By Les Sheppard | Community Service Chairman
Many thanks to everyone who participated in Billericay Rotary Club's “END POLIO NOW Challenge 2023/24” microproject and its sister microproject “Help END POLIO NOW Christmas Challenge 2023”, both in aid of eradicating Polio from the world. And special thanks if you made your donation via GlobalGiving on 'Giving Tuesday' (28th November), as we earned a 35% bonus on top of your donations on that day.
This year, thanks to your generosity, we raised an amazing £4,195 which is a 10% increase on last year’s £3,798. This total was double-matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, resulting in a £12,585 contribution to Rotary's 'End Polio Now' campaign. Converting this to actual vaccines (using UNICEF's latest 2023 figures for the cost of a dose) means that up to 125,000 children can be vaccinated thanks to your donations.
So a big thank-you, not only to you, but also to our Government's Gift Aid scheme, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and to GlobalGiving's $1.2m “Giving Tuesday” Bonus Fund that enabled us to reach this impressive total.
Polio is now endemic in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2023 there were only 12 confirmed Wild Poliovirus cases (6 in Pakistan and 6 in Afghanistan), down from 22 in 2022. The fight continues!
We do hope you had a great Christmas and, once again, thank you so much for your support.
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