Increasing public awareness of the imminent demise of the dreaded Polio virus – and raising vital dollars to fund the end of Rotary’s 40 year PolioPlus campaign – must be the common goal of ALL Rotary Clubs and Districts on World Polio Day … October 24!

Effective fund raising is always a priority, BUT projects that build public awareness and image ensure that we really connect with our respective communities!

In Great Britain, Rotarians are gearing up to sell 50.000 colourful Crocus plans and bulbs to highlight their ‘go purple’ for a day promotion, ie: purple clothes, decorations, hair, offices, purple cake stalls, and sale of teddy bears with purple vests, etc on Polio Day.

In Germany, plans are in place to print one million END POLIO NOW stickers for general distribution – along with special athletic events for children.

In the USA, Million Dollar Community Dinners encouraging people to support Rotary in the wills have proved successful.

Around New Zealand and Australia, many excellent ideas are emerging … main street END POLIO NOW barbecues, bush dances, Battle of the Bands for schools, walkathons, family cycle days, movie nights, $100 Centurian collection poles and jumble sales to name a few.

Clubs are being urged to link with high profile personalities, local politicians and sports men and women to help achieve media coverage.

All events must be high profile, ie: Rotarians wearing the red END POLIO NOW t-shirts and copious numbers of posters and Polio pull-up banners delivering effective messages are important.

No idea it too big or too small but start planning NOW!