Rotarians get creative in raising money for polio eradication

 

 

A skydiver carries an End Polio Now banner over the Amazon River in Manaus, Brazil. Photo by Robson Custódio

When polio is wiped off the planet, Rotarians’ ingenuity will deserve much of the credit. Panda hot air balloon rides and polar plunges are just a couple of the creative ways Rotarians raised money for Rotary's Challenge and educated their communities about the need to eradicate the disease. Here are some more highlights.

1. Biggest kicks: The Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign, which launched in February 2010 in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup. It started with a symbolic kicking of a soccer ball signed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and polio survivor Desmond Tutu.
2. Most illuminating: The countless landmarks lit with the End Polio Now message, including the Pyramid of Khafre near Cairo; Frere Hall in Karachi, Pakistan; the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan; and the Colosseum in Rome
3. Most likely to rise to great heights: The 10 skydivers who jumped over the Amazon River in Manaus, Brazil, with an End Polio Now banner, and the Polio Panda hot air balloon that was part of a fundraising project of the Rotary Club of Albany, Ore., USA
4. Most record-setting: The more than 100 clubs in 23 countries, led by the Rotary Club of Grantham, England, that broke the Guinness world record for one-hour swimming on 25 February 2012. During the hour of 12:00-13:00 GMT, 5,207 participants across 15 time zones each swam over 100 meters, more than double the previous record. The event raised US$87,500. 
5. Most driven: Rotarians in District 3291 (India), who drove in a race to solve puzzles and decipher clues at checkpoints across Kolkata while raising awareness about polio eradication, and Rotarians in Fortaleza, Brazil, who organized a 68-car caravan that drove 45 miles, showcasing End Polio Now stickers and raising US$10,000 from corporate sponsors
6. Most brow-raising: Si Burgher, of the Rotary Club of Bloomfield, Ind., USA, who raised $1,600 by letting people pay $100 each to take turns shaving off his never-been-trimmed eyebrows
7. Most amazing story: Elementary school student Ian Schwartz, of Eugene, Ore., USA, who opted to collect donations for PolioPlus rather than receive birthday presents after reading the illustrated “Amazing Stories of Polio” in The Rotarian. Ian’s earnings, matched by his parents and boosted by the Rotary Club of Eugene, totaled $1,640.
8. Best dressed: The Rotaract Club of Windsor, Ont., Canada, which raised C$5,000 by hosting a fashion show, and the Rotary Club of Fremont Warm Springs Sunrise, Calif., USA, whose own fashion show raised more than US$52,600
9. Most stick-to-it-iveness: Interact clubs in District 3291 (India), which raised US$3,200 by selling End Polio Now bumper stickers for a minimum donation of $2 each
10. Sweet staff award: Rotary International staff members, who held a Pies for Polio bake-off that raised just over US$400. The winning pie was a classic pecan.
11. Shiver me timbers award: The more than 500 participants, including 2007-09 RI Director Gordon McInally, who plunged into frigid river waters in South Queensferry, Scotland, on New Year’s Day, raising US$6,000
12. Greenest thumb: The Rotary Club of Medford, Ore., USA, which sold 3,222 of its trademarked Goodbye Polio Rose bushes, raising more than $50,000
13. Best bash: The Rotary Club of Sentosa, Singapore, which hosted more than 300 Rotarians and guests from Singapore and Malaysia to celebrate Rotary’s 105th anniversary, raising US$85,000 
14. Home run: The Rotarians who partnered with 17 Major League Baseball teams to raise tens of thousands of dollars for polio eradication through discounted ticket sales and related events. At one Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game in August 2011, more than 1,000 Rotarians helped raise over $24,000.
15. Slam dunk: Italy’s national basketball league, Lega Basket Serie A, which adopted End Polio Now as a slogan for the 2009-10 season to highlight the polio eradication campaign
16. Key to ending polio award: Rotarians, Rotaractors, and RI staff in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, who raised more than US$893,000 by selling End Polio Now key finders
17. Most likely to cross continents: The 460 Rotarians and friends who ran and walked the Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul in October 2010, raising US$8,000 for the challenge
18. Let them eat cake award: The Rotary Club of Melton Valley, Australia, which has raised US$50,000 since 2008 through a cake sale in cooperation with District 9800 and a local food company
19. Biggest rivalry: Ohio State University and University of Michigan football fans, who battled to raise the most money for Rotary’s Challenge during a two-week text message competition leading up to a November 2010 game. Ohio State won both the fundraiser and the football game. Coincidence?
20. The Oscar goes to: Rotarians in Australia, who raised A$51,730.26 by prescreening movies such as Valkyrie, Night at the Museum 2, and Amelia in cooperation with 20th Century Fox
21. My way is the highway award: The International Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians, which netted US$46,400 with its ride to the 2011 RI Convention in New Orleans
22. The John Hancock award: The almost 25,000 supporters who signed a petition circulated by Australian Rotarians and the Global Poverty Project to persuade world leaders to fully fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Rotary Club of Crawley donated A$1 for each signature.
23. Aw, shucks award: Members of the Rotary Club of Baltimore, who shucked 120 bushels of oysters and 10 bushels of clams to raise $60,000 during the club’s 91st annual oyster roast
24. Unburied treasure award: District 7020 (parts of the Caribbean) raised $4,000 by sponsoring a Pirate Night in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
25. Most growth potential: Rotarians in over 200 communities in Switzerland, who sold sunflower seed packets for 75 cents each and raised more than US$669,000

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