Alexandria Rotary Club

We Are This Close

Behind the Scenes

Pictured are Alexandria Rotarians Tim Bush (State Bank and Trust) and Bill Bolm (retired) helping carry in art, a lot of art, to the Broadway Ballroom prior to the start of the Alexandria Rotary Club PolioPlus fundraiser this past Monday. Also lending their muscle and energy were Keith Meyer (Billmark's Insurance), Janet Nevalainen (entrepreneur) and Stan Finnestad (Glenwood State Bank).

The Art of Ending Polio

After 20 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. When Rotary began effort to eradicate polio in 1985, the disease afflicted over 1,000 children each day. Now, there are few than 2,000 cases annually. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions. The Gates Foundation has committed $350 million to PolioPlus if Rotarians are able to raise 200 million. To date, Rotary International has raised over 117 million.

You can join in helping by either mailing a contribution to Alexandria Rotary (with PolioPlus written in the memo field) at PO Box 1032, Alexandria, Minnesota or by joining us tonight at the Broadway Ballroom in Alexandria. Our club will be hosting an art auction with proceeds being sent to the PolioPlus program.

Monday, April 26th

5:30 - 7:00 : Social

7:00 - 8:30 : Art Auction

$25 if you email info@alexrotary.com to let us know you are coming or $30 at the door

Arrive early, socialize and view the art that will be auctioned while enjoying the guitar playing of Johnathan Moeller.

Included: 2 drink tickets (wine, beer, cocktails, soda pop), appetizers such as jumbo shrimp, steamed asparagus wrapped in ham and swiss, chicken wings and more including a prime rib carving station. 

A Message from Bill Gates

Monday, April 26th, the Alexandria Rotary Club will host an event from 5:30 - 8:30. The reason for this event is to raise money for PolioPlus. Your $25 admission will grant you admission to an art auction (7-8:30) and you will also enjoy 2 beverages of your choice (beer, wine, mixed drinks, water, soda pop), appetizers and the music of guitarist Johnathan Moeller.

Please contact any Rotarian, or email info@alexrotary.com, to participate in ending the affliction of Polio in the world.

Living with Polio

Joyce Leslie has lived with Polio since she was a little girl. At today's Alexandria Rotary Club meeting she talked about life with the disease from the point of the first symptoms, to post-polio syndrome.

Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus. PPS is mainly characterized by new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection and in muscles that seemingly were unaffected. Symptoms include slowly progressive muscle weakness, unaccustomed fatigue (both generalized and muscular), and, at times, muscle atrophy. Pain from joint degeneration and increasing skeletal deformities such as scoliosis are common. Some patients experience only minor symptoms. While less common, others may develop visible muscle atrophy, or wasting.

PolioPlus : Eradicating Polio

PolioPlus, the most ambitious program in Rotary’s history, is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. For more than 20 years, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to rid the world of this crippling disease. Today, PolioPlus and its role in the initiative is recognized worldwide as a model of public-private cooperation in pursuit of a humanitarian goal.

You may contribute to PolioPlus online or if you prefer to mail a contribution, download and complete the contribution form and write the check payable to The Rotary Foundation (be sure to check PolioPlus in the designation field).