PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On Oct. 24, World Polio Day, the Presque Isle Rotary Club once again teamed up with Presque Isle, Easton and Ashland area schools and several local businesses to raise awareness and support for the global effort to eradicate polio through its annual Purple Pinkie Project.
The Purple Pinkie Project gives students a fun and meaningful way to join Rotary International’s mission to end polio. When students have their pinkies painted purple, it symbolizes a child somewhere in the world who has received a life-saving polio vaccine. The purple color is used by health workers to mark children’s fingers after vaccination, ensuring that every child receives one dose and only one.
Rotarians visited area schools to share information about polio and how Rotary has been working since 1985 to eliminate the disease. While polio has now been eradicated in most parts of the world, it still affects children in two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan. With continued support, Rotary hopes to make polio the next disease wiped off the face of the earth.
“This project gives kids a hands-on way to make a real difference,” said Mandy Pooler, PI Rotary Club’s Purple Pinkie Project chair. “For every purple pinkie, one polio vaccine is provided to a child in need. It’s a simple act with a global impact.”
The cost of a polio vaccine is approximately $1, and each purple pinkie represents one vaccine donated. Thanks to the generosity of local businesses and community sponsors, every student in participating schools can take part in the project at no cost. Each purple pinkie helps bring the world one step closer to ending polio forever. This year’s effort raised more than $2,500 to support this cause.
For more information about the Purple Pinkie Project or to learn how you can support Rotary’s mission to end polio, visit https://www.presqueislerotary.org/ppp.
