CORNWALL, Ontario – The Rotaract Club of St. Lawrence College and the Rotary Club of Cornwall Sunrise joined forces in recognition of World Polio Day at the Cornwall campus on Friday.
The local volunteer-driven non-profits collected $1 donations inMoulinette Hall with one twist – the donors left with a purple pinky.
“Almost every young person we asked donated,” said Sharon Miller, Rotary Club of Cornwall Sunrise member. “For one dollar, you can help fund polio vaccinations overseas.”
Miller had a helping hand from CCVS Grade 12 student Madeline Roy, a former youth exchange student with the club, and Stefano Delacosta, SLC student and owner-operator of Perfect Pairings.
“We have 1,200 students and 200 faculty – so we can reach people quick,” said Delacosta.
In addition to raising awareness, the trio collected a few hundred dollars for the folowinginitiatives www.purplepinkie.com and www.endpolio.org. Each dollar is being matched two to one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and will therefore pay for three children to be immunized.
Infants and children who have been immunized against polio are marked by dipping their little finger in a medically sanctioned purple dye, hence, the name ‘Purple Pinkie’ event.
For more information, visit the Cornwall Sunrise Rotary website: portal.clubrunner.ca/493.
