October is a great month for many reasons. The weather begins to become more comfortable, the baseball pennant race begins (go Brewers!!), the trees show off all their beautiful colors and much more.
It is also Rotary’s big month to focus on eradicating Polio with World Polio Day on October 24th. If you haven't yet, register your club for World Polio Day at https://www.endpolio.org/world-polio-day.
For over four decades, Rotary International has championed one of the most ambitious and successful public health campaigns in history: the global eradication of polio. What began as a local immunization project has grown into a multinational effort that has brought the world to the very brink of eliminating a devastating disease.
From Local Action to Global Initiative Rotary's involvement in the fight against polio started with a single, crucial step.
In 1979 Rotary launched its first eradication project in the Philippines. Rotary International's first major commitment to polio eradication was a five-year project to immunize 6 million children. This initiative, part of Rotary’s "Health, Hunger and Humanity" (3-H) program, provided a successful blueprint for large-scale, private-sector support of a public health goal.
In 1985: PolioPlus was Launched. Building on its initial success, Rotary launched the PolioPlus program, committing to immunize all the world's children against polio. This was the first and largest internationally coordinated private-sector support for a public health initiative, with an initial fundraising goal of US$120 million.
And then in 1988 the GPEI (Global Polio Eradication Initiative) was founded. Rotary's vision and financial commitment inspired a global partnership. Rotary joined with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). At that time, polio was endemic in 125 countries, paralyzing an estimated 350,000 children every year.
Rotary has contributed more than $2.9 billion (including matching funds from the Gates Foundation) and countless volunteer hours to the fight against polio since 1985. This immense partnership was recently renewed on June 22, 2025, at the annual Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada. Rotary will continue to raise $50 million per year, with every dollar matched by two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation. This joint effort will mobilize up to $450 million over three years to support vaccine delivery, disease surveillance, and community engagement, primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The efforts of the GPEI partners, including the Gates Foundation and Rotary, have achieved monumental success. The incidence of wild poliovirus has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent since the GPEI was launched in 1988. The wild poliovirus is now endemic in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Because of the global effort, approximately 18 million people who would have otherwise been paralyzed are walking today. To underscore how close we are, there were only 99 confirmed cases of wild poliovirus globally in all of 2024.
How can you help? There are many ways. It costs roughly $3.00 to fully protect one child from this paralyzing disease (thanks to the 2-to-1 match).
Local Wisconsin Impact:
You can join the District 6250 PolioPlus Society—see our District 6250 webpage: https://rotary6250.org/page/polio-plus-society. You can also ask our PolioPlus Co-chairs for ideas, guidance, and club talks—Kathy Reinolt: reinoltk@gmail.com or Randy Sproule: randysproule@gmail.com.
So what can your club do? Many clubs around our district host a Pints for Polio event, such as The Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours, which has organized a brewery tour and trivia night to great success. The Rotary Club of Madison South and The Rotary Club of Chippewa Falls have also raised many thousands of dollars for PolioPlus.
Also new as of last year was the Rotary polio pickleball event, the "Pickleball for Polio" event held in La Crosse. The inaugural event raised over $30,000, which is enough to fully vaccinate over 10,000 children! They are planning for an even larger event this year on Oct. 23rd at The Blue Zone Pickleball facility on the north side of La Crosse.
Other ideas are:
- Host a "World's Greatest Meal" dinner to raise funds among club members and friends.
- Organize a simple "Drop for Polio" change collection at a local school or business.
- Utilize social media campaigns on World Polio Day (October 24th) to spread awareness about polio prevention.
- Partner with a local brewery or coffee shop to donate a portion of sales for a day (Pints or Lattes for Polio).
- Encourage local businesses to support vaccination initiatives through sponsorships.
Remember to register your club for World Polio Day at https://www.endpolio.org/world-polio-day.
Unite for Good,
Michael Kloss
District Governor 2025-26
Rotary Club of Eau Claire WI