Demonstrate support for Rotary's End Polio Now campaign and promote Rotary in your community by planning an event around World Polio Day, 24 October.

Many Rotarians have already gotten started. Australian club members are working with the Global Poverty Project on a petition drive to persuade world leaders to fully fund the critical work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Supporters can sign the petition online.

The Global Poverty Project is planning an End of Polio Concert on 28 October to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia. Rotarians have teamed up with the group to lobby leaders to put polio eradication on the agenda. Hugh Evans, cofounder and CEO of the Global Poverty Project, will be a speaker at the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand.

Since 1985, eradicating polio has been Rotary’s top priority. Largely through the efforts of Rotarians and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the campaign is “this close” to its goal. Polio cases worldwide decreased by more than 40 percent during the first eight months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010. And India -- one of the four countries where the virus remains endemic (the others are Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan) -- reported only one case during that time.

As of September, Rotarians have raised US$190 million toward Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge to match $355 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Though the polio eradication campaign has made great progress, challenges remain. Seeing the job through to the finish will require redoubled effort and commitment.

World Polio Day puts the campaign in the spotlight, providing an excellent opportunity for clubs and districts to promote the End Polio Now message in their communities.

Here are a few ways you and your club can help:

• Create your own “ This Close” ad and make it your Facebook profile photo.
• Host a walk, run, or bikeathon. Be sure to send out a press release about the event. Download a sample release.
• Download a World Polio Day Proclamation and ask your town to commemorate World Polio Day on 24 October.
• Get an op-ed about polio into your local newspaper. See a sample.
• Use “This Close” resources from the Rotary Media Center.
• Make a donation toward polio eradication.
• Begin planning for an End Polio Now lighting to celebrate Rotary's anniversary on 23 February.  

Planning a fundraiser or project for World Polio Day? Let us know at pr@rotary.org.