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Rotary’s Classic 5000 raises money to fight polio

The Mount Prospect-Prospect Heights Rotary Club will celebrate Rotary International’s 105th anniversary in February by announcing that India has been polio-free for one year.

India, which was once a major polio hot spot, has reported no new cases of the disease in just over 12 months. According to the World Health Organization, India used to be known as the planet’s “epicenter” of polio. Rotary has been working to eliminate polio in the world and the Mount Prospect-Prospect Heights club has been making donations to this cause since 1980.

“Now that we are so close to ending the disease, we must not give up,” said club President Jim Uszler. That is why the club continues to hold the Classic 5000 annual fundraiser to raise money for all of the local club’s philanthropic causes and especially the eradication of polio.

Uszler thanked local donors, including the Bosch Corp., Peterson Roofing and Bristol Court where the event was held recently.

Theresa VanOpdorp, public relations director for the River Trails Park District, won the $5,000 major prize.

Special thanks was given to club members Mike Janonis and Mike Figolah for acting as hosts for the evening and Doreen Jarosz for coordinating ticket sales and donor prizes.

Rotary, a global network of community volunteers is one of the largest and most influential international humanitarian service organizations worldwide. Founded in Chicago on Feb. 23, 1905, today more than 1.2 million members belong to 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

To find out more about Rotary, you can attend a meeting of the Mount Prospect–Prospect Heights club for lunch on Mondays, at the Holiday Inn, 200 E. Rand Road. Call (224) 659-9030 to make a reservation.

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