Posted by Susan Hammond

PENNIES FOR POLIO

Pounds of pennies and stiff competition among the Chautauqua Lake Central School students in grades 7-12 during a recent “Pennies for Polio” penny war week resulted in the CLCS Student Administration, event sponsor, raising $934.48 for the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville’s PolioPlus Challenge. The winning grade level was the freshman class. In addition to the penny war, information about polio and Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate the crippling disease was disseminated to CLCS students, faculty and staff.
 
At the June 19 check presentation event were (pictured left to right) CLCS Superintendent and Rotarian Ben Spitzer, SA Co-Adviser Jennifer Davis, Rotarian Sue Hammond, SA President Samantha Gleason, SA Co-Adviser Michelle Rowe, Rotarian and PolioPlus Challenge Chair Jim Wakeman and CLCS Secondary Principal Josh Liddell.
CLSC Student Administration (SA) Co-Advisers Jennifer Davis and Michelle Rowe led the campaign and guided the students in their charity fundraising event. About the campaign, Davis stated, “I’m happy that our SA and student body were able to support both the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville and Rotary International with meeting their desires to help end polio in the world.”  SA Co-Adviser Michelle Rowe said, “With our “Pennies for Polio” there was genuine competition in the battle among the classes, which made the students want to learn more about polio and Rotary’s eradication efforts. It made them ask why they should care, and why the disease still exists.”
 
Sue Hammond, Public Relations Chair of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, said, “Our club is extremely grateful for this amazing fundraising effort by the CLCS SA, its advisers, and the secondary students. I would guess that the majority of the students have never seen people severely crippled by the disease.  Probably they would not know about the rows of iron lung machines in hospitals that were used in the 1940s and 1950s to help polio victims, who were mostly children, breathe. Those whose lungs were paralyzed by the polio virus might endure an entire week inside an iron lung. The compassion which these CLCS students have shown with helping to end the suffering and crippling effects of polio on children is highly commendable.”
 
CLCS senior and 2016-2017 SA President Samantha Gleason said, “I was very pleased with this charity fundraiser. We got a lot of participation and competition among the grade levels. People brought in jars and jars of their own pennies. It’s great to try and end polio in the world so that children will be able to run, walk and be healthy, and not be crippled by the disease.”
 
Benjamin Spitzer, CLCS Superintendent and Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville Past President stated, “We are extremely proud of our students. They have a long track record of quality community service. This donation to combat polio is emblematic of their care and concern for people at home and abroad.”
 
Joshua Liddell, CLCS Secondary Principal (Grades 7-12) and Supervisor of Athletics said, “It was great to see our Student Administration advisers, Rotary Club leaders, and secondary students working together for this very worthy cause. We were impressed by the total amount our students raised in such a quick time-frame and how they rallied around the PolioPlus Challenge. This authentic application of volunteer service will hopefully become an annual endeavor for our SA, as we know the money raised can have a big impact on fighting this vaccine-preventable disease.”
 
Upon receipt of the sizable donation from the CLCS SA, Jim Wakeman, Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville PolioPlus Challenge Chair and Club Foundation Chair, said, “What an impactful and inspirational effort by the CLCS students! The money they raised will pay for approximately 1,550 doses of polio vaccine that will be administered to children where the disease is still endemic.”
Wakeman continued, “This fine example of these students’ generosity and the advisors’ guidance should serve as an inspiration to all, and should encourage more people to take action to help
better the lives of those who are less fortunate. This will make a significant contribution towards ending polio in our lifetime.”
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, which serves the communities of Brocton, Mayville, Ripley, Sherman and Westfield, created its PolioPlus Challenge campaign in August of 2017. It was established when an anonymous local foundation offered to match any monies raised through fundraising efforts that the club was not currently doing, up to $10,000 through the spring of 2018, with net proceeds going to the Rotary International PolioPlus Fund.
 
In addition, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has offered Rotary International a 2 to 1 match for any PolioPlus funds raised. Last week, at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Rotary President John Germ announced Rotary’s commitment to raise $50 million per year over the next three years. Keynote speaker Bill Gates announced that every dollar that Rotary raises will be matched with two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation.
 
This expanded agreement, both in terms of committed funds and the duration of the agreement, will translate into $450 million for polio eradication efforts, including the immunization and monitoring of any cases and where they occur over the next three years. This will ensure that countries around the world remain polio-free, and that this paralyzing, life-changing scourge is ended in the last three endemic countries of Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
 
Because of the $1 to $1 match up to $10,000 by an anonymous local foundation, and with the Rotary funding and the Gates Foundation $2 to $1 match, the goal of the PolioPlus Challenge of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville is to raise $10,000 by the spring of 2018. These funds will be donated to the Rotary PolioPlus Fund, and with the matches would become $60,000!  
 
According to Rotary International, the most recent cost of a single dose of polio vaccine is 60 cents. For about half of the cost of a candy bar, a child can be saved from this terrible disease. The eventual $60,000 resulting from the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville’s PolioPlus Challenge will purchase 100,000 doses of polio vaccine!             
 
To learn more about the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville’s PolioPlus Challenge and how to support it, contact Jim Wakeman at jimwakeman67@gmail.com or 814-450-1866.