Ready to hop on a celebrity train?
In a never-before event in New Zealand, Rotary in Auckland is energetically working on `Ride a Train to Enable Others to Walk Challenge’ on November 1 from 8am-6pm.
Starting from Britomart Station, the ‘Tag You On Tag Polio Off’ Rotary fundraiser will have celebrities including politicians, business leaders and corporate head honchos hopping in and out of the train on different stations to help raise funds for End Polio Now Challenge.
Leader of opposition Simon Bridges will board the train on Britomart station Other politicians scheduled to ride the train during the day includes MPs David Seymour, Simeon Brown, Katrina Bungard, Paulo Garcia along with Cr Desley Simpson, Sharon Stewart, Paul Young among others.
The train from Britomart will cover approximately 40 stations during the day. It will be all go, with just a few refreshment breaks but the Rotarians behind the initiative, Past District Governors Jennie Herring (District Chair Rotary Foundation) and Ron Seeto and incoming Governor Elaine Mead, are
determined to make it an event to remember.
The concept is a team (dressed in red End Polio apparel) will ride the Auckland Transport (AT) Train Network and at each station a local Rotary Club (also dressed in red End Polio apparel) will symbolically hand over donations for the End Polio Campaign to the Polio Team riding the trains.
There will be plenty of photo opportunities in trains as well as the platforms with a sea of red-wearing Rotarians from different clubs waiting to greet the team or board the train for a couple of stations.
Rotary appreciates the support of AT who have given permission for Rotary Districts 9910 and 9920 to undertake this event. The idea behind the Ride a train to End Polio Challenge was inspired by Rotarians Mark Anderson from the Rotary Club of Beecroft, Sydney who along with his autistic son Dave took on the phenomenal challenge of starting at 4.30am at Epping Station and covering 187 stations in one day. They finally finished the train ride at Cronulla Station Sydney at 11.50pm. They were joined by other Rotarians and managed to collect a whopping amount of $240,000 in donations. A 2:1 match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation meant the final amount donated was $720,000.
In the Rotary Calendar, October 24 is World Polio Day. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years and since 1979, has vaccinated more than 2.5 billion children. Nigeria is on the verge of being declared free of the wild polio virus after three years without any new cases. The virus now exists in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan and Rotary’s new goal is to contribute $50 million per year over three years make the world polio-free. It will be only the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated. The Gates Foundation’s commitment to a 2:1 matching contribution if Rotary reaches its fundraising target makes this a attainable.
Rotary International Districts 9910 and 9920 END POLIO
RID 9920 End Polio Co-ordinator PDG Ron Seeto
E:ronseeto@ronseetoarchitect.co.nz M:+6427 4593 282