Join the Dunwoody Rotary, Tuesday October 24, 7 p.m. at the Dunwoody Nature Center to Celebrate World Polio Day

The Rotary Club of Dunwoody Presents: Candle Light Vigil

Oct. 24 - 7:00 PM

Dunwoody Nature Center

On Tuesday, October 24, the Rotary Club of Dunwoody is hosting a Polio Candlelight Vigil at the Dunwoody Nature Center – starting at 7:00 p.m. We are inviting the Dunwoody community, and hope that you can join us with your family and neighbors. The public is welcome to join the Vigil, learn about the history of Polio eradication, be updated on current results, and find out what they can individually do to help in the worldwide effort to eradicate this devastating disease.

Rotary International has been focused on polio eradication since 1985, when they started the Polio Plus initiative. In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was created, with Rotary partnering with the World Health Organization, the CDC, and UNICEF. A few years ago, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offered to match 2:1 all funds raised by Rotary – and they renewed their commitment at this year’s Rotary International Convention. Donor governments have also contributed to the efforts to eradicate the disease. The mass vaccination of children, performed by Rotarians and health workers side-by-side around the world, has resulted in a 99.9% reduction in active cases since the 1980’s. To date, Rotary has donated more than $1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 million children in 122 countries.

The rate of infection has dropped from 1,000 per day to just 37 cases in 2016. That number is now ten for 2017. As a result, polio is “This Close” to being eradicated. But as long as there is a single case of the live polio virus, no nation is safe. A recent 2017 discovery of a case in Nigeria verified the need for the Initiative to continue its work with a vengeance. Mass tools of communication have been designed to reach persons in areas isolated by conflict, geography, or poverty.

Charter member Bob Mingus was the first Dunwoody Rotarian to donate $1000 to Polio Plus and since then, the Club and Dunwoody Rotarians have donated $111,273 to help eradicate this crippling disease. Robert and Charlene Hall, Roy Wise, and Laura Kann have all been part of national immunization days in India – and it’s exciting to know that India has been six years polio-free. A portion of the funds raised by this year’s RunDunwoody will be used to support Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign – and we’ll be talking more about how you and the community can be part of the fundraising to finish this important initiative and declare the world Polio Free.

Please think about Donating Today if you are able - Thanks!

Your donation helps Rotary and its partners reach every child with the polio vaccine. Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, your contribution will be tripled, getting us even closer to a polio-free world.