Bradenton restaurant, Rotary partner to fight polio

BRADENTON -- Bradenton Rotary Club member Tim Milligan was distraught to learn Taliban assassins often target those who vaccinate Pakistan children against polio.

Milligan said if Pakistanis can risk their lives by vaccinating children in a country where polio is still rampant, then he can wholeheartedly recommend to his friends they go to Pier 22, 1200 First Ave. W., Bradenton, anytime Oct. 24 when their dining experience will mean a donation for Rotary Club goal of ridding the world of polio.

"Our goal for the 24th is to be sure that we keep Pier 22 full for that day as they are kind of enough to give back some of their revenue to the Bradenton Rotary Club to put toward the End Polio Initiative," said Milligan, a Rotary Club of Bradenton member since 1997, a Rotarian since 1984 and a past Rotary district governor.

The event is called "The World's Greatest Meal to End Polio." The money Bradenton Rotary Club receives on World Polio Day will be matched $2 to every dollar raised by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Milligan said.

The Bradenton Rotary Club will bathe Pier 22 in an "End Polio" light display.

The End Polio Initiative the Rotary Club has embraced for 30 years is tantalizingly close to realization, Milligan said.

"As of last month, there were only 37 reported new cases of polio in world and as of July, Africa was declared polio free for first time," Milligan said. "Right now, polio is only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Polio is in a part of the world where it's hard to get volunteers in there because of the wars," Milligan said.

"There are Rotarians in Afghanistan and we have had 20 volunteers killed trying to immunize," Milligan added. "When they died, an overwhelming number of people volunteered to take their place."

Dennise Berger , Bradenton Rotary Club president, puts her thumb and index finger close together to describe how close Rotary is to helping eradicate polio.

"I believe Rotary has made a huge difference in why we are 99.9 percent of the way there," Berger said.

In 1985, with the launch of its flagship PolioPlus program, Rotary took on the ambitious goal to end polio worldwide. At the time, polio crippled more than 350,000 children per year in 125 countries.

The Rotary Club of Bradenton was founded in 1926 and is part of Rotary International, a global organization of leaders and volunteers dedicated to tackling pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas worldwide.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Bradenton restaurant, Rotary partner to fight polio ."