World Polio Day Competition
- Your club could win $500!
What is World Polio Day?
World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24th. World Polio Day was established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Polio is a disease caused by a virus that affects the nervous system and is mainly spread by person-to-person contact. Polio can also be spread by drinking water or other drinks or eating raw or undercooked food that are contaminated with the feces of an infected person.
$$$$$ - What can you win?
$500 US for the most impactful project
$500 US for the most innovative project
$500 US for the most innovative project
What must you do?
Whatever works best for your community, the choice is yours! All we ask is that the project improve the quality of water and/or level of awareness of it in YOUR community. You could, for example:
- Clean up debris along a waterway, lake, creek, pond, stream, or other water source.
- Prevent erosion by planting trees and native plants along a water source.
- Build awareness in your community - encourage students to write essays on the importance of water and what THEY can do to protect it.
- Encourage farmers in your area to use eco-friendly chemicals that will not damage fragile water systems.
- If your community's water source is safe, eliminate plastic water bottles. If they are a necessity ensure they are collected and recycled appropriately.
Use your imagination! The bottom line is to educate your community on the importance of protecting its water sources. Get them involved!
Whenever possible, please consult with your local water or conservation authority to ensure that your efforts are compatible with conditions in your area! For example, cleaning a watercourse during spawning season could have a negative impact on fish stocks.
Whenever possible, please consult with your local water or conservation authority to ensure that your efforts are compatible with conditions in your area! For example, cleaning a watercourse during spawning season could have a negative impact on fish stocks.
Share your story
Please use your project to celebrate World Polio Day. You can promote it at your regular club meeting closest to October 24, 2019. WASRAG will share some of them in its monthly newsletter. And - why not tell your story to the Rotary world yourself? Go to the RI website and post it on Rotary Club Central and/or Rotary Showcase!
Who will judge the entries?
The members of WASRAG's Membership Satisfaction Team will review all applications and select the winning projects.
How do you enter the competition?
Submit a brief description of your project to info@wasrag.org. Include what you are doing, the target audience and the expected impact of the project. Photos and press releases are encouraged. Remember to tell us your Club name and District number and give us a contact name, email address and phone number. Some projects will be showcased on the WASRAG website.
DEADLINE & AWARDS:
Please submit all entries by December 1, 2019. Winners will be notified by February 1, 2020.
How it all started!
Many of you will have read the fantastic story of the Rotary Club of South Ukiah (California) District 5130's "Cleaning the Rivers of the World" program in WASRAG's October 2017 Newsletter.
Spearheaded by passionate water champion Salvador Rico, the South Ukiah club challenged Rotary clubs around the world to clean up rivers in their communities. Inspired by Salvador and his club's efforts, WASRAG now invites you and your club to get involved in water - and maybe win some funding for your water projects!
