End Polio Now

Part of the goal for the End Polio Now District 6440 Committee is to raise community awareness. There are many ways do this, and clubs throughout the District have been actively engaged in End Polio Now activities. To see what other clubs have already done check the district website and click on the End Polio Now link.

Another awareness effort can be found on the End Polio Now link on Facebook.com. The link invites Facebook users to “join the cause” and to make donations to help Rotary meet its goal. This effort is just beginning, the team is still small, and just a couple of hundred dollars has been raised so far. If you have a Facebook page, please sign up to “join the cause” and put an End Polio Now on your page to show everyone your commitment to Rotary. Then, send an invitation to all your friends to help you and Rotary meet its goal of ending polio. The End Polio link can be found by clicking on Applications, entering causes in the "search on Facebook" box and then searching for End Polio Now.

An entry on the Facebook End Polio Now page tells the story of polio survivor Ramesh Ferris. Born in India, he was adopted as a toddler and grew up in Canada. To date, he has raised over $300,000 for polio eradication. His fund raising continues so as he said on the Facebook entry he won’t see. “Ten million children over the next 40 years be needlessly paralyzed by the effects of polio.” After 20 years, because of Rotary and efforts like his we are almost there. If one single man, severely weakened by polio, can cycle his way across Canada and raise this much money to eradicate polio, just think of the possibilities. He is currently in India on his way to the Rotary Zone Institute in Agra, and to participate in a NID. He has a blog that contains a wealth of information and many links about polio. You can read his remarkable story and follow the progress on his blog at http://www.cycletowalk.com/ .

The End Polio link can be found by clicking on Applications; entering causes in the "search on Facebook" box and then searching for End Polio Now.

Another great link for information about polio is http://www.polioeradication.org/.