Tunxis Tattler - Special Polio Meeting, October 8th

 
 
Tuesday, we held a special meeting focused on World Polio Day and our club’s campaign to support “Every Rotarian Every Year”…
 
ATTENDANCE – There were 13 Rotarians, 2 visiting Rotarians, and 1 guest. 
 
HAPPY BUCKS – Happy Bucks were donated in honor of our speakers and our special Polio Plus campaign kickoff meeting.
 
POLIO PRESENTATION –
As Foundation Chair, Cherilyn addressed the club and shared a video called “Thank You Rotary”, which was narrated by a child and had a very impactful message.  She also shared many Polio Plus facts, and invited Eileen Rau up to share a personal story with the club.  Eileen shared that she is originally from Pittsburgh, where the vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk and tested on humans in 1952.  Living in Pittsburgh as a child, she was amongst the first children ever to be administered the Polio vaccine. We also learned that purple is the designated color for the Polio campaign, 'Purple For Polio'.  When a child receives their life saving Polio drops, many countries paint the little finger of the child purple so they know they've been vaccinated. Many Rotary clubs help to plant millions of purple crocuses every year to raise awareness for efforts to end Polio.  ome highlights of Cherilyn’s presentation are as follows:
  • World Polio Day is October 24th
  • Thousands of Rotary clubs around the world will hold events and fundraisers to recognize our progress in the global fight to end polio.
  • Rotary has made tremendous progress in the fight to end polio and reduced worldwide cases by 99.9% since 1988, however we still have important work to do in countries like Afghanistan,  Pakistan and Nigeria where the polio virus continues to paralyze children
  • ”Although it circulates in only a few countries, polio is highly infectious and spreads rapidly.  The disease, which afflicts mainly children, is transmitted via contaminated water and food supplies.  Five to 10 percent of cases are fatal.  As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere are at risk.  Only the global eradication of polio will ensure that no child ever again suffers its devastating effects”…
  • Information about infectious diseases published by the online publication ‘Contagion’ reports the first months of 2019 have seen an uptick in cases of wild poliovirus compared with the same period in 2018
  • More than 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated against polio since the start of the Global Eradication Initiative in 1988, and since the number of cases has dropped by 99%, however in the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria it continues to be an epidemic.
  • The biggest hurdle in the last mile to polio eradication continues to be the missed children in the delivery of polio vaccines.  The challenges range from inaccessibility, to mobile populations, to weak routine immunization to vaccine refusal.
  • The fight is not over, and it’s as important as ever to support our campaign of “Every Rotarian Every Year”, with our club’s goal of $33.00 per member. 
**Brendan addressed the club on the different ways that club members can donate their annual giving of $33.00.  Members can go online to:  Rotary.org/donate to make their contribution, or pay by check payable The Rotary Foundation to send in directly with your contribution form, or give the check to Brendan and he will ensure the check is sent in and you will be credited accordingly for your donation.
 
CLUB UPDATES –
  • Elizabeth talked about our food drive coming up on October 26th, from 10:00am – 2:00pm at Unionville Stop and Shop.  She is still looking for volunteers to assist/supervise the Interact kids who will be there to help out.
  • Next week we will be inducting two new members:  Ashlee Shilosky and Dawn Lazarus.  Let’s show them our support by attending the meeting next week.
  • Our guest speaker next week will be Francine Brown.  She will be presenting us with her “walking adventure” and taking us on her journey.
  • Mike Cheshire asked for volunteers for mentoring for the ALT School on October 21st.  The topic for mentoring will be ‘The Interview Process’, and ‘How to Quit Your Job Professionally’.  If interested in mentoring on these topics, please contact Mike.
  • Rotary Leadership Institute will be held November 9th in Springfield, MA.  Please let Elizabeth know if you are interested in learning more about Rotary.
 
HAVE WONDERFUL COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND!!!