Bishop Rotary Santa Mile Race, December 8, 2012

Last year was a start of a new tradition and plans are being made by Rotarian Mike Gable to continue this Bishop Rotary Santa Mile. The Bishop Rotary Santa Mile will be run prior to the Bishop Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 8^th.  Registration will start at 8:30a at the Bishop Chamber of Commerce.  The fun run will start at 9:45a, also at the Chamber, and all proceeds will go to Polio Plus.  There will be prizes for the top 3 male and female finishers as well as kids’ prizes. 

-        Polio is a viral disease, spread from person to person and was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20^th century.  It can lead to severe and permanent paralysis  and disability.  By 1910, epidemics of polio cases became regular events throughout the world which left thousands of adults and children paralyzed.  We don’t hear much about Polio anymore in the United States as the last cases in this country occurred in 1979.

-        Rotary's involvement in polio eradication began in 1979 with a five-year commitment to provide and help deliver polio vaccine to six million children of the Philippines. With the advice and support of the late Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, Rotary established its PolioPlus program in 1985 to eradicate Polio from the face of the entire Earth.

-        At the time Polio Plus started, there were 179 countries with active Polio cases and today there are 3 (Afganistan, Pakistan, Nigeria). 

-        Rotary has donated over $1 billion and partners with UNICEF, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation among others

-        Although we have decreased the global number of cases of Polio by 99%, the fight is not over.  We must continue to vaccinate children in the countries mentioned above as well as countries such as India, which have become Polio free only within the last year and a half.