An exciting new initiative called the “PolioPlus Challenge” is being launched by the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville. This organization has set a goal of raising $10,000 through new fundraising events that will be completed by the end of April 2018 for the sole purposes of helping to eradicate polio in the world and to foster awareness about this crippling disease. This challenge is in response to this Rotary Club having been given a generous opportunity to receive $10,000 in matching funds from a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous. All net proceeds and matching grant funds will be donated to the Rotary International PolioPlus Fund.

Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville President Michael Harrington stated, “Rotary is all about serving humanity and “doing good in the world.” Our Rotary Club now has a rare opportunity to more fully engage our membership in world service, and, more importantly, to also actively rally our communities to help bring relief to the world in terms of polio eradication.”

He continued, “We are making plans for our PolioPlus Challenge to be a collective Rotary Club and community mission, which includes polio awareness and education, side-by-side Rotary membership and community activity engagement, and focused fundraising initiatives, all on many fronts and in multiple venues. With the support of our communities, we have confidence that our Rotary Club can accept and exceed our PolioPlus Challenge goal with this extraordinary matching funds grant.”

Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville Foundation Chair James Wakeman explained, “This is a tremendous opportunity for our club to help in Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio in the world. This generous offer of matching funds provides the potential for each dollar that our club raises to become six dollars, after being donated to the Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus Fund. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered Rotary International a two-to-one match for new monetary donations to the Rotary PolioPlus Fund. Therefore, when each dollar raised is matched locally, it becomes two dollars. Those two dollars may then generate a four-dollar match from the Gates Foundation to make a total of six dollars. Since each dose of polio vaccine costs about 60 cents, we have the potential to provide immunizations for approximately 84,000 children, so that they will never suffer the effects of this crippling disease.”

Wakeman, who has accepted the role of this Rotary Club’s PolioPlus Challenge Chair, added that next steps include establishing four subcommittees for four new polio awareness fundraisers, recruiting chairpersons and members for these, establishing action plans and timetables, and implementing each of the new fundraising events. Watch for further announcements about these fundraising events. For more information, contact Wakeman, jimwakeman67@gmail.com or 814-450-1866.