In Appreciation…..Thank you to our fellow Rotarians who made 2023 another successful year for Ride to End Polio!
To our El Tour riders, thank you for riding and especially on a rainy day: Matt Blair; Jim Garrett; Aimee Graves; Lee Olitzky; Alan Rogers; Bruce Tunze; and Jonathan Walkup!
To our Indoor riders, thank you for riding and for Gary Hirsch making the arrangements for our ride: Jo DeChatelet; Charlotte Harris; Gary Hirsch; Dot Kret; Ann Lancero; Bobby Larson; Ernie Montagne; Steve Pickering; Darrell Stewart; and Hugh Thompson!
To our donors and supporters, thank you for your generosity and support of our riders! Total raised for both riding events is $15,709!! With the Gates Match that total for polio is $47,127!!!! Those funds will provide polio immunization to children who will be protected from polio and its devastating consequences during their lifetime because of our efforts, the Rotary Club of Tucson members.
In 1985, when Rotary took the pledge to eradicate polio, world-wide, there were over 360,000 paralytic polio cases a year in 125 countries. In 2023, there were 12 cases of the wild polio virus in the two endemic countries: Afghanistan with 6 cases and Pakistan with 6 cases. To date for 2024, no polio cases have been reported and a new generation of vaccine, nOPV2, is also being administered.
Charlotte Harris
