Polio is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. On October 21, the Rotary Club of Windsor – St. Clair will be doing our part in the effort to eradicate polio through “Paul’s Plunge for Polio”.
 
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio since 1979 when volunteers administered drops of oral polio vaccine to children in the Philippines. Since then, polio eradication has become a top priority for Rotary. Through decades of commitment and work by Rotary and our partners, more than 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine. We have helped to reduce polio cases by 99.9%. Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
 
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
 
World Polio Day, October 24th, is when all Rotary Clubs worldwide acknowledge the work Rotary is doing to eradicate Polio everywhere. Everyone is encouraged to become involved whether that is through the investment of your time, your financial support to continue immunizations and surveillance efforts, and/or by spreading the word to eradicate polio. 
 
On Thursday, October 21st, we invite you to support our fundraiser – Paul’s Plunge for Polio. One of our more adventurous members will plunge into Sugar Lake in Northern Ontario. You can donate in person at any of our club meetings up to, or on October 21st or etransfer to phyllis@hcamindbox.com. Tax receipts will be available for donations greater than $10.00. If technology remains our friend, on October 21st we will cover the event live on ZOOM at our morning meeting. You can attend in person or virtually (the ZOOM link will be posted October 18th on our club website).