Organic & Ethical Food, Abhu Dhabi, a Swedish Rotary Friendship Exchange & a Bra Collection

This Week
Our speaker is Gary Jackson of Jackson's Whole Food Market in Bryanston.
Gary has had an interesting career in retailing after studying at UCT.  He even has a Degree in Hamburgerology from McDonald's!  He ran four McDonald's franchises at one stage and also owned a very successful Woolworth's franchise before they discontinued franchising.
It's quite a switch from McDonald's to Organic & Ethical Food Products.  It will be interesting to hear if he had a Damascus Road Conversion or if it was a more gradual process.
He is also one of the founders of the Twice as nice 4 Kids Foundation that seeks to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Johannesburg so he is on the same wavelength as ourselves.

Last Week
Johnathan Hollard talk to us about Abhu Dhabi as a tourist destination and showed us a number of videos.

It's obvious that his job is to sell Abhu Dhabi but I was delighted that he was well aware of the controversies surrounding human rights and particularly the plight of foreign workers as he had seen how they are housed.

Swedish Friendship Exchange

 They had just arrived on Friday morning and were, no doubt, feeling somewhat frazzled!  Mike Lamb welcomed them as you can see top left and, bottom right, the tallest one is not a Swede, it's Mark Franklin standing in for President Neville!  Don't be misled by "Danmark" on the banner, it's not the same place.
The idea was that they would attend our lunch but somehow or other we seem to have more involvement than that as we as we are hosting two couples and some of us will be attending the dinner in Benoni.
Mark Franklin organised little canapes before lunch which were very nice and a brilliant idea particularly as Wanderers produced the most bizarre lunch we have had for a long time.  I'm sure that most of Sweden will soon believe that South Africans always eat ravioli with rice!

Quarterly Dinner
I brilliantly announced the wrong date for the dinner at the meeting on Friday!  It's actually Thursday 26th November and will be Indian.  I will organise a set price per person for the meal.  More details will follow.

Sue Wilson wrote about this fascinating project which aimed to recruit new members for her club as well as raise awareness of what Rotary can do:

Our Club, the Rotary Club of Ormskirk Clocktower in West Lancashire has been working with Against Breast Cancer to recycle bras to raise much needed funds as well as supporting ladies' international communities.
Most men are entirely oblivious to the fact that these items of used clothing are very often not taken to charity shops because bras are classified as underwear and are not acceptable.
Our Club has been strategically placing donation boxes and asking ladies to donate their bras to charity instead of just throwing them in the bin.

In the first instant the bras are weighed and Against Cancer gets 1 pound per kg for Cancer Research.
Secondly, the bras are then transported by a global textile company to under privileged countries and sold to women who would normally not be able to afford a bra.
These Bra Bins are located in offices, churches, slimming groups, golf clubs, libraries and many other places and each time a bra bin is sited there has to be a conversation about the project.  Everytime non-Rotarians find out about Rotary and it refutes the image of elderly men having lunch in hotels and it shows that Rotary improves the lives of women across communities and countries.
Rotary needs to be seen to be involved in more female-related charity work as a way of opening up to more prospective members.

ROTARY HONOURS SIX ‘GLOBAL WOMEN OF ACTION’ AT THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICE

 Rotary will honured six women – all members of Rotary clubs across the globe – at its "Rotary Day at the United Nations" event on Nov. 7. Rotary's 'Global Women of Action' will be recognized for donating their time, talents and expertise towards helping thousands of people in need throughout the world.

Since the volunteer service organization's founding more than 100 years ago, Rotary has harnessed the strength of professional and community leaders to tackle humanitarian challenges at home and abroad. Today, Rotary provides a platform for successful men and women of all ethnicities, faiths and cultures to make the world a better place through volunteer service.

"Every day at Rotary I see first-hand how our members work to change lives and make significant impact around the world," said Rotary International President K.R. Ravindran. "Through hard work, dedication and selflessness, Rotary's 'Global Woman of Action' embody Rotary's motto, 'Service Above Self', and I extend my warmest congratulations to them for their outstanding service to humanity."

