*Eventbrite fees apply.  Your day ticket is good for Friday and Saturday.

 

If you like interior design, architecture, and seasonal decorations, the annual

Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Holiday House Tour is for you. Tour 6 gorgeous,

beautifully decorated homes; visit local historic and cultural sites; sample complimentary tastings from 3 featured wineries and a winery/distillery; and enjoy specially priced luncheons for attendees as well!  And all the profits go to charitable causes.

 

 

On September 29, 1979, Rotarians administered drops of oral polio vaccine to children in Guadalupe Viejo, Makati, Philippines.  This was the genesis of what is now Rotary International's mission to eradicate polio in the world.

 

In 1988 Rotary International and the World Health Organization launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. At the time, there was an estimated 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries.  Polio paralysed more than 1000 children worldwide every day.  While there is no cure for polio, it is preventable with a vaccine.

 

Since then, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio, thanks to the cooperation of more than 200 countries and 20 million volunteers.

 

In the past thirty-five years, Rotary has raised more than $2.6 billion USD and volunteered countless hours to eradicate polio.. Together with our partners we immunize over 400 million children every year. Since 1988, we have reduced cases by 99.9%

 

Polio mainly affects children under 5. It spreads from person to person and can infect the spinal cord causing permanent paralysis and death.

 

Polio cases peaked in Canada in 1953 with nearly nine thousand cases and five hundred deaths.

 

Most of us have long forgotten the devastating impact of the disease, as North America was declared polio free in 1994. Polio has been part of the routine, mandatory vaccine schedule in Canada for decades.

 

We are in the last mile of eradicating the disease forever, but the last mile will require a further $2.5 billion USD investment and take another 3-5 years.

 

Only two countries remain endemic; Afghanistan which has had 6 cases in 2023, and Pakistan with 2 cases

 

The job is not done until we are polio free for three consecutive years, globally.

 

Unless we eradicate polio, within 10 years, as many as 200,000 new cases could occur annually around the world.

 

This year, the Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake, along with thousands of Rotary Clubs around the world, helped raise money to fund the final push.  Our recent Participate for Polio ride raised $22,263.

 

Congratulations and thanks to Rotarian Cosmo Condina, our top fundraiser for raising over $11,000!

 

In 1980 the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated – the only infectious disease to achieve this distinction.

 

We’re close to ending the second human disease in history.

 

Oct 24^th is World Polio Day. Together we can end polio, forever.

 

For more information or to donate go to endpolio.org

 

Please join us Oct 24 at noon at the Community Centre for lunch and to hear our guest speaker Dr Hirji, Associate Medical Officer of Health for the Region of Niagara. Dr Hirji will be speaking on infectious diseases and how we can mitigate them.  Lunch is $20.  Please register at info@niagaraonthelakerotary.ca by Oct 20.

 

We need a team of 3-4 members to review the contents of the Rotary storage locker and get rid of unused articles so we can determine if we need more storage space. We are being asked for storage space and we need to sort first to determine if that is necessary.  It should only take a day to sort and a day to put everything in order.

 

Volunteers should please contact Carol Lipsett.  Let's get it done in October!

 

The team is looking for over 300 Volunteers to work a shift at one of the 6 houses on the Dec 1-2 Holiday House Tour.  If you are interested in participating at this fun event, please contact Greg Fedoryn.