Americans born after the mid-1950s may think of polio, which paralyzed Franklin D. Roosevelt, as an extinct disease.
However, it persists in pockets of four countries – Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nigeria.
In 1985, Rotary International adopted the goal of eradicating polio from the Earth, just as small pox was banished from humanity. Since the campaign began 14 years ago, Rotary Clubs around the world have raised $800 million. If Rotary Clubs in the United States can raise $200 million for the effort, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to contribute another
Richmond’s two Rotary Clubs – the noon club that meets Wednesday at Arlington House and the breakfast club that meets Tuesday at McCready Mannor – have teamed up to do their part for the global effort.
To raise money locally for the campaign against polio, the clubs will stage an evening of“glamorous entertainment, dining and dancing” on Saturday, Nov. 21, at Richmond Centre, said Elizabeth Luxon of the noon club.
She and Meena Mohanty of the breakfast club are coordinating a “Diamonds and Denim Ball,” to be staged in the former 24,000 square-foot former Goody’s location in the shopping complex off Exit 87 of Interstate 75.
“This will be a chic, black-tie affair,” said Mohanty. “The black-ties will make it formal. The denim will make it chic. That means the men may wear cowboy boots with their tuxedos.”
Guests will arrive to a red-carpet reception that will run from 6 to 8 p.m. as cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are served and a four-piece acoustic combo called Days of Wine and Roses entertains.
At 8 p.m., the intensity and entertainment will increase as a buffet and open bar begin and a 17-piece band, the Metrognomes, entertain.
The cost is $75 per person.
Many invitations have been mailed, but anyone interested in an evening of entertainment that also will help banish polio from the world is invited, Luxon said.
Tickets may be obtained at JCPenney in Richmond Center, at Dwight McMullin’s Edward Jones brokerage, 101 Alycia Drive, and from Scott Johnson at Central Bank in downtown Richmond.
Tickets and more details also may be obtained by calling Luxon at 986-6666.
Why contribute to wiping out the last remnants of polio in what may seem to be obscure corners of the third world?
“We have learned to our great regret that the problems at the world’s extremities, such as Afghanistan can suddenly become our own, Luxon said.
“Interstate 75, which bisects Madison County, in a sense is a connection to the world, just as Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College are,” she said. “International companies have operations in Madison County, and local firms make products that are sold worldwide. We truly live in a global village.”
When disaster strikes in the United States, people from around the world send their help, Mohanty said.
“When Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, people in India and elsewhere shared our concern and sent money to help,” she said.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@ richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
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