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Feb. 23 is Rotary Polio Eradication Day; Rotary Dist. 7750 Announces Golf Ball Drop Fundraiser; Polio Billboard Campaign

Submitted by: Betty Parker Ellis on Feb 23, 2010 at 10:03 pm Tagged with: Polio, Rotary Club Source: Rotary District 7750

Greenville, SC (February 23, 2010) – Rotary clubs throughout District 7750 are joining a worldwide celebration on February 23 for Rotary Polio Eradication Day marking the 105th anniversary of Rotary International and its 25-year effort to eradicate polio. With two billion children receiving oral polio vaccines and the number of polio-endemic countries having been reduced to four, proclamations from S.C. Governor Mark Sanford, Greenville’s Mayor Knox White and other large city mayors encourage all South Carolinians “to recognize the valuable contributions of Rotary International’s PolioPlus program in the prevention and eradication of this devastating disease.”

According to the organization, Rotary International must raise $200 million (or $2,000 per Rotary club worldwide or $37 per Rotary member) to match a $355-million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Naming this campaign “End Polio Now,” the resulting $555 million will fund critical immunization activities in developing countries where the crippling disease still threatens children.

Rotary International, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Worldwide, the number of polio cases has been slashed by more than 99 percent, preventing five million cases of childhood paralysis and 250,000 deaths. The disease remains endemic in just four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan -- although other countries remain at risk for imported cases. (http://www.rotary.org/en/EndPolio/Pages/ridefault.aspx)

“It’s the final one percent of cases that is the most difficult and expensive to prevent, which is why the current End Polio Now fundraising effort is crucial,” says Rotary District 7750 Governor George Fletcher. “In addition to each club in our district engaging in various fundraising activities, we are also announcing the Rotary District 7750 End Polio Now Golf Ball Drop. At 10 a.m. on April 30 at the Verdae Golf Green during our district conference to be held in Greenville, a helicopter will drop 2,000 numbered golf balls. The first golf ball in the hole or closest to the pin will make the holder of its number the winner of a golf weekend at Pebble Beach (Monterey, CA) along with other golf prizes to be awarded to other golf ball number holders. Numbers for each golf ball will sell for $25 each or a five-pack for $100. With all proceeds benefiting End Polio Now, this fund-raising event will be available to any Rotarian or non Rotarian who wishes to participate. Go to our web site at www.Rotary7750.org.”
To support this effort, according to Fletcher, Rotary District 7750 also has a six-month billboard campaign underway to create more awareness of polio as well as to promote membership. “Thanks to a $9,000 PR grant from Rotary International and in-kind billboard space donations from Fairway Outdoor Advertising, we have 14 billboards up throughout our 19-county district with a concentration in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson counties.
For more information, go to www.Rotary7750.org.
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About Rotary International and District 7750
Rotary International is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. As signified by the motto Service Above Self, Rotary’s main objective is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. For more information, go to www.rotary.org.

With all Rotary clubs divided into districts, Rotary District 7750 is made up of 54 clubs and approximately 3,100 Rotarians located across 19 western S.C. counties and a portion of Lexington County. For more information, go to www.rotary7750.org.