WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Rotary Club commemorated World Polio Day on Oct. 24. The club, founded in 1928, is part of Rotary International, a humanitarian organization of 1.2 million members in more than 32,000 clubs throughout the world.
In 1985, Rotary launched Polio Plus and, in 1988, helped establish the Global Polio Plus Eradication initiative. Polio is an infectious, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease that was once endemic throughout the world, but can be prevented through immunization. Rotary International has contributed more than $2.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to protecting nearly three billion children in 122 countries.
According to West Orange Rotary President Marlene Karu, when the West Orange club celebrated its 90th birthday and held a gala event, it raised more than $200,000 to fight polio, thanks to a matching grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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