By Les Sheppard | Community Service Chairman
Many thanks to everyone who participated in Billericay Rotary Club's “Help END POLIO NOW Christmas Challenge 2023” microproject and its sister microproject “END POLIO NOW Challenge 2023/24”, 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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