MEMBERS of Barnard Castle Rotary Club were raising awareness and funds last week with a charity stall on the town market, in a bid to help eradicate polio worldwide.
Rotarians were kept busy throughout the day selling spring flowering bulbs, of the purple variety as part of their Purple4Polio campaign.
For the past 30 years Rotary International has raised hundreds of millions of pounds to get rid of polio around the world. That money raised has been matched by Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates.
When the campaign was started in 1985 there were 125 endemic countries, now there are just three – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria and thanks to the campaign the disease, which mainly affects children under five, is close to eradication.
And ensuring the immunisation programme continues local Rotarians were doing their bit to raise awareness of the campaign.
The fund raising is just the latest the Rotarians completed, having raised £954 in eight hours at Morrison’s in Barnard Castle earlier in the month bag packing with members of the Girl Guides and two Interact Clubs.
