For over 30 years, Rotary and its members have been committed to fighting to eradicate polio across the world. The amount of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just three, with over 2.5 billion children receiving vaccinations thanks to the help of Rotary.

With eradication now closer than ever, Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland’s latest campaign, Purple4Polio, was designed to unite communities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good.

The campaign tied in with the 100 year anniversary of The Rotary Foundation, Rotary’s own and only charity, which has played a key role in making polio eradication become close to a reality, along with hundreds of other projects both in Great Britain and Ireland and overseas.

A partnership between Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland and The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) allowed Rotary clubs to join forces with the RHS’s community-based Bloom Groups and work in tandem to bring people together, transform public spaces to brighten up the local area and promote health and wellbeing by planting 6 million crocus corms.

Several months ago we highlighted in the Reporter the planting of 4000 crocus corms around Ramsey, Warboys and the surrounding villages. A selection of these sites is proof of the success of the planting exercise.