Rotary's 'Global Women of Action' are:

Kerstin Jeska-Thorwart, Nuremberg, Germany: A member of the Rotary Club of Nurnberg-Sigena, Jeska-Thorwart is the creator of the "Baby Hospital Galle" project, which she launched after surviving the devastation of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. With a budget of USD 1.8 million and the support of 200 Rotary clubs and 6,000 members, the project rebuilt and equipped the Mahamodara Teaching Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka. In the 11 years since its inception, the project has helped more than 150,000 children and provided healthcare services to more than 2.2 million women.

Dr. Hashrat A. Begum, Dhaka, Bangladesh: A member of the Rotary Club of Dhaka North West, Begum has been at the forefront of the women's health in Bangladesh, implementing several large scale projects to deliver health care to underserved communities. She works to organize free weekend clinics for slum dwellers, providing vocational training to girls who have dropped out of school, empowering women to earn livelihoods as seamstresses, and working to raise awareness of social and health issues among young people. Begum also works to fund a clinic for the people of Washpur, a densely populated slum township outside of Dhaka with virtually no access to clean water or health facilities.

Dr. Deborah K. W. Walters, Troy, Maine, United States: A member of the Rotary Club of Unity, Walters, a neuroscientist, has served as the director and supporter of Safe Passage (Camino Seguro), a non-profit organization that helps to provide educational and social services to children and families who live in the Guatemala City garbage dump. Walters also led an initiative to improve water systems and build latrines for people living in and around the dump.

Razia Jan, Wellesley, Mass., United States: A member of the Rotary Club of Duxbury, Jan, an Afghan native living in the United States, has worked for decades to build connections between Afghans and Americans while improving the lives of young women and girls in Afghanistan. She is the Founder and Director or the Zabuli Education Center, a school that serves more than 430 girls in Deh'Subs, Afghanistan. The school teaches the girls mathematics, English, science, and technology, as well as providing practical skills, preparing them to succeed and achieve economic freedom within a challenging social environment. She was recognized as a CNN Hero in 2012.

Stella S. Dongo, Harare, Zimbabwe: A member of the Rotary Club of Highlands, Stella Dongo leads the Community Empowerment Project in Zimbabwe. The project provides basic business skills and computer training to more than 6,000 women and youth infected or affected by HIV in urban Harare. She is working to expand the project to serve an additional 600 participants in the region. She has served on the boards of World Vision Zimbabwe and Women's University Africa.

Lucy C. Hobgood–Brown, Hunters Hill, NSW, Australia: A member of the eClub of Greater Sydney, Hobgood–Brown is a communication and project management specialist and educator with more than 30 years of experience living and working in nine countries. She is the co-founder of HandUp Congo, a non-profit organization that strategically links existing and potential collaborators with grassroots community initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Working with Rotary clubs, she raised funds and led a team of experienced health care workers to support public health infrastructure for Ebola containment in the Congo.

Abhu Dhabi, J Brooks Spector and Cycling for Polio Eradication

This Week

Our speaker is Johnathan Hollard, Trade and MICE Executive for the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.
Before he became involved in the tourism industry Johnathan was with Brandhouse, the liquor wholesalers who represent Beers, Spirits and Liqueurs.....and a number of rather nice single malt whiskies!
Instead he will be talking about Abhu Dhabi.
Abhu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates...we heard about Dubai a few weeks ago.......and the most prosperous as it has oil, though the oil price is a problem at the moment.
I wondered what MICE was, wondering if they have a rodent problem in Abhu Dhabi.  Apparently MICE Executive is not a politically correct name for a Rat Catcher, it stands for "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions"!

Last Week
J Brooks Spector spoke to us on the various Democratic & Republican hopeful candidates for the forthcoming US Presidential Elections next year.
The Democratic candidates were quite boring as Hillary Clinton is so far ahead.  The Republicans were much more fun, especially those who lean to the right, not forgetting that liberal in an American sense is usually far to the right of anything that Europe has to offer. Brooks has the ability to be entertaining and informative.  Maybe he should stand himself on hairstyle alone?
I always remember that Hillary Clinton campaigned for Barry Goldwater in her youth.....makes you think!

