Fundraiser helping fight polio across globe

By Cassie Tomlin

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | 2:26 p.m.

The need for polio shots in this country has been eradicated, but the Polio Shoot next month will give residents the chance to help fight the disease in other countries.

On April 17, the Boulder City Sunrise Rotary will host a fundraiser at Desert Lake Shooting Club in the Eldorado Valley.

The benefit is a barbecue, wine-tasting and clay-shooting tournament.

Rotary Club International formed a three-year campaign to try to eradicate polio in countries where it still exists.

Vaccines in the 1950s mostly wiped out the contagious disease in developed countries, including the United States. But in places such as India and Africa, polio still exists, according to the World Health Organization's Web site.

In 2007, fewer than 2,000 cases of polio were reported around the world, the Web site said.

Goldie Begley, president of the Sunrise Rotary, said the international club hopes to help get rid of polio for good.

Clubs around the country are raising money to pay for vaccinating children in affected countries, she said. The club has circulated its polio piggy banks around town and raises at least $100 a week, Begley said.

Boulder City Police will be on hand teaching gun safety and conducting aiming practice.

Guns will be provided, Police Chief Thomas Finn said.

Begley said those interested in just dinner can buy a ticket for $15.

Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].