October is recognized as Polio Awareness Month by Rotary International and other organizations to raise awareness and funds for polio eradication. The month-long campaign culminates with World Polio Day on October 24, which commemorates the work done to combat the disease and highlights ongoing efforts to eliminate it worldwide.
This year, The Rotary (Noon) Club of Plattsburgh teamed up with the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh Sunrise to raise funds for RI's effort to eradicate polio.
The Sunrise Club organized a family-friendly corn maze at Rulf's Orchard on Saturday, Oct. 18. A portion of ticket sales were donated to support Rotary’s mission to eradicate polio worldwide.
In a twist, several members of the Noon club asked Betsy Vicencio, club president, to walk through the maze and all Rotarians could "bet" on how long it would take Betsy to maneuver through the maze. The Rotarian with the closest time would win a prize. Interestingly enough, Betsy had recently had hip surgery and was eager to see how fast (or slow) she could walk the course.
The noon club president, along with former Sunrise club president James Snook, entered the maze shortly after noontime Saturday. Eager not to hurt her recently upgraded hip, Betsy took time in several lounge chairs (and glasses of wine) strategically placed throughout the maze. The duo exited the maze course in 38 minutes, 9.10 seconds to the delight of Rotarians from both clubs.
After recuperating in a lounge hair outside the maze, Betsy said she enjoyed the team effort. "Let me tell you it was dark in there! It was scary, and there were moments when we didn't think we were going to make it out alive. It was tough, but it was a team effort! All kidding aside, it was just like this team effort toward this fundraiser. I think this initiative, and being polio month, is a really great time for both clubs to come together and up our efforts to raise money to get rid of polio once and for all."
Noon Rotarians Brian Gidman and Marsha Cook had guessed the closest time for Betsy's exit and split the six gift certificates awarded.
In the end, the Noon club raised $1,510.00 to fight polio. The Sunrise club was still tallying funds. The total amount raised would be forwarded to RI which is committed to raising $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched with two additional dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rotary has contributed more than $2.6 billion to fight polio, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985.