Rotarians have been committed to eradicating polio for decades and to date have raised more than US$663 million to help rid the world of the virus. But in one district, a trip to India for a Subnational Immunization Day was the catalyst for an unprecedented fundraising effort.

“There’s no other experience like going over there for a week,” says Robert Hall, past governor of District 6900 (Georgia, USA). He’s been spreading the word about the urgency of the fight against the disease since November 2006, when he and fellow Rotarians traveled to the state of Uttar Pradesh. “It is now clear that we can eradicate polio,” he says, adding that India PolioPlus Committee Chair Deepak Kapur and others in the country “have their act together.”

As of mid-September, District 6900 had raised more than $430,000 for PolioPlus Partners. If it reaches its goal of raising another $270,000, the total amount, including Rotary Foundation matching funds, will be $1.05 million – enough to cover all of India’s immunization costs for the first half of 2008. The Foundation provides a 50 cent match for every dollar raised.

PolioPlus Partners, which is part of PolioPlus, was developed to let Rotarians, clubs, and districts contribute directly to polio eradication projects carried out by club members in polio-endemic and high-risk countries. These efforts are posted on the Open Projects List at www.rotary.org, which is updated on the 15th of every month.

District 6900 began raising money in August, when District Governor William Woulfin challenged Rotarians to fund India’s 2008 Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs). Wilton Looney, of the Rotary Club of Atlanta, was the first to answer the call. On 11 August, at the dedication of the Smithsonian’s “Whatever Happened to Polio?” exhibit in Warm Springs, Ga., Looney declared that he would contribute $100,000 if the district could raise $200,000.

Soon after, the Rotary Club of Decatur pledged about $110,000, including $20,000 from Jim and Donna Philips, who went on the November 2006 trip to India. The couple has tirelessly supported PolioPlus Partners, giving more than $150,000 over the years.

Then, when Neal Purcell, past president of the Atlanta club, announced Looney’s match at his club’s meeting on 20 August, Atlanta Rotarian Howell Adams pledged $100,000 if the district raised $300,000 (with Looney’s match). About $20,000 more came in from several other Rotarians in Atlanta and other areas.

Finally, at the 27 August meeting of the Atlanta club, when president Richard Stormont screened “The Last Hurdle: Polio in India,” a short video about the November 2006 SNIDs that’s featured in RVM: The Rotarian Video Magazine, yet another Atlanta Rotarian, Charlie Loudermilk, pledged $100,000.

“The Atlanta Rotary club, under the leadership of Neal Purcell, Dick Stormont, and Bill Todd, along with the Decatur Rotary club’s Jim Philips, is definitely leading the way in this districtwide effort,” Hall says.

Together with Foundation matching funds, the money raised so far totals $645,000, which will pay for two of three SNIDs scheduled in India for the first half of 2008. If the Georgia Rotarians meet their fundraising goal, the third SNID will also be covered.

The effort is succeeding “because we are directly supporting the people we worked with in India,” says Hall, who is heading the district’s fundraising activities. “We want to tell Deepak and other Rotarians that we’re continuing to support you. You know us personally, we haven’t forgotten you, and we’re in this until the victory.”