TRF Trustee Chair
This month, I want to have some fun and do a little preplanning exercise for World Polio Day on October 24. Are you with me?
Each year, World Polio Day gives us a moment to pause, reflect, and recommit to the promise Rotary made to the world that no child, anywhere, will ever again suffer the devastating effects of polio. This year, that moment feels especially powerful.
President Yinka has challenged all of us to “better our best,” and I want to echo that call with a challenge of my own. Look honestly at what your club has done to support polio eradication. If your efforts have been strong, stretch further. If your club has not yet engaged in our No 1 corporate priority, begin now by making a gift of at least $1,500 at endpolio.org/donate.
That single act of generosity will do much more than you may realise. Thanks to the Gates Foundation’s 2-to-1 match, every dollar becomes three. Together, we can reach our annual goal of $50 million and finish the job Rotary began.
Each step brings us closer to a world where polio exists only in history books.
But numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Above all, polio eradication is a human endeavour — built on courage, compassion, and the belief that service can reshape the future.
On World Polio Day, I will be spending time in a place that symbolises exactly that. It is a location unlike any I have ever visited, and I look forward to revealing it in real time on social media. I will be having a creative (and fun) time while using this as an opportunity to shine light on those whose work embodies Rotary’s highest ideals — health workers, volunteers, and community leaders who stand on the frontlines of disease prevention.
Later this year, President Yinka and I will be travelling to Pakistan to meet with many of these leaders to express our personal gratitude. They are the reason we have come so far and must finish what we started.
As you prepare for World Polio Day, I ask you to join me in spirit and in action. Host an event. Tell the story of Rotary’s leadership. Invite your community to participate. Make your club’s gift. And above all, help us build momentum that carries into the months ahead.
And for all my puzzle-loving friends, here is a clue to my personal location on October 24: “Polio with the _ E _ _ U _ _ S.”
Jennifer Jones
TRF Trustee Chair