The Rotary Club of Geneseo will join Rotary clubs from across the Quad Cities and beyond next month for a large-scale walk supporting the effort to eradicate polio worldwide.
The World’s Largest Polio Walk — Quad Cities Area is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. at Vibrant Arena in Moline.
Geneseo Rotary President Garett Prusha is among the planners for the Quad Cities-area event and said the local club is working with several other Rotary organizations to make the regional walk part of a much larger effort taking place simultaneously across 11 states and two countries on World Polio Day.
“Geneseo Rotary is teaming up with several other area Rotary clubs to create a large and eventful walk as a part of the World’s Largest Polio Walk,” Prusha said.
Rotary clubs from Districts 6000 and 6420 are participating, including clubs from Geneseo, Moline, Rock Island, East Moline-Silvis, Davenport and Bettendorf.
While the larger initiative has a collective fundraising goal of $1 million, Prusha said the Quad Cities-area walk has set a goal of raising $10,000 for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Community participation is not limited to Rotary members.
“All are welcome to participate in the walk,” Prusha said.
Registration for the event is free. Prusha said event shirts may also be available for purchase, although those details have not yet been finalized. Participants can also wear red or purple, colors used in polio-eradication awareness efforts.
Donations can be made through the same online page used to register for the walk.
Prusha said contributions receive additional support through the Gates Foundation, which provides a two-to-one match for Rotary's polio-eradication fundraising.
“Every dollar donated is matched 2-1 by the Gates Foundation, which really boosts the power of your individual donation,” Prusha said.
Decades of work toward eradication
Polio eradication has been a major Rotary initiative for decades.
Prusha said Rotary's first polio-eradication project began in the Philippines in 1979. Rotary later became a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.
Since then, worldwide cases of wild poliovirus have declined by more than 99%.
For Prusha, that progress is also a reason to continue the effort.
“Achieving the goal feels within reach, but still requires a massive effort to keep countries polio free,” he said.
Wild poliovirus remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Geneseo club does not currently have additional local fundraising events planned in conjunction with the walk, although Prusha said the club will likely conduct additional promotion as Oct. 24 approaches.
The World’s Largest Polio Walk — Quad Cities Area begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at Vibrant Arena in Moline. Registration is free and open to the public.
Participants can register or donate through the Quad Cities-area World’s Largest Polio Walk registration page.
