Members of Tullahoma’s Sunrise Rotary Club are taking action in honor of World Polio Day October 24 to raise awareness and support to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today.  

Tullahoma Sunrise President Alan Harris stated “Polio eradication has been the main effort of Rotary International’s Disease Prevention and Treatment focus area since the late 1970s.  We are committed to ending this debilitating and potentially fatal disease.”

Polio anywhere is a threat everywhere, and Rotary members from the Tullahoma Sunrise Rotary Club have long worked to end the paralyzing virus, which will be only the second human disease ever to be eradicated. They have contributed thousands of dollars since the early 1990s through annual direct donations and through “Purple Pinkie” donut sales.   Last year, Tullahoma Sunrise donut sales exceeded $7,000 with help from District 6780 and the Gates Foundation matching funds.

Rotary has contributed more than $2.9 billion dollars to fight polio and countless volunteer hours since launching its PolioPlus program in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent.

To sustain this progress and continue to reach every child with the polio vaccine, Rotary has committed to raising up to US$50 million each year to support global polio eradication efforts. The Gates Foundation has renewed its pledge through 2029 to match that 2-to-1 for a total yearly contribution of up to US$150 million. 

About Rotary

Rotary brings together a global network of community leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We connect 1.2 million members from more than 45,000 Rotary clubs across the world. Our service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in our own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

Visit Rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.