Today is World Polio Day

for more information about this concert, click here

About a year ago, Kari and I had already decided to run the Paris Marathon and we had established that we wanted to do just a bit more than run the marathon. We were committed to raising awareness for Rotary International's efforts to eradicate Polio around the world. Kari and I were Rotary Exchange students to Belgium (nearly 20 years ago) and decided that it was time for us to give back to the organization that gave us so much during our year overseas. As we trained for the marathon, we looked for ways, creative ways, to raise money for this very worthwhile cause.

In the end, we figure that we raised somewhere around $20,000 toward Rotary International's PolioPlus Foundation. In truth, there is no way to place a figure on the amount of money we raised, but we can track the majority of it through my local district, who matched our amount. Beyond that, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to match Rotary International's global efforts as well.  SO - for every dollar that we raised, PolioPlus recieved $4.00 - that's a great return on an investment!

So, when I discovered that today is world Polio Day, I wanted to share the effort that Kari and I are most proud of - THANK YOU for your support, monetary and otherwise.

Please watch this short video to find out more about Rotary International's efforts to eradicate Polio.