Marco Noontime Rotary has many projects, but a primary one is the eradication of polio around the world. As part of this program, Noontime Rotary’s meeting Sept. 18, featured Rich and Cheryl Willett, Marco Rotary’s district polio program co-chairs.
Together they have been dealing with the effects of polio since they started dating in 1970.
Rich Willett contracted polio at the early age of two back in 1950, following which he was a March of Dimes poster boy and then raised money for the March of Dimes to fund development of the Salk vaccine. Now retired, Richard has impressively held a number of corporate business positions.
Today Rich and Cheryl are active in Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio from the entire world. As charter members of the Bonita Beach Sunset Club, Rich’s contributions to Rotary have been focused on the total eradication of polio and Cheryl has been active in leadership serving as their club’s president and treasurer.
One of its Rotary’s most significant initiatives is the Polio Plus program, through which Rotary has been a leading partner in the worldwide effort to eradicate polio. Each year on Oct. 24, Rotary around the world joins with health organizations and public health advocates to mark “World Polio Day.” Rotary has contributed more than $2.7 billion to fight polio.
In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year.
Today, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9%. And only two countries are left with active polio – Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Around the world, 18 million people – who would have died or been paralyzed – are alive and walking today because of the polio eradication campaign. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has challenged Rotary to raise $50 Million this year to earn a full two-to-one matching grant from them.
Rotary is a global network of over 1.4 million business, professional, and community leaders united by the ideal of “Service Above Self.”
Through weekly meetings and a network of over 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries members work together to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and promote goodwill and peace worldwide.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Former March of Dimes polio poster boy speaks at Marco Noontime Rotary
Reporting by Henry T. Stanley / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
