On October 24, the Rotary Club of Jamestown is joining hands with over 1.3 million Rotarians in more than 33,000 Rotary Clubs in the world to continue raising awareness, funds and support to end polio – a vaccine preventable disease that still threatens children in two countries of the world today, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Polio must be eradicated in those countries as well or we run the risk of the virus spreading again!
 
Rotary members all over the world have contributed $1.9 BILLION and countless volunteer hours to protecting the world’s children. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $8 BILLION to the effort.
 
The Rotary Club of Jamestown itself has contributed over $154,000 to the efforts to eradicate polio from the globe.
 
This year, Jake Schrantz, the financial officer at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, volunteered to participate on behalf of the Rotary Club of Jamestown in the Rotary District 7090 “Pedal for Polio” fundraiser taking place simultaneously in the US and Canada. Jake is doing this in memory of his best friend John Silo and his wife’s grandfather, Mike Stronz, a 37-year member of the Rotary Club of Jamestown. Jake completed his 37-mile ride in honor of Mike and his 51-mile ride in memory of his riding buddy John. The District’s Pedal for Polio goal is $200,000, which the Gates Foundation will match 2 for 1 to make it a total of $600,000 to end polio!
 
 
So far, Jake’s efforts have raised over $1,100!
 
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE IN SUPPORT OF JAKE’S RIDES TO END POLIO go online to:
https://raise.rotary.org/Jake-Schrantz/memorial
 
or Make your check payable to The Rotary Foundation, including the fundraiser ID (626) and name of the fundraiser (Jake Schrantz) and mail to:
 
The Rotary Foundation – Raise for Rotary                                                                                                        
1560 Sherman Avenue, 17th Floor                                                                                                              
Evanston, Illinois 60621
 
Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that still threatens by invading the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in hours. It can strike people of any age but mainly affects children under five. Polio can be prevented by vaccines, but it is not curable. Unlike most diseases, polio can be eradicated. Many of us older citizens remember in 1950-1954 when polio resulted in the paralysis of 22,000 U.S. citizens each year, some right here in our own towns and villages.
 
 
CAPTION: A nurse cares for her polio patient confined to an iron lung in the 1950s. The virus paralyzed muscles of the diaphragm, requiring life in an iron lung to facilitate breathing. Some children’s legs were paralyzed, requiring them to a life in a wheelchair or to wear heavy braces in order to walk.
 
THERE IS NO CURE FOR POLIO, IT CAN ONLY BE PREVENTED. The Polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and the oral vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, CAN PROTECT A CHILD FOR LIFE.
 
Most children in the US receive four doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) at two months, four months, between 6 and 18 months and between 4 and 6 years of age when children are just entering school. This will give a lifetime of protection against the disease.
 
Rotary has committed to raising $50 million per year for polio eradication. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1, for a total commitment of $150 million each year. These funds provide much-needed operational support, medical workers, laboratory equipment, and educational materials. Governments, corporations, and private donors all play a crucial role in funding.
 
Rotary began its fight to eradicate this disease in 1985 with its PolioPlus program, by vaccinating children on a massive scale. Continuing as a core partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with The World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GAVI, the vaccine alliance, the group focuses on advocacy, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and awareness-building.
 
With its world-wide partners, Rotary International has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent, by immunizing over 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. Only two countries continue to report cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
 
The infrastructure built to end polio is also being used to treat and prevent other diseases and create lasting impact in other areas of public health, through clean water initiatives and teaching handwashing techniques.
 
Rotary and its partners have made tremendous progress against polio, but eliminating all cases is going to take even more perseverance. Afghanistan and Pakistan face unique challenges, including political insecurity, highly mobile populations, difficult terrain, and in some instances, logistical barriers. If a single child remains infected with the poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. A case of polio remains only one airline flight away!
 
The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and failure to eradicate polio could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, and within 10 years, all over the world.
 
The polio cases represented by the remaining one percent are the most difficult to prevent however, with sufficient resources, the commitment of national governments, and innovations that improve access to remote areas, Rotary is optimistic that its forces can eliminate polio.
 
More than 1 million Rotary members have donated their time and money to eradicate polio, and every year, hundreds of Rotarians work alongside health workers to vaccinate children in countries affected by polio. Rotary members work with UNICEF and other partners to prepare and distribute informational materials for people in areas that are isolated by conflict, geography, or poverty. They also mobilize to recruit fellow volunteers, assist in transporting the vaccine, and provide other logistical support.
 
Rotary takes ordinary people and gives them extraordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they ever dreamed possible.
 
Contact Joni Blackman, President, at 716-969-1946 to learn more about becoming a member of Rotary.