HELP PROPEL MILES TO END POLIO ACROSS FINISH LINE WITH DISTRICT FUNDS

Your district could earn a visit from Rotary International President-elect John Germ by contributing district designated funds (DDFs) to support the Miles to End Polio fundraising goal.

On 21 November, Rotary General Secretary John Hewko and eight Rotary staff members will ride in El Tour de Tucson, an annual bicycle race in Arizona, USA, to raise funds for PolioPlus. The team’s goal is $3.4 million, which will be tripled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for a total of more than $10 million.

Last year’s team raised over $7 million, and DDF contributions from districts were a big part of that success. Germ will visit the district that donates the most, and the top five contributing districts will be recognized onstage at the 2016 Rotary Convention in Seoul. Rotary President K.R. Ravindran will visit District 2650 in Japan to thank members for making the top DDF donation - $500,000 - to last year’s race.

El Tour de Tucson is one of the top cycling events in the U.S., attracting more than 9,000 cyclists every year. The Rotary team from Evanston, Illinois, will be joined by Rotary members from Arizona and around the world.

• MEET NORAH
 
 

NORAH WEBSTER 

Norah, who has worked at Rotary nearly 11 years, is a Global Events learning specialist, focusing on the Rotary Convention. She’s a well-seasoned cyclist who’s finished other long rides, including a 450-mile trek over six days. Norah is excited to take the fight against polio from her desk to new surroundings with other Rotary volunteers.

 

• MEET LINDSAY
 
 

LINDSAY GRISWOLD

Lindsay is a Youth Exchange senior specialist at Rotary. Her passion for working with young people grew during her time with the Peace Corps in Kenya. When she moved to Chicago, she bought a bike from a shop that supports at-risk youth through its earn-a-bike program. To Lindsay, Service Above Self means being generous with her time, being open to new experiences, and putting others’ comforts before her own.

 
 

JEAN STANULA

Jean is Rotary’s Global Events supervisor. As a kid, she knew she wanted to make a difference, whether she was collecting pledges for the American Heart Association or collecting nickels in a jar for the American Cancer Society. Today, her desire to help others is even stronger. As an athlete, she sees El Tour de Tucson as her way to support and rai

• MEET KRISTIN
 
 

KRISTIN BROWN 

Kristin is the manager of Rotary Service Connections. A member of the Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse and an avid cyclist, she feels El Tour de Tucson is the perfect combination of her commitment to Rotary and polio eradication. Last year, Kristin served as the Miles to End Polio team captain and raised $4,000 to support the campaign.

• MEET JOHN
 
 

JOHN OSTERLUND

John Osterlund is the General Manager of The Rotary Foundation and has worked at work for Rotary for more than 20 years. During that entire time, he has been actively engaged in the fight to eradicate polio. Polio has deep personal meaning to John as his father-in-law is a polio survivor. He is dedicating his ride to his father-in-law and fight to end polio once and for all.

SCOTT DANIELS

Scott is a Procurement Services manager and has worked for the organization for four years. He enjoys staying active and considers cycling a great alternative to running. As both a staff member and a Rotary member, he understands the importance of eradicating polio and looks forward to training for the ride in Tucson with his co-workers and fellow Rotarians.

• MEET DEBRA
 
 

DEBRA LOWE

Debra is a senior regional Major Gifts officer and has worked at Rotary for over six years. Participating in Miles to End Polio is her way to honor all the Rotary members who have generously supported PolioPlus. And riding alongside her colleagues will allow her to combine her two greatest passions, fitness and Rotary, to raise funds in support of a polio-free world.

 
 

NAISH SHAH

Naish is Rotary’s Member Benefits program manager. His motivation to end polio is personal: While he feels lucky that he was born in the U.S. and received the polio vaccine, two of his cousins in India, who weren’t as fortunate, passed away after contracting the disease. Having volunteered to do the ride last year, Naish is ready to face this year’s challenge with his teammates.

