Rotary’s campaign to End Polio Now has received a huge boost after thousands of students, commuters, and shoppers joined Rotarians in Essex and Hertfordshire, England, to celebrate Purple Pinkie Week.
Rotary clubs in District 1240 raised almost £20,000 by organising and sponsoring a variety of fundraisers at schools, supermarkets, railway stations, and other venues in support of Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge.
Purple Pinkie Week, named after the purple dye painted on a child’s little finger to signify immunization against polio, was launched by Rotarians in Chelmsford, Essex, on 23 February, Rotary’s 104th birthday. They were joined by special guest Paralympian Anne Wafula-Strike, a wheelchair racer who contracted polio at age two in her native Kenya.
“It is very important that as many children as possible should be immunized to save them from this dreadful disease,” said Wafula-Strike, who now lives in England.
The festive week featured town council dress-down days, community quiz nights, and other activities ranging from the musical to the tonsorial. A concert performed by the Southend Boys’ and Girls’ Choir in Southend on Sea, Essex, raised almost £1,500. Interactors and other students went to school decked out for Wear Something Purple days.
Graham Hart (pictured with fellow Rotarians), of the Rotary Club of Chelmsford Rivermead, had his hair and beard dyed purple at one shopping center, then showed up at another to have them shaved off!
Rotarians throughout the district painted donors’ pinkies purple in recognition of their support.
“We are so close to stamping out polio,” said District Governor Ken Buck. “It is vital that we eradicate it now, as otherwise the likelihood is that the disease will spread again to the countries which have been cleared. With the public’s help, we can achieve this goal.”
To find out how you can help in the fight against polio, click here.
15/04/09
