Wakefield Rotarians Jump in the Atlantic to End Polio!
The Wakefield Rotary Club will participate in Rotary District 7930 3rd annual Polar Plunge on Saturday February 9, 2013 at Long Beach in Gloucester at 11:30 A.M. The event is part Rotary International’s ongoing campaign to eradicate polio in our lifetime.
The event is expected to yield more then 250 people plunging into the cold waters off Cap Ann adjacent the Cape Ann Motor Inn. Last year close to 160 people braved the icy waters in an effort to raise more than $34,000. The 2013 goal is set at $100,000. That amounts to $2,100 from the Wakefield club.
The cost for the vaccination effort is as little as 60 cents per person. Thus far the club has raised $1,500 with 2 weeks to go. To make a donation, please contact Wakefield Club President Amy Luckiewicz at wakefieldrotaryclub@yahoo.com. Online credit card donation options are also available.
About The Rotary Foundation’s Efforts to Eradicate Polio Since 1985, Polio has become the signature cause for Rotary International as it has teamed up with partners including; The Global Poverty Project, The Global Eradication Initiative, The World Health Organization, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to name a few. The disease was prevalent here in the United States in the years following the first two world wars. Since then, efforts have been spearheaded by Rotary International to eradicate polio, beginning with the Philippines.
On the success of the Philippines endeavour, Rotary International (R.I.) embarked on the mission to eradicate Polio from the world entirely. Since that time, more than a billion dollars has been raised among Rotary clubs worldwide and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. When R.I. took on the battle against this disease more than 350,000 people spanning 125 countries were impacted. Today there are three countries left where it has not been eradicated, namely Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
The year 2012 was an historic year in the battle against polio as 429 million children have been vaccinated against the crippling disease. Less than 300 cases of polio were reported in 2012. That figure represents a decline of more than 60% from 2011. In order for a country to be certified as having the disease eradicated, it must sustain three successive years of zero new cases of polio reported within its population.
