accessibility issues. Afghanistan is currently reporting 19 cases and Pakistan is reporting 21.
 

You can be part of this effort. Here are some ways to get involved:

• Donate Your Time: Join local events and fundraisers organized by Rotary clubs around the world.
• Donate Your Funds: Contribute to the polio eradication efforts, and your donation will be matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Donate Your Voice: Spread the word on social media using #EndPolio and #WorldPolioDay to raise awareness and support.

Is your club participating in an event for World Polio Day?  You can register your event here: Register your World Polio Day Event. No event is too big or too small to help raise funds and awareness to help end polio. There are many polio documentaries available online to help you host a viewing party in your community to help raise awareness. Try and partner with a local bar or restaurant that will donate a portion of their proceeds back to your club as a fundraiser to be matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation.

In this modern day, it is also easy for you to participate in any Rotary Club, District or Zone event that may be livestreaming a World Polio Day event. Here is a couple that might interest you:

• Live broadcast from Durham College - Ontario, Canada - Oct 18, 2024 6pm
• Live broadcast from Pittsburgh, PA - Oct 24, 2024 5pm

Please continue to support the End Polio Now Campaign to help eradicate polio from the world. Your time, your funds and your voice each play a significant role in helping accomplish this goal. Remember, if all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.

Pictured top: A health worker gives a child a drop of vaccine during a door-to-door polio immunization campaign at the Gubio Road Internally Displaced Persons camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.


 

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Why Give to The Rotary Foundation? Special Sessions for Club Foundation Chairs, Club Presidents and President Elects

Don't miss this chance to get the tools and support, so you can set your club up for success in November, Rotary Foundation Month. Sign up today and encourage fellow club leaders to join as well!

Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Rotary Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.

Pictured above: Rotary members and other volunteers pack supplies at a warehouse is Zamosc, Poland, approximately 60km (27 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Zamosc is a major hub for people displaced by the conflict and a centralized coordination location for aid from clubs in Europe

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The Gundaker Foundation has honored Bob and Holly Lankin with Diamond Circle recognition to honor their generosity as $10,000 donors and for their exemplary "Service Above Self'."

Funds raised through the Gundaker Foundation are used to support Community Service Projects that benefit local clubs and their communities throughout District 7450.  In addition, Gundaker strives to provide Vocational Education scholarship funds for deserving students attending local vocational and technical schools.

"Generous benefactors like the Lankins help those goals to be fulfilled," says Bianca Mandel, President of Gundaker Foundation.  She adds, "Bob Lankin, a former Gundaker Director and District Governor, and Holly, also a former Gundaker Director, have been very generous donors through the years.  They are the first in my years in Rotary years to reach the $10,000 Diamond Circle level."