Polio survivors are invited and will be honored at the game.

Rotarians Eileen Rau and Elaine Pavasaris Work with Rocky to Help End Polio Now. Submitted photo

Submitted by Eileen Rau, Rotary Club of West Hartford

The Rotary Club of West Hartford and Rotary District 7890 will gather together on May 29 at New Britain Stadium to celebrate “End Polio Now” Night with the Rock Cats as they play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The fight to end polio is led by Rotary International, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, U.S. Centers for disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. It is estimated that, with steady financing, infections can be eliminated by 2018. We are truly so close to ridding the world of this deadly and crippling disease.

We are very honored that Michael McGovern, Rotary International’s Polio Plus Chair and the Vice Chair of the Rotary Foundation, will be with us that night. Trustee McGovern has been working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the other governmental agencies in the fight to eradicate polio. There are three countries in the world that have not stopped the transmission of the disease – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Recently, there have been outbreaks in other countries as well.

The Rotarians and Rock Cats would like to invite polio survivors to the game and honor them at the pre game ceremony. Handicap accessible seats are available. Tickets are $12 for field box seats. The public is invited. A portion of each ticket will be donated to the Polio Plus campaign.

Deadline to purchase tickets is May 15.  For more information about Rotary and the End Polio Now event go to  www.rotarydistrict7890.org  or contact West Hartford Rotarian Eileen Rau at [email protected].