Past Rotary International President John Germ, left, and Dr. Chris Elias of the Gates Foundation on stage at the Rotary Zones 33/34 Summit in Williamsburg, Virginia, on World Polio Day, October 24, 2026.

Dr. Chris Elias walks through the Gates Foundation's partnership with Rotary during his World Polio Day keynote.

John Germ answers a question during the panel that followed the keynote.

Wild polio survives in just two countries now, and the Rotary Club of Newnan means to help finish it off. This year, students from two local high schools are joining the effort.

From now through Thanksgiving, November 26, the club is raising money for PolioPlus, Rotary's campaign to end polio worldwide. Its goal for 2026 is $5,000, and the club is matching its members' gifts dollar for dollar, up to $2,500. The Gates Foundation matches what Rotary raises for polio two to one, so reaching the goal would put $15,000 to work.

"If polio exists anywhere, it is a risk everywhere," said John Thrasher, the club's Foundation chair. He introduced the campaign to members at the club's October 14 meeting, ahead of World Polio Day on October 24.

The club sponsors Interact, Rotary's service club for students, at Newnan High School and East Coweta High School. With the school's approval, the Newnan High School Interact Club will sell Chick-fil-A 2027 Cow Calendars from Monday, November 2, through Monday, November 16. The students hope to sell 120 calendars and raise $600. The East Coweta High School Interact Club plans to make a gift of its own.

On World Polio Day, Rotarians from across Zones 33 and 34 gathered at their summit in Williamsburg, Virginia, to hear where the fight stands.

Dr. Chris Elias, president of global development at the Gates Foundation, gave the morning's keynote. He called the vaccinators who reach children in some of the world's hardest places "the true heroes." He also pointed to Georgia. When a child is paralyzed, he said, the test sample often travels to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, one of the eradication effort's partners.

Past Rotary International President John Germ thanked Rotarians for their giving and told them, "It's not the money. It's what that money can do."

Rotary helped launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, and polio cases have fallen 99.9 percent since. Rotary has contributed more than $2.9 billion to protect more than 3 billion children in 122 countries. An estimated 20 million people are walking today who would otherwise have been paralyzed.

Wild polio now survives only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where 48 cases had been counted this year as of October 19. Rotary warns that if the work stopped today, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children a year within 10 years.

Anyone can give to Rotary's polio campaign at endpolio.org, where the Gates Foundation triples every gift.

The Rotary Club of Newnan meets Wednesdays at noon at Newnan Country Club.