PHILIPSBURG–Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle is continuing the fight to “End Polio Now” with three fundraisers. The first was held on June 30 at the Club’s “Change of Board” dinner with a raffle and a collection that raised more than US $1,600.
For the second fundraiser the Club will team up with Alex and Ani at their Front Street branch on August 26 for “A Charmed by Charity” event. At this event Alex and Ani will donate 15 per cent of that day’s earnings to Mid Isle toward the End Polio Now fund. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match the funds raised by 2 to 1.
The third fundraiser, to be held on October 21, will be the fourth Annual Ramesh Manek Walk-a-Thon. Details will follow at a later date.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a paralysing and potentially fatal disease that still threatens children in some parts of the world. The polio virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under five. Polio is incurable, but completely vaccine-preventable.
Rotary International will raise $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched 2-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These funds help to provide much-needed operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents. Governments, corporations and private individuals all play a crucial role in funding.
More than 1,000,000 Rotary members have donated their time and personal resources to end polio. Every year, hundreds of Rotary members work side-by-side with health workers to vaccinate children in polio-affected countries. Rotarians work with the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF and other partners to prepare and distribute mass communication tools to reach people in areas isolated by conflict, geography or poverty. They also recruit fellow volunteers, assist with transporting the vaccine and provide other logistical support.
Rotary has a growing roster of public figures and celebrities participating in its “This Close” public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; actresses Kristen Bell and Archie Panjabi; World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar John Cena; supermodel Isabeli Fontana; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman, Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley; and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.
These ambassadors help educate the public about polio through public service announcements, social media and public appearances.
Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle meets at Mary’s Boon in Simpson Bay at 7:00pm Tuesday. For more information contact
rotarysxm.mi@gmail.com or visit its Facebook page Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/68369-mid-isle-teams-up-with-alex-and-ani-for-polio
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