Walk with the Rotarians, as they create awareness of how close the world is to eradicating polio, and be part of the legacy of its accomplishment in our lifetime. Saturday, October 22, 2016, is the First Annual “End Polio Now Walk,” sponsored by Rock Falls and Sterling Noon Rotary Clubs.
This event begins at 9:00 a.m., with a group photograph, at Centennial Park in Rock Falls, IL. Registration is from 8:15 to 9:00. A waiver must be signed, at Larson Shelter, by all participants.
There is no registration fee, but donations will be accepted. For a $20 donation, an “End Polio Now” t-shirt will be given, until supplies are exhausted.
The route takes walkers from Centennial Park, along the Hennepin Canal, across the Rock River on the foot bridge, and concludes at Centennial Park–at a little over two miles.
All participants will be entered into a free drawing, for a Coloma Park District shelter rental during 2017.
How Rotarians Work Against Polio
The walk is in honor of World Polio Day, recognized October 24, as part of Rotary’s 27-year mission to eradicate the crippling childhood disease polio. The message to world leaders is clear. Support the final push to achieve eradication now, while the goal has never been closer, or face the potential consequences. A new polio pandemic could disable millions of children within a decade.
“Rotary, along with our partners, has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide, since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.”
Since 1985, Rotary has contributed nearly $1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. The disease remains endemic in three countries–Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan–although other countries remain at risk for imported cases.
A highly infectious disease, polio causes paralysis and is sometimes fatal. There is no cure, so, the best protection is prevention. For as little as $0.60 worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for life.
After an international investment of more than $9 billion and the successful engagement of over 200 countries and 20 million volunteers, polio could be the first human disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.