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Walking for a cause

Largest Polio walk is Saturday

HOUGHTON -- Rotary Clubs across the country will participate in the world's largest Polio Walk Saturday. Houghton's Rotary Club will join thousands of Rotarians in the United States and in two countries in a coordinated effort to raise awareness and support the global fight to end polio. The walk will take place at 11 a.m., Saturday at Ray Kestner Waterfront Park in Houghton.

Polio Walk Co-Hair and Houghton Rotarian Ann Campbell said she welcomes anybody and everybody to join in the global awareness campaign. "Our plan is to gather anybody who wishes to walk with us at around 10:30 a.m. at the Rotary Pavilion at Ray Kestner Park," she said. "We will have somebody there to take donations in case people want to donate any money to the effort."

Campbell said the walk will go from Kestner Park to the east side of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, then they will walk across the bridge and loop back through the west side in Hancock.

"We have 15 rotary districts across the United States that are participating," she said. "That goes all the way from where we are here thru Texas. Essentially the entire central United States."

Within those 15 districts throughout the central U.S., Campbell said there are 425 clubs participating in some kind of Polio awareness event on Oct. 24, World Polio Day. Houghton High School and Hancock High Schools' Impact Clubs will be in attendance as well.

Rotary has been a leader in the fight to eradicate polio for more than 35 years through its End Polio Now campaign, helping reduce cases worldwide by over 99.9%. According to Campbell, the wild poliovirus is only active in two countries throughout the globe, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Funds raised through the event will go towards sending aid and finally eradicating Polio in every country.

Campbell said there are Polio survivors living in Houghton who are in full support of the club's efforts locally and globally.

"We did a Rotary information table down at the Houghton Farmer's Market back at the beginning of September and we had a poster up about eradicating Polio," she said. "People would stop and say, 'wait, isn't it gone?'”

Campbell said she is hopeful with this walk and the efforts across the country this weekend. Houghton can be a small contributor to a global goal.

"The idea is that within the next five years, health experts feel that if we can continue to raise funds and awareness, we can wipe this out in those final two countries."

If anyone is interested in donating to the fight to end Polio, visit my.rotary.org/en/polioplus-fund. For more information about the Houghton Rotary Club and where to get involved, visit portal.clubrunner.ca/5671.