France Avenue, I-35W Bridge To Light Up To ‘End Polio Now’ on Oct. 24
France Avenue in Edina and the I-35W Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis will be lit in shades of red and yellow on Oct. 24 to honor Rotary International’s fight to end polio called “End Polio Now.”
Rotary International and the Rotary Clubs of Edina and Edina Morningside, along with other clubs in District 5950, have been engaged in a 30-year campaign to eradicate polio worldwide. When Rotary launched its eradication effort in 1985, more than 350,000 children in 125 countries were stricken with polio every year. Since then, polio cases have dropped by 99 percent, to 359 cases in 2014. As of the end of September, 44 cases of wild poliovirus had been reported in 2015 in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Africa recently marked one year without wild polio.
Polio will be only the second disease after smallpox to be eradicated. The world is on the threshold of ending polio forever due to the efforts of Rotary and its partners, the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
The lights in the Southdale area on France Avenue and the I-35W Bridge will be lit in the End Polio Now branding colors of red and yellow that night to bring attention and awareness to the final push for polio eradication.
For more information, contact Rotary District 5950 End Polio Now Chair Tim Mulcrone at 952-239-1594 or timmulcrone@aol.com.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.
District 5950 of Rotary International is a group of 63 Rotary clubs located in central and southwestern Minnesota. These clubs represent 41 Minnesota communities ranging from Minneapolis to Springfield. District 5950 is one of 533 districts in the world. District Governor is Tim Murphy from the Rotary Club of Edina.
The Rotary Club of Edina meets Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. at the Edina Country Club, 5100 Wooddale Ave. For more information about the Rotary Club of Edina, visit www.EdinaRotary.org. For membership information, contact Director Josh Sprague, joshsprague@edinarealty.com.
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Contacts: Public Image Director Mark Jessen, 952-929-0346 or m_jessen@jessenpress.com