Purple4Polio Coffee Morning

What a weekend it has been, with Stokesley Methodist Church lit up in purple since Friday, World Polio Day on Sunday, and our Rotary Purple4Polio Coffee Morning today. Chairman of the Town Council, Graham Sowerby, was first to congratulate the Club on lighting up the town. “ I thought we had switched the Christmas Lights on early” he said, “until I realised it was Stokesley Rotary and its annual Purple for Polio display. We are always surprised and delighted by their creativity, and eradicating Polio is a very worthwhile objective.”

Today’s Coffee Morning, in the Methodist Church, raised £343 for End Polio Now, which will be tripled by the “2 for 1” contribution from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, meaning it will deliver over £1000 to the Rotary International “End Polio Now” fund.  Although many people believe Polio has already been wiped out, there are still a handful of cases this year in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and if even a single case is allowed to remain, “a Polio outbreak is only a plane-ride away from any of us”.  We all are now much more aware of how quickly and widely a pandemic can spread, so we must take the last steps to finally eradicate the disease. Thanks to everyone who supported us today!

Stokesley Rotary was delighted to be able to welcome to the Coffee Morning representatives of the charities that we had chosen to share the cash raised from Classics on Show 2021: Samaritans Middlesbrough; Samaritans Northallerton; Great North Air Ambulance; Bloodbikes; Stokesley Round Table and the Hutton Rudby Hub.  Each of the charities was presented with a letter of thanks and a substantial cheque by Club President Peter, and all six have agreed to be part of the Classics on Show team again for the 2022 show, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 18 June 2022. We are very grateful for their support at the 2021 Show, and look forward to another great show next year.