The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Local Rotarians help fight polio
For World Polio Day, local Oneida Rotarians raise money for aspiring nurses and against polio.
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> Local Rotarians pitched in to help fight polio and fund scholarships for aspiring nurses during World Polio Day.
Oneida Rotary President Maggie Argentine and Sherrill Rotary President Elise Hereth invited the public to their Healthy Happy Hour at the Oneida Community Mansion House on Oct. 24, World Polio Day, to benefit the Rotary nurse scholarships and to fight polio. The groups raised $1,340 toward the cause.
“The report is that there were 22 cases of polio in three countries this past year,” Argentine said. “The surveillance for polio must continue for three years after the latest case. As long as there are new cases popping up in three countries, polio can’t be eradicated from the world. So Rotary will continue to fight.”
Helping the fight was Donald Cornue, whohas known and been friends with Argentine since the 1970s.
“Sometimes, I realize that I’m a bit over my head and I have no gifts or skills,” Argentine said. “As we were trying to get people involved, we had this idea. There’s this global campaign called ‘This Close’.”
The global campaign featured people close to the polio fight holding up two fingers, almost touching, to signify just how near the world is from the eradication of polio.
Argentine said at the time, she thought it would be a great idea if Rotary could get its members, Interact students and local community members to get their photo
taken, replicating the “This Close” campaign.
“I started doing this and realized I couldn’t. I called Don and asked if we got the pictures if he could make the posters,” Argentine said. “He said sure. Don is a designer and a trained artist. The long and short of it is, we love Don.”
Thankful for his help and support, the Oneida Rotary Club honored Cornue with the Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
“Rotarians hold this person in very high esteem,” Argentine said. “He’s one of the founders of Rotary International and a Paul Harris Fellow is someone that has done tangible and significant assistance for furthering the better understanding and friendly relations among people in the world.”
Tickets for the event went to funding both the polio eradication fund and the Rotary Nurse Scholar Program.
The Rotary Nurse Scholar Program began in 1952 and intended to attract nurses to get their educations and come back to contribute to the health of the community.
From local businesses in the area, Rotary raised $186, which will see a two times match by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing the total money raised to $558. From ticket sales and basket raffles, $782 was raised for nurse scholarships.
For next year’s World Polio Day, Argentine said there’s an original canister fromthe Pennies for Polio campaign that Rotary is planning to use to raise awareness and support.
Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative 30 years ago, the incidence of polio worldwide has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to just 22 cases in 2017. To sustain this progress, and protect all children from polio, Rotary has committed to raising $50million per year in support of global polio eradication efforts.
Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to previously polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk. Today, only three countries in the world have never stopped the transmission of polio: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.