Utah Rotary Club joining fight against polio

SUGAR HOUSE — The national Rotary Club has taken on a lofty quest to eliminate polio altogether. Saturday, the Salt Lake chapter braved the cold and hit the pavement to help bring that goal a little closer.

Nationally, Rotary Club is raising $2 million to match a generous donation from Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Five Utah clubs — Murray, Midvale, Sugar House and the Hispanic-Latino Rotary — are working together to bring in $300,000 of that.

Club members joined members of the community as they laced up their running shoes and took to Sugarhouse Park Saturday morning for the "Pounding the Pavement for Polio 5K." All the money raised will go directly to the donation effort and to the ultimate cause of immunizing all children against polio.

"In my lifetime, I know I will see polio eliminated from the face of this earth," said Penny Atkinson, district governor of the Utah Rotary Club.

Polio is a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

While the illness has been eliminated from the U.S., it still exists in four countries, including India. That's where a recent humanitarian trip took 18 members of the Utah Rotary Club.

"We personally go to the countries that need this vaccination," said Atkinson. "We physically give the drops to the children who need the vaccine so we know they're getting it."

Just a few simple drops guarantee those children a life without polio. In just half a day during the trip, 100 kids were vaccinated — from babies, to toddlers, to grade school children.

Volunteers also ventured into rural villages with fliers on upcoming vaccination events.

"Many parents who were resistant to having their children immunized brought their children there because they figured this must be important," said Rotary Club member Scott Leckman.

For information on how you can donate to the cause, visit the Utah Rotary Club website at www.utahrotary.com.

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