End polio fundraising campaign exceeds goal
Effort surpasses organization’s $32,000 target
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Capital Region Rotary Club officials say a “Swim to End Polio” effort has exceeded its $32,000 fundraising goal.
In early July, Louise Rourke of Greenfield and Bridget Simpson of Ticonderoga did a relay swim of 32-mile Lake George to raise money for worldwide polio eradication, a core project of Rotary International.
The campaign has raised $33,056 to date and donations are still being accepted. Every dollar raised will be matched with $2 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rourke, 63, contracted polio as a 6-month-old infant, but has maintained a strong swimming regimen throughout her life.
“The fact that our fundraising has exceeded expectations is awesome,” said Rotary District 7190 Governor Tammy Heckenberg. “The fact that Louise Rourke would swim the 32 mile long lake, despite her polio disability, is astonishing. The fact that Rotarians across the globe have reduced worldwide annual cases of polio from over 300,000 to just a handful so far this year is beyond belief. Yet, Rotary and its partners will not stop until this disease no longer affects any person on the face of the earth.”
The Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific are certified as polio free, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two locations in the world that have reported current cases in 2018.
“There is no cure for polio,” said Doug Ford, co-chair of the District 7190 “End Polio Now” campaign. “Only vaccination can eradicate polio, and globally Rotarians and our polio partners have vaccinated over 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. Unless we finish this job it is estimated that the incidence of polio would return to affect over 300,000 per year in just a decade. That’s why we raise these funds.” For more information or to make a donation go to: https:// my.rotary.org/en/take-action/ end-polio.