Rotarians around the globe recognize October 24 as World Polio Day. It’s a day to raise funds and raise awareness for the organization’s #1 priority, and it’s a day to remember where it all started and where it needs to go to finish a promise made to the children of the world 45 years ago.
This day is especially meaningful to Rotarians in District 6780, encompassing clubs in parts of middle and east Tennessee, due to the polio champions from clubs in this district. The first polio immunization project began in the Philippines in 1979. James Bomar from the Shelbyville Rotary club served as the President of Rotary International at the time and administered the first polio drops.
Rotary International launched PolioPlus in 1985, the most ambitious humanitarian undertaking in its 80 years of existence. Rotarians responded to the call to raise US $120M dollars, by raising $247M dollars. By 1988, Rotary became a founding partner of GPEI, (Global Polio Eradication Initiative along with the CDC, WHO, and UNICEF.) Gaining the support of governments around the world has been another key component to Rotary’s humanitarian effort. Another Tennessee Rotarian took on the lead role of working with the US government in advocating for PolioPlus, James Lacy, a Cookeville Rotarian who later served as the International President in 1998-1999. The “plus” in PolioPlus is the extra health, sanitation, nutrition, and community benefits delivered alongside polio immunization, making the program both a public health and a community development initiative.
The Gates Foundation joined the partnership in 2007. Bill Gates offered a 2 to 1 match if Rotary would raise $100M. Here comes legendary fund-raiser, John Germ from the Rotary Club of Chattanooga. Under his leadership, Rotary raised $228M. John ‘s own father was afflicted with polio, a fact not lost on his passion for eradication. He has been often quoted as saying “one child paralyzed with this preventable disease is one child too many”. John went on to serve as President of Rotary International in 2016-17, and he is still raising money for polio eradication.
In 1994, Bill Sergeant from the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge was named Chair of the International PolioPlus committee. Bill accepted the role at the age of 75 and continued in that role for 12 years. A skilled manager, Rotary committed more than $500M to the eradication efforts during his tenure. Initiated by the Rotary Club of Knoxville, Bill was recognized for his dedicated efforts with a sculpture in Krutch Park on Rotary’s 100th anniversary in 2005.
In 2017, Dave Baumgartner of the Rotary Club of Knoxville and President of the Bluemont Group and franchisee owner of over 100 Dunkin stores, came up with the district’s premier fund-raiser; Dunkin Purple Pinkie Day. Donuts with purple icing, (to emulate the use of purple finger ink applied to children’s pinkies when receiving the oral vaccine), are sold throughout Tennessee and now other Rotary districts. To date the Dunkin Purple Pinkie Day has raised $7.5M. Look for this event next April 27!
Rotary has immunized 3 billion children, often going door-to-door to reach them, raised over $2.9B to do so and reduced polio cases by 99.9%. The final two remaining polio endemic countries in the world are Afghanistan and Pakistan. Wild polio cases for 2026 to date total 29.
Rotary has earned the description as the “conscience of the polio movement” because it provides the private sector drive, the moral urgency and the sustained will to keep global eradication on track. World Polio Day reminds Rotarians of its promise to all children.
Article provided by Rotarian Patricia S. Daughtrey.
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