October 24th marks World Polio Day, a reminder of how far we’ve come in fighting a disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.
Global vaccination efforts have reduced polio cases by 99.9% since 1988, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan still reporting endemic cases. Yet the threat remains. Without continued global action, polio could resurge—causing up to 200,000 new cases annually within a decade.
For more than 35 years, Rotary has been at the forefront of this effort, helping immunize billions of children around the world. The Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois remains committed to a polio-free future because every child deserves a life free from this preventable disease.
We are grateful that the United States (U.S.) Government, through financial investment and technical expertise by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), previously through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and now through the State Department’s America First Global Health Policy, has been a longstanding leader in the global effort to eradicate polio. U.S. commitment to global polio eradication has spanned several administrations and has been genuinely non-partisan across the decades.
A polio free world will provide the ultimate return on investment as the benefits accrue in perpetuity. We encourage continued U.S. leadership in the fight to make polio the second human disease eradicated from our world. Together, we can end polio for good.
Learn more or get involved at www.endpolio.org(https://www.endpolio.org/).
Global vaccination efforts have reduced polio cases by 99.9% since 1988, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan still reporting endemic cases. Yet the threat remains. Without continued global action, polio could resurge—causing up to 200,000 new cases annually within a decade.
For more than 35 years, Rotary has been at the forefront of this effort, helping immunize billions of children around the world. The Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois remains committed to a polio-free future because every child deserves a life free from this preventable disease.
We are grateful that the United States (U.S.) Government, through financial investment and technical expertise by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), previously through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and now through the State Department’s America First Global Health Policy, has been a longstanding leader in the global effort to eradicate polio. U.S. commitment to global polio eradication has spanned several administrations and has been genuinely non-partisan across the decades.
A polio free world will provide the ultimate return on investment as the benefits accrue in perpetuity. We encourage continued U.S. leadership in the fight to make polio the second human disease eradicated from our world. Together, we can end polio for good.
Learn more or get involved at www.endpolio.org(https://www.endpolio.org/).
Sincerely,
John Webb
President
Rotary Club of Springfield
Editor's Note: In recognition of World Polio Day, John Webb sent this letter to the editors of the Chicago Tribune, State Journal-Register, and the Illinois Times.
For three nights about 25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be an African American male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.
Our Club's Paul Harris Fellow Committee selected Mark Forinash of Cafe Moxo as our 2025 Paul Harris Fellow and recognized his team for their service to the community. In his citation, Club member Bob Stuart (image on left) noted that "Mark and his team are rising stars in the community. He and his team epitomize Rotary dedication to the community through vocational and community service at it's finest." We presented a Paul Harris Fellow Certificate, Medallion, and Pin to Mark Forinash and also recognized the contributions of his team at our Annual RI Foundation Night on February 24 (images below).
Mark and his Cafe Moxo Team have made numerous contributions to the community. In April 2020, Cafe Moxo started feeding breakfast and lunch to those in need from their Adams Street location in Downtown Springfield. It wasn’t long before they realized that there were more people who needed help than what they initially realized. After establishing a drive-through, pick-up system, Cafe Moxo later delivered meals to some who were homeless and staying in local hotels. Cafe Moxo also provided meals to The Salvation Army and local churches, even on Sunday’s when the restaurant was normally closed.
