October 7 Program: Rotary Polio

Pine River Valley Centennial Rotary will be participating in World Wide Polio Awareness Day on October 24.

Katie & Ottie met with the Presidents of the three Durango Rotary Clubs, and a plan was hatched for all of us to participate.

Two main fund raisers will take place: change jars in retail establishments prior to October 24, plus bell ringing on October 24th (like The Salvation Army).

We need from you: Empty Gallon Plastic Wide Mouth (preferably) jars. We'll get Polio Plus banner stuff put on the jars, and get them distributed. Please sign up for the bell ringing. It's only one day. Warmer than Christmas. Almost guaranteed.

And of course arm twisting: for $5 you get a special polio pin.

Our County Commissioners will be asked for a proclamation, to be done by the Durango Clubs. Fred Klatt will be asked to participate in a Herald article. He's a polio survivor.

Katie presented a movie short on a National Immunization Day in an area between India and Nepal. This was a very big deal. 74 million were immunized. Radio, TV, Road banners, megaphones on trucks and motorcycles, hand bills, window banners and who knows what else were all used to drum up awareness. And it worked. Whooee what a production! That's a lot of kids.

And thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who added to their $100 million matching donation another $255 million. Gates quipped that the bad news is that we now get to raise a matching $200 million. To be used to help eradicate polio.

Presented by your PR Committee. Yippee!