MARGA HEWKO

Marga Hewko is a member of the Rotary Club of Chicago and the wife of Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko. She is a passionate advocate for clean water, improved sanitation and polio eradication. This will be Marga's third time participating in Miles to End Polio. She is dedicating her ride to the staff of Rotary International.

J Brooks Spector, Attendance & Rotary at the UN

This Week
Our Speaker is J Brooks Spector, Associate Editor of The Daily Maverick and a member of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg.
He settled in Johannesburg after a career as a US diplomat in Africa and East Asia. 
He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, been a consultant for an international NGO, run a theatre, and been a commentator for South African and international print/broadcast/online media, in addition to writing for The Daily Maverick from day one. 
He says he learned everything he needs to know about politics from ‘Casablanca.’ 
Maybe he's cynical about some things, but a late Beethoven string quartet, John Coltrane’s music and a dish of Pad Thai will bring him close to tears.

Last Week
It was a Business Meeting and I wasn't there so I cannot comment.

Attendance
Please note that a make-up is only valid for a period of 14 days.  This means that if you take part in a Club event outside the normal meeting or attend another Rotary Club and do not attend one of our ordinary Club Meetings within 14 days that make-up falls away.  So if you help at the Arts Festival for 4 sessions it will only count as one or two make-ups, depending on how they are spaced, as long as you attend a meeting of our Club within 14 days of each.
This is very important because if you have less than 40% attendance you are technically no longer a member unless you have been granted Leave of Absence by the Board.

ROTARY DAY AT THE UNITED NATIONS HIGHLIGHTS THE STRENGTH OF PARTNERSHIPS

Participants attended panel discussions about water and peace, youth and peace, economic development, women’s health, and human trafficking.

Photo Credit: Rotary International/Monika Lozinska

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To strengthen their 69-year-old partnership, leaders from Rotary and the United Nations met in November, 2014  in New York City for Rotary Day at the United Nations. The two organizations began working together with the aim of maintaining peace after World War II. Today, the relationship has evolved to include humanitarian work in areas like gender equality, child and maternal health, and disease treatment and prevention.

While the UN's Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015, its leaders are preparing for an even more ambitious humanitarian agenda of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030, said Amina J. Mohammed, special adviser of the UN secretary-general on post-2015 development planning, speaking at the event.

The UN considers those living on less than $1.25 per day to be in extreme poverty. Around the world, 1.2 billion people fall into this category.

"We have the resources in the world to deal with the issues we have today," said Mohammed. "We need to find a way to unlock that." She added that building strong partnerships with organizations that share a similar vision will be crucial to solving the global issues that are related to extreme poverty. As proof of the power of partnerships, Mohammed cited the polio eradication work of Rotary and its global partners.

Describing that work, Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair John Kenny, in his address to the meeting, said, "we persist, we overcome challenges, we make progress -- and we do not yield."

Nina Schwalbe, principal health adviser for UNICEF, noted that the skills honed in fighting polio -- such as identifying the people an infected person has come into contact with, known as "contact tracing" -- can be used "as a model to make advances in other global health issues," such as Ebola.

Nigeria's government stopped its recent Ebola outbreak largely by employing the strong health care systems it had put in place to tackle polio, said Schwalbe. Extreme poverty can be eliminated, insisted Mohammed, but infrastructure must be improved, and not merely through ad hoc projects scattered around the world. Eliminating extreme poverty, she said, requires making sure girls have access to education and addressing other forms of gender inequality.

"Women and children are the world's greatest untapped resources. Helping them is the quickest way to end poverty," said Nana Taona Kuo, senior manager for Every Woman Every Child, an initiative of the UN secretary-general. "When women and children are healthy and strong, entire economies grow."

By reaching decision makers, Rotary can play a critical role in civil society, said Kuo.

Business, Gordon Froud, the Zoo, the Youth Leadership Course and Fiji.

