Rotherham Town Hall lit up purple to raise awareness to end polio

Sitwell Rotary Club is just one of the thousands of Rotary clubs across the world supporting the cause to put a stop to the terrible, life-threatening disease.

The town hall will be lit purple until Wednesday (October 28).

Rotherham Council said it was proud to support the Rotary movement and the End Polio campaign by lighting up the town hall. 

This vaccine preventable disease still threatens children in parts of the world today. If polio is not eradicated, it is estimated that, within ten years, as many as 200,000 children annually all over the world could succumb to polio.

Chairman of Rotherham Sitwell Rotary Club’s foundation and international committee, Chris Croker, said: “We’re proud to be marking World Polio Day locally and recognising the work of Rotary and our partners and the millions of people involved in so many ways in the International fight for a polio free world. 

“Only together can we end polio, a virus that is still potentially just a plane ride away. 

“We have seen how we need to work together when dealing with Covid-19 and we can all play our part.”

Mr Croker said Rotherham Sitwell Rotary remained committed to working with communities and partners to eliminate this potentially deadly virus and make Rotary’s dream of a polio free world a reality.

The colour purple has become a symbolic colour in the fight against polio, inspired by the colour of the dye painted on the little finger of a child to signify they have received a potentially life-saving polio vaccine. Globally, more than 2.5 billion children have been protected against the disease. 

Over the last four years, Rotherham Sitwell Rotary has contributed over £6,400 towards the cause. 

For more information about the club, visit: https://www.sitwellrotary.org.uk.