My Connection To World Polio Day

My professional world and my volunteer world have come together in a way I'm very proud of.  I have recorded a narration for Rotary International that will be heard this evening on a world-wide webcast.  It's World Polio Day so health experts and celebrity ambassadors are going to update everyone on where we're at in the fight against this crippling disease.

Since I became a member of Rotary ten years ago, I've learned a lot about the illness.  I'm aware that it used to be extremely prevalent in the USA in my parents' generation, then over the years got contained to only a few countries that were far away from us.

In that time, it seems many Americans have forgotten about what a horrible threat it used to be in our country.  I took this photo of a page from my mother's memory book.  She wrote that the saddest event of her teen years was the threat of polio.  Kids were told to keep away from crowds.  Pools and movie theatres closed.  Can you imagine?

Rotary's goal is to wipe the disease off the face of the earth and as their advertising campaign suggests, we are "this close" to eradicating it.

I'm proud to be part of an organization which is working so hard to reach its goal.  Rotary raises a huge amount of money and sends volunteers overseas to immunize children.  Today's polio webcast will be a good way to get updated on the eradication efforts.

I invite you to tune in from your computer, tablet, or smartphone this evening at 6 pm.  Just go to www.EndPolio.org.