This is a historic date in Rotary’s legacy: February 23.
In 1905, the Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, IL, by Attorney Paul Harris and three others. The Paul Harris Fellow Award is presented as one of Rotary’s highest honors, recognizing exceptional service to the community or commitment to the Rotary mission of “Service Above Self”.
In 1954, the first mass vaccination of children against polio began in Pittsburgh, PA.
While each Rotary club serves the community in multiple ways, International Rotary has always prioritized eradicating polio worldwide.
The International Rotary report on this goal provided positive numbers. The number of wild polio cases for 2026 as of February 10, 2026, is 0. At this point last year, there was 1 case. The last confirmed case of Wild Polio anywhere in the world occurred in Pakistan on December 14, 2025.
Wild polio (wild poliovirus) refers to naturally occurring, non-vaccine strains of the poliovirus that circulate in the environment and cause disease.
The number of wild polio cases for all of 2025 as of February 10, 2026, is 44. There were 31 in Pakistan and 13 in Afghanistan.
Dunkin’ Purple Pinkie Donut Day – April 28: Dunkin’ Donuts has partnered with Rotary International to continue the fight to eradicate polio worldwide.
The Purple Pinkie Project is an initiative that raises funds for polio vaccination. The purple color represents the ink used to mark children vaccinated in developing nations.
Donuts for this cause cost $25 a dozen and must be ordered through a Rotary member.
Join us at the Bearden Rotary Club this Friday, February 27, at Bearden Banquet Hall, for a noon luncheon with this week’s special speaker, Rameen Alborz, an eighth-grade student from Maryville who reached the national competition on National History Day with his documentary on the Manhattan Project.
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