Thursday, October 24 is the 110th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine against the wild polio virus. But, World Polio Day is also recognized by 1.4 million members in nearly 35,000 Rotary clubs in 220 countries who will celebrate the 99.9% drop in cases of wild polio with paralysis since Rotary International declared a worldwide war on this dreaded virus.
But Rotarians and their partners around the globe know "as long as polio exists anywhere, it is a threat to children everywhere!" Year-to-date in 2024, 54 cases have been diagnosed in the world – 26 in Pakistan and another 18 in Afghanistan, due in part to the difficulty of getting the three precious drops of vaccine to remote villages.
And, environmental samples of the polio virus continue to be found in community waterways around the world including in the Middle East, in London – labeled “a national incident" – and in 2021, in three counties in New York state, COVID constraints and misinformation have left unvaccinated children vulnerable to polio, even in developed countries.
For more information about Rotary’s polio eradication efforts, see rotary.org or endpolionow.org.
The St. George Children's Museum will celebrate Halloween on Saturday, October 26 and need at least ten volunteers to help wrangle "zillions" of noisy, excited little boys and ghouls. Especially needed are volunteers who can face paint or make balloon animals.
Costumes for volunteers are encouraged but not mandatory.
Can you help from 4 - 7:30 p.m. at 86 S. Main Street? Bring the family and join in the fun!
Do you know an adventurous teenager between the ages of 15-19? Might s/he jump at the chance to learn a new language, discover another culture or have a first-hand opportunity to become a global citizen? Might s/he be excited at the prospect of building lifelong leadership skills and lasting friendships with young people in Germany? Italy? Japan? Spain? Brazil or another of dozens of countries around the world?
Rotary Youth Exchanges for young men and women might involve a full academic school year while living with host families; or perhaps a short-term exchange during the months when school is not in session.
A Rotary Youth Exchange information meeting for parents and prospective exchange students will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 16 at the offices of Root for Kids at 2044 Mesa Palms Drive in St. George.
For more information, email to stgeorgerotary@yahoo.com.
DG Todd Boyer's membership goal for District 5420 is "2025 in 2025" so who do you know
who should be in Rotary?
There is no way to put a positive spin on this week's report of another four cases of wild polio with paralysis diagnosed - again in Pakistan. This brings the worldwide total to 54 so far in 2024 (compared to 9 on this same date in 2023).
Please won't you join the Polio Plus Society by committing just $8.50 a month or $100 a year until the wild polio virus is finally and forever eradicated? Then the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match it 2x1. But it can't happen unless we all jump into the fight!!!
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