As all of you know, October was Polio Month within Rotary and as I write this article for the District Newsletter, fresh in my mind is the incredible experience I had the pleasure of being a part of the Cornhole Tournament with my own Rotary Club of Roswell - much the same as many of you reading this article now. We had bout 50 players in the round robin event, with a $50 entry fee for one participant and $100 for a team of two. Since I’m not particularly skilled in the art of bag tossing, my particular skill set was limited to taking photos for our own newsletter the “Rotascope," having a good meal and having great fun. Last year our tournament brought in over $9,000 and was a great success! Though I don’t know the final figure for this year’s tournament yet, I’m quite certain it will be every bit as successful! I’d love to hear from you about what event your club held in honor of World Polio Day, which was October 24.

Now to turn to the title of this month’s article. It is a paraphrase of a flyer I received in the mail. Sent from the Rotary Foundation, it was titled, “The Story of a Promise” with a subtitle, “Help write the final chapter to end polio.”  The lifelike drawing on the front cover of the 3 by 5-inch card shows a woman with four children holding up their hands. On their pinky finger you can detect a purple mark. For those of you who have not have the honor of traveling to foreign lands as I have, India for one, you might not recognize that purple mark as the mark given children who have received the Polio vaccine. Thus, the woman in the picture holds a very soft contended smile on her face. The smile betrays the knowledge that she knows those four children have received the protection they need to save them from a very difficult life.

The inside cover holds a statement. A very powerful statement. Mine read, “This Story Belongs to Robert." At the bottom of the page, is a URL to make a donation. Did you know every $3 donation provides the full amount of the vaccine the child needs for protection? Think upon that. Just $3 to protect a young life.

Back in 1985, Rotary made a “promise” to protect children with the launch of PolioPlus. Around the world all Rotarians banded together around an idea that NO child should suffer from what in fact, is a very preventable disease. Spurred on by our steadfast commitment to “Service above Self”, Rotarians moved to ensure that children would be protected, no matter what the ultimate dollar cost might be. We have taken seriously the idea that a healthier world is our responsibility to make a reality.

Now these, 40 plus years later, we have come to the brink of making what seemed like a dream those decades ago, a bonafide reality. We are 99.9% there. It’s that final push that we require now. The commitment to make that final step to full eradication of the disease. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan stand in the way.

The scary part of the story that we must always remember is, if we were to halt the work we are doing, polio could again paralyze upwards of 200,000 children per year. Rotarians are committed to never, NEVER allow that to happen. So, if you haven’t donated to PolioPlus, I implore you to consider making a donation specifically to PolioPlus. Take your donation and divide it by $3 and see how many children you personally protected. Once you do, you will sleep far deeper tonight knowing you have made a difference in the lives of those you will most likely never see. But you’ll know and they’ll know someone wonderful like you cared.

Let’s be a part of that story together as Rotarians who care.

We must continue to raise dollars and the awareness for Polio. Every dollar counts and don’t forget the 2 to 1 match by the Gates Foundation. Your dollars go toward your Foundation contribution totals.

If I can personally assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via cell or email. Until next time, I’m here to help and together we will Create Lasting Impact!