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PolioPlus
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PolioPlus
In 1985, Rotary International made the audacious pledge to eradicate polio in the world. If successful, it would be only the second disease to be eradicated, after Smallpox in 1980. In 1985, there were 350,000 cases a year of paralytic polio, primarily in children, in 125 countries. In 1988, Rotary acquired partners World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US Center for Disease Control to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). In 2007, the Gates Foundation joined the effort by pledging to match 2 for 1 every dollar Rotarians raise for eradication.
Every year since 1985, the number of endemic countries and the number of new cases of paralytic polio have gone down. In 2023, there were only six cases in Afghanistan and six cases in Pakistan, the only two remaining endemic countries.
An estimated 21,000,000 children have been spared this crippling disease because of the eradication program. Since 1985, we Rotarians have contributed over $2 billion to the effort we call PolioPlus.
Click HERE for a Discussion of the History of Polio and a timeline of the efforts to eradicate it.
Click HERE for information on The 2023 Ride to End Polio, District 5500’s very successful effort to raise funds for eradication, which now total $65 million.
PolioPlus Society
In 2020, D5500 adopted the PolioPlus Society, a district sponsored recognition program to raise funds for polio eradication. To become a member, Rotarians pledge to contribute at least $100 per year to the PolioPlus Fund of the Rotary Foundation. Over 100 D5500 Rotarians have joined, and our numbers are increasing.
Please click HERE for the PolioPlus Society Commitment Form and more information on how you will be recognized. Contributions count toward your effort to be a Paul Harris Fellow.
We are grateful to the following District 5500 Rotarians for their generosity in joining the PolioPlus Society, as of 11/1/23:
| Bisbee | Tom Nelson |
| Casa Grande Daybreak | Charles Feezer |
| Casa Grande Daybreak | Bob Shogren |
| Catalina | Joan Buth |
| Catalina | Jeffrey Derickson |
| Catalina | Barbara Kiernan |
| Green Valley | Joyce Finkelstein |
| Marana | Randy Brooks |
| Marana | Don Jorgensen |
| Dove Mountain | Teree Bergman |
| Dove Mountain | Joe Hentges |
| Dove Mountain | Jeffrey Penfil |
| Dove Mountain | Carol Smelser |
| Dove Mountain | Emmett Smelser |
| Mountain Empire-Sonoita | Sue Archibald |
| Oro Valley | Gary Coxen |
| Oro Valley | James Lamb |
| Oro Valley | Marc Snow |
| Rincon | Radford Fisher |
| Rincon | Wendy Hobbs |
| Rincon | Stuart Katz |
| Saddlebrooke | Barbara Barr Bengen |
| Saddlebrooke | Charles Clark |
| Saddlebrooke | Janice Close |
| Saddlebrooke | Bill Demeroutis |
| Saddlebrooke | Diane Demeroutis |
| Saddlebrooke | Lynn Devou |
| Saddlebrooke | Gail Fraioli |
| Saddlebrooke | Jim Dolian |
| Saddlebrooke | Tom Fraioli |
| Saddlebrooke | Keith Gordon |
| Saddlebrooke | Joe Guyton |
| Saddlebrooke | Wendy Guyton |
| Saddlebrooke | Kristi Halvorson |
| Saddlebrooke | Leslie Hawkins |
| Saddlebrooke | Paul Herr |
| Saddlebrooke | John Howard |
| Saddlebrooke | Mollie Hunter |
| Saddlebrooke | Fred Lowy |
| Saddlebrooke | Doug May |
| Saddlebrooke | Deborah Rue |
| Saddlebrooke | Tom Shellenberger |
| Saddlebrooke | Harvey Smith |
| Saddlebrooke | Ed Treick |
| Saddlebrooke | Tom Turriff |
| Saddlebrooke | Gordon Wainwright |
| Saddlebrooke | Dan Watson |
| San Luis Frontera | Marcos Ramirez |
| Sierra Vista | Nancy Fusco |
| Sierra Vista | Candyce Pardee |
| Sierra Vista | Robert White |
| Sierra Vista Sunrise | William Hansen |
| Sierra Vista Sunrise | Hank Huisking |
| Tubac | Virginia Leavitt |
| Tubac | Bruce Monro |
| Tucson | Jo DeChatelet |
| Tucson | Charlotte Harris |
| Tucson | Roger Harwell |
| Tucson | Robert Larson |
| Tucson | Sally Montagne |
| Tucson | Wayne Peate |
| Tucson | Michael Sagara |
| Tucson | Jon Wang |
| Casa Adobes | Heather Bohnke |
| Casa Adobes | James Bunker |
| Casa Adobes | Ron Hutchings |
| Casa Adobes | Eb Wilkinson |
| Casa Adobes | Dudley Woodard |
| Casa Adobes | Frank Youdelman |
| Tucson Kino | David Fawcett |
| Tucson Kino | Debra Haddock |
| Tucson Sunrise | Raymond Naylor |
| Tucson Sunrise | Jerry Sayre |
| Tucson Sunset | Sara Craddock |
| Tucson Sunset | Ann Huber |
| Tucson Sunset | Michael Kloehn |
| Tucson Sunset | Dennis Scanlon |
| Tucson Sunset | Natasha Wrae |
| Tucson Verde | Michael Drake |
| Tucson Verde | Fonda Insley |
| Tucson Verde | Barbara Liguori |
| Tucson Verde | Ellie Patterson |
| Tucson Verde | Bonnie Rolstad |
| Tucson Sunset | Laura Ziady |
| Vail | Mark Kelley |
| Valley Verde | Thomas Cooke |
| Valley Verde | Kathy Dean |
| Valley Verde | Richard Deaver |
| Valley Verde | Gary Friedman |
| Valley Verde | Charlotte Gates |
| Valley Verde | Mark Horton |
| Valley Verde | Ann Marsh |
| Valley Verde | Judith Noyes |
| Valley Verde | John Pilger |
| Valley Verde | Kathleen Silvers |
| Valley Verde | Phil Silvers |
| Yuma | Steven Moore |
| Yuma Foothills | Camilla Baycroft |
| Yuma North End | Anne Fisher |
| Yuma Sunrise | Mike Suba |
Questions? Contact Michael Drake, Chair, PolioPlus sub-committee of D5500 District Rotary Foundation Committee. or call 520-624-2488.