As part of Rotary International’s pledge to match, dollar for dollar, a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation over three years, the Rotary club of Hutchinson raised $3,700 to end polio worldwide at their first annual bowl-a-thon held on Sunday, September 20^th at the Hutch Bowl.

Rotary International has been a global leader for over twenty years to eradicate polio from the world.  Thru this current campaign, all Rotary clubs internationally are raising a combined $200 million over the next three years, which will be matched by an additional $355 million through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  With these proceeds, Rotary International and the Gates Foundation have a goal to provide enough vaccines to eliminate polio from the remaining four countries where it is endemic.

“If we all have the fortitude to see this effort through to the end, then we will eradicate polio.”

- Bill Gates

Rotary, a humanitarian service organization with nearly 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, made polio eradication its top priority in 1985.  As the volunteer arm and lead private sector contributor in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Rotary has since contributed more than $800 million, and its members have logged countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than two billion children in 122 countries.

Remarkable progress has been achieved in the fight against polio.  Since 1988, the number of polio cases has been reduced from 350,000 a year to less than 2,000 in 2008.  Today, 70 percent of the world’s population lives in polio-free countries.  The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994, the Western Pacific region in 2000, and Europe in 2002.

Fifty-five bowlers participated on twelve teams for the event in Hutchinson. Prizes for the bowlers were donated by local businesses, and the event was followed by a buffet dinner at Squeaky’s Bar and Grill.  For further information, visit www.rotary.org/endpolio or contact Diana Anderson, President of the Rotary club of Hutchinson at 320-583-5022.