In the lead-up to World Polio Day on Oct. 24, the Rotary Club of Tualatin raised $11,040 to support Rotary International’s PolioPlus campaign.
Club members presented the check Oct. 21 to Larry Hatch, district chair for End Polio Now. For the local club of about 45 members, the donation represents how grassroots community action feeds directly into a worldwide mission to protect children from preventable disease.
Chartered in 1982, the Rotary Club of Tualatin has spent more than four decades serving local projects while contributing to humanitarian efforts abroad.
Rotary began its global push against polio in 1979 with a vaccination project in the Philippines. In 1985, the organization launched PolioPlus, and in 1988 became a founding partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative alongside the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since the initiative began, wild polio cases worldwide have plummeted by more than 99.9%. While transmission has been stopped in nearly every nation, the virus remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, requiring ongoing vaccination clinics and active surveillance to prevent resurgence.
World Polio Day serves as an annual checkpoint for Rotarians to recognize global progress and renew their commitment to finish eradication efforts. With this latest contribution, Tualatin members add their community’s backing to that final push: a world permanently free of polio.
To learn more about or join the Tualatin Rotary Club, visit www.tualatinrotary.org.
