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Rotary Club works to end polio

SERVICE ABOVE SELF — Steubenville Rotary President Alan Hall stands in his office at the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County. Hall said the International Rotary as well as the Steubenville Rotary Club have been working hard for years to eradicate polio cases across the globe.

STEUBENVILLE — Alan Hall was 2 years old when he received his polio vaccination.

“When I was born in the early 1950s, mothers were panic-stricken about polio. I had a cousin who had been diagnosed with polio and no one was sure how to prevent it. In those days we all saw photos of people, including children, who were in iron lungs. Now we are on the verge of completely eradicating the disease and it is a very exciting success,” said Hall, the current president of the Steubenville Rotary Club and the director of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

“The end of polio is within sight due to the efforts of the 1.2 million Rotarians in our world, and the 54 members of our local club. The potentially fatal disease was frightening in the 1950s. But, Dr. Jonas Salk developed the vaccination that was administered to children across the country and the world and today we are down to between seven and 11 polio cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” stated Hall.

“Rotary has contributed more than $1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries around the world. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than $ 7.2 billion to the effort. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 to rid the world of polio. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, formed three years later, is a public-private partnership that includes Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as world governments.

“World Polio Day will be celebrated on Tuesday in Seattle at the offices of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Steubenville Rotary Club started our efforts to aid in the fight against polio in 1979, and by that point polio was under control in the United States but was still running rampant around the world,” explained Hall.

“There used to be 300,000 polio cases in the world, but we are now down to a maximum of 11 cases and we are close to finishing the fight. The Gates Foundation has played a major role in the campaign to stop polio by matching all Rotary contributions with a two to one match,” said Hall.

“Polio is a disease that can be addressed. But until you completely eradicate the disease it can come back. We appreciate the efforts and the support of the local community,” added Hall.

“Rotary clubs across the world have created an energetic sense of commitment in every country where the fight against polio has taken place,” Hall pointed out.

“Rotary International will be raising $50 million per year for the next three years, with every dollar to be matched by two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation. These funds help provide much-needed operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents — with assistance from corporations and private individuals,” Hall remarked.

“During the Rotary International convention in June, nations from around the world and major donors pledged $1.2 billion to fight polio,” Hall said.

Polio is a virus that is a capable of crippling and killing, and has been known since the time of the Egyptians, Gates has explained. The

Rotary started with the vision of Chicago attorney Paul P. Harris.

According to Hall, the early Rotary club in 1905 rotated the meetings among the members’ offices and decided to keep the name Rotary.

“By 1911 the organization had adopted two mottoes, ‘Service Above Self’ and ‘He Profits Most Who Serves Best’. By 1989 the ‘Service Above Self’ became the principal motto of Rotary,” noted Hall.

The areas of focus for the Rotary International includes promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education and growing local economies.

The Steubenville Rotary Club was organized in 1921 with Charles D. Simeral serving as the first local president.

“The Steubenville Rotary Club met at the Fort Steuben Hotel from 1921 until 1978. It was said businesses were closed for the lunch hour on the Rotary meeting days because so many people belonged to Rotary. The club moved its meetings to the First Westminster Presbyterian Church from 1978 until the early 1990s and currently meets at noon on Fridays at the YWCA,” said Hall.

Hall also took time to discuss Rotary: Making a Difference.

“We are asking all Rotary Club members to do something that makes a difference. Our members are currently coming up with different ideas. And our members will do projects on their own time. We have been charged by our Rotary International President Ian H.S. Riseley to increase club membership, diversity and engagement,” cited Hall.”

“We need to focus and increase humanitarian service and enhance Rotary’s public image and awareness,” added Hall.

“We are always looking for new members and invite interested persons to visit us at noon on Fridays at the YWCA on North Fourth Street in Steubenville,” concluded Hall.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)

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