The Rotary Club of Wexford proudly hosted a coffee and cake morning on 24th October at the Crown Quarter Hotel Garden Bar, marking World Polio Day with a fantastic community turnout and raising nearly €1,500 in just two hours. This event was dedicated to the memory of Aidan O’Leary, a son of Ireland and the late World Health Organization (WHO) director of polio eradication, whose lifetime of advocacy brought the world closer to ending polio.
In a moving moment during the event, Wexford Loreto Interact Club members contributed their energy and enthusiasm to support this important cause. Aoife Byrne, one of the young Interact Club members, shared her original poem, Crocus, which honours the resilience and hope embodied by the fight against polio. Her words, celebrating the purple crocus as a symbol of unwavering strength, brought home the day’s message of determination and solidarity. Here’s an excerpt:
A crocus stands tall in unfertilised soil
A marvel.
Something to let hope burn bright
Like an everlasting flame…
It represents so much, that little purple flower.
It represents resilience…
It represents hope, hope for all of us.
With the funds raised, the Rotary Club of Wexford continues supporting Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign, a decades-long commitment. The funds will contribute directly to global polio eradication efforts, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the disease remains endemic.
“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who attended and donated,” said [Insert Name], President of the Rotary Club of Wexford. “Raising €1,500 in just two hours is a testament to the community’s dedication, and we’re especially proud of the young members of the Loreto Interact Club, who truly embody the future of Rotary’s humanitarian work.”
This year’s World Polio Day event, which included a special remembrance for Aidan O’Leary, reaffirmed our club’s commitment to completing this mission until polio is eradicated everywhere. Together, we honour Aidan’s legacy and keep hope alive for a polio-free world.
If you still want to donate to the End Polio Now campaign via the Rotary Club of Wexford, please scan this QR code with your mobile phone to make a donation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations by a factor of 2:1, so a donation of €10 becomes €30. Every little bit helps.
https://www.idonate.ie/swift/WPD2024
