Rochester Rotary Club Marks Polio Awareness Month

Rochester, MI – In just one generation, through the leadership of Rotary International, annual cases of Polio have decreased by 99.9%. Since 1979 Rotary has immunized more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries, reducing cases of Wildtype Polio from 350,000 in 1988 to just 88 in 2019. The only remaining cases of Wildtype Polio are in the war-torn countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan where violence and instability make it very difficult to administer vaccines and monitor population health. As Rotary International continues its fight against this horrible disease, they have named October to be National Polio Month, with Thursday, October 24th as World Polio Day.

The Rochester Rotary Club hosts events and raises money every year in support of this global effort. In 2015, local Rotary and community members walked with the International Polio Flame to PAR Pharmaceutical’s sterile manufacturing facility at 870 Parkdale in Rochester. This is where the vaccine was originally manufactured by Parke-Davis, one of one of only five pharmaceutical companies in the nation selected to do so at the time. Over the last 30 years, the local Rotary club has also donated over $250,000 to the cause.

As he kicked off National Polio Month, Wayne Hodges, current Rochester Rotary President announced that “Although polio has been eliminated from the world in all but two countries, we must continue to fight this dreaded disease or it will come back to affect all of us.” He continued, “We’re in the dangerous middle-territory where it’s almost gone so people are tempted to take their foot off the pedal. But if we quit now, within ten years Polio could come back to paralyze as many as 200,000 children per year.”

As part of their Polio Month efforts, the Rochester Rotary Club is taking the lead on the design and production of a commemorative plaque for the PAR Pharmaceutical site. Also on October 24th, local pizza restaurants will join Rochester Rotary in a “Pizza for Polio” fundraising effort by donating a portion of their sales to fight polio.

“The Rochester Rotary Club is a leader in local Polio fundraising,” said Rotarian and Polio Month coordinator, Ernie Schaffer. “We want to make sure this project is completed so that the world can live free from the fear of Polio. We may take it for granted here in the United States, but there are still people suffering and we have the chance to end the scourge of Polio once and for all. After Smallpox, it would be the second disease ever eradicated from the planet and we’re so close.”

Join Rochester Rotary on World Polio Day, October 24th, by ordering a pizza at your favorite local restaurant. Participating restaurants include:

• MOD Pizza: 3058 S Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, MI 48307
• Green Lantern Pizza: 1366a Walton Blvd, Rochester Hills, MI 48309
• Papa John’s Pizza: 1962 S Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, MI 48307

###

About Rochester Rotary

Celebrating 65 years as a club in 2019, Rochester Rotary is one of 34,000 member clubs of Rotary International, which has more than 1.2 million members and raises and disburses funds for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. Monies are raised through social events and service projects organized by the club, ‘fines’ collected at Rochester Rotary meetings and gifts offered to the club through members and supporters.

The club welcomes new members who live or work in Rochester, Rochester Hills or Oakland Township. For membership information, contact Jeff Whitbey at Jeff@whitbey.net. Rochester Rotary meets each Tuesday at noon at the River Crest Banquet Hall at Avon Road and Livernois, in Rochester Hills. Learn more at https://www.rochesterrotaryclub.org.

About Rotary International

Rotary’s main objective is service — in the community, in the workplace, and around the globe. The 1.2 million Rotarians who hail from Rotary clubs in nearly every country in the world share a dedication to the ideal of Service Above Self. Rotary clubs are open to people of all cultures and ethnicities and are not affiliated with any political or religious organizations. Learn more at https://www.rotary.org/en/about-rotary.

For More Information Contact:

Ernie Schaefer
248-609-0401