Club News

Faversham Town Hall has turned purple this week to mark World Polio Day and areas of the town will be carpeted with purple crocus next spring as part of Faversham Rotary Club’s efforts to promote the End Polio Now campaign.

The Club is hosting an exhibition in the Town Hall on Tuesday 19^th, Thursday 21^st, Friday 22^nd and Saturday 23^rd October. Purple crocus will be available, ready to plant, in exchange for a donation to End Polio Now.

It is all part of a global Rotary effort aimed at ending the crippling disease in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan by funding mass immunisation.  When a child receives their dose of vaccine, their little finger is dyed purple to show that they have been protected, hence Purple4Polio.

To make an on-line donation to End Polio click on the button below.

Rotary clubs help to plant millions of purple crocuses every year to raise awareness of their efforts to End Polio Now.

Faversham Rotary has supported this campaign for several years and thousands of purple crocus have been planted in and around Faversham, including at the Recreation Ground.

This year the Club will be at Faversham Town Hall, 12 Market Place on Tuesday 19th, Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd October to promote the End Polio Now campaign.

Purple crocus corms will be available, ready for planting in the next week or two. Donations for the corms will be sent to End Polio Now.

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal disease which Rotary and it’s partners have been working hard to eradicate since 1985. Then it was endemic in 125 countries, now it is just two, Pakistan & Afghanistan. Although there are relatively few cases each year, over 400million children worldwide still need doses of polio vaccine to prevent the return of this crippling disease. 

When a child receives their life-saving polio drops on mass immunisation days, their little finger is painted with purple dye so it is clear that they have received their polio vaccine, hence Purple4Polio.

Every £1 raised is matched with £2 from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Please Make a Donation if you would like to contribute to this worthwhile cause.

We sadly lost our Immediate Past President Michael on the 10th September after a short illness. Michael was an enthusiastic and energetic Club President who unfortunately, due to the COVID restrictions, never had the opportunity to preside over a face to face meeting, having to rely on Zoom meetings all year.

Michael was passionate about many causes and through his leadership during COVID the Club was galvanised in raising funds to support good causes in Faversham. He was also an ardent supporter of international causes, and it is in his honour that all donations in his memory will be devoted to the purchase of a Literacy Box for a primary school in Zambia.