AUBURN – Members of the Auburn-Lewiston Rotary Breakfast Club and Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Lunch Club will hold a joint fellowship recognizing World Polio Day from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Gritty’s, 68 Main St., Auburn. 

World Polio Day is observed in October to honor the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, who led the development of the first polio vaccine.

Since 1988, Rotary International and Partners Global Polio Eradication Initiative formed collaborations with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, local health workers, and the national governments, to eradicate the paralyzing disease affecting 350,000 children.   

The combined efforts helped reduce the number to 15 cases of the wild polio virus this year.

Gritty’s will donate 50 cents for every pint sold during the event. There will be  50/50 tickets and auction items to benefit POLIO PLUS. Door prize donations are welcomed. The event is open to the public.  

For more information contact A-L Rotary President Brian Dubois at 207-344-3230 or L-A Rotary President Tom MacDonald at 207-420-0273 or visit https://tinyurl.com/y9neylfo, or https://tinyurl.com/y9j7m8qg.

Past Rotary District 7790 Governor, Al Feather and wife, Sue, supported the efforts of the Rotary Clubs of Auburn-Lewiston during their 2017 fellowship fundraising efforts benefiting the national End Polio Now efforts.  (Photo courtesy of Monica Millhime)