To the Editor:

The Rotary Club of Oxford Hills would like to say ‘Thank you” to 290 Maine Street Bar & Grill in Norway for hosting their first Annual Pints for Polio fundraiser. 290 agreed to donate $1 for every ‘pint’ sold at the event, which was held on 10/24/21, World Polio Day. Yes, Polio has been eradicated in the US, but it is still out there in third world countries and only a plane ride away!

When Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year. We’ve made great progress against the disease since then. Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent, and just two countries continue to report cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. And we remain committed to the end. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match that 2-to-1, for a total yearly contribution of $150 million.

Rotary members would also like to thank the entire OH Community, both those who participated in the Pints for Polio event, as well as those who made donations at their recent Polio Road Toll, held on 10/17/21. Between the 2 Polio events and with the Gates 2-to-1 match, over $7,000 will go toward eradication efforts. Thank you 290 and the entire Oxford Hills!

Peter Kaurup

Co-President
for the entire membership

OH Rotary Club

Paris

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