This Week
It's a Business Meeting.

Last Week
Gordon Froud spoke about curating the South African collection for the Beijing Biennial.  It was a fascinating talk because he not only discussed the artworks but also the restrictions that the Chinese insisted on as well as many entertaining personal anecdotes.

He was able to visit other parts of Beijing as well and gave us interesting insights into China's capital.






He'll be back in the New Year to talk to us about the conference on Alice in Wonderland that he attended in Cambridge.  He has about 3 000 photos of that and he has promised not to show us all of them!




Cancellation of the DG's Regional Dinner 
This was scheduled for the 20th November with all 12 clubs in the region.  DG David Grant has sensibly decided that this is too large an event to have any meaningful contact with club members and instead he will be attending a number of lunches including one of our normal Friday meetings at which we will also host the e-Club.  Whether they will be present personally or virtually, I'm not sure.  The date is Friday 27th November and more details will follow in due course.  Fortunately the e-Club will only require a virtual lunch.

The Joburg Zoo at Night, 5th November

Lori Bramwell-Jones, who is organising this, has been without a landline or ADSL line for the last three weeks so she has been unable to receive emails.
The only way you can contact her is on her cell phone....see the Club Directory.





From Jean Bernardo
The Youth committee held another successful Senior Youth Leadership Course
from the 09 - 11th October 2015 for 62 participants from a diverse group of
schools in Johannesburg.

The participants meet at Bryanston High School where they are asked to sit
in a circle and introduce the person next to them. (This helps to break the
ice)
Richard then tells them about Rotary, the course and the 4-way test and Ann
then proceeds to divide the participants into 6 teams.

When they hear the good news " that they each receive R40 for the weekend"
to provide for all their meals they are stunned! This does mean that a team
has between R400 to R440 per team for food for the weekend as most teams
have 10 members per group.
They are even more shocked when we inform them that they have to provide for
2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners with the Saturday evening dinner being
a banquet which comprises of a starter, main and dessert!
They are also required to cater for specific dietary needs a team member may
have.  We provided them with the basics such as tea, coffee, milk, sugar, oil, salt & pepper and juice for the weekend.

The teams then choose a team name and war cry if they wish and they
introduce their team to the rest of the course participants. They decide on
their menu for the weekend and after a snack and juice we take them across
the road to Checkers at the Bryanston Shopping Centre to do their shopping.

They get lunch prepared by the Anns and leave for Magalies Retreat by bus.
Tyron Sharnock is our course presenter and he as usual did a great job.

On the Sunday, the Rotarians go out to the venue and prepare a braai with
chicken, boerewors, rolls, potato salad and a green salad.
The bus then returns to Bryanston High School on the Sunday afternoon.

I wish to thank President Neville who goes out for the weekend as our
resident doctor to attend to any injuries.
Thank you Ann for sending out invitations, indemnities and making sure we
can have a successful course, Les for arranging Bryanston HS and Richard and
Noleen for being the chaperones for the weekend
.
On behalf of the committee I wish to thank the following members of the club
for their assistance on Friday and at the braai on Sunday:
Rotary Anns Margie Austin, Jean Colombo, June Virtue and Liz Short
Rotarians Jerry, Nicole, Merle, Pam and Jack, and John Hope-Bailie.
My committee - you are stars! Thank you.

LAUNCH PADS

In Fiji, students use tablets to explore the world.

On the third-largest island in Fiji, 17-year-old Asenaca Sepa dreams of becoming a nurse. Her classmate, Laisenia Kidia, wants to study marine biology. The teens are students at Bucalevu Secondary School on Taveuni Island. Its rich soil and abundant flora have earned it the nickname "the garden island." Waterfalls and breathtaking sunsets make Taveuni a travel destination, yet besides encounters with tourists, the islanders live in relative isolation. The government is the main employer; most other jobs involve unskilled agricultural labor. Only about 30 percent of students graduate from high school. About 10 percent go to university. Poverty and poor infrastructure limit access to advanced technology.

This lack of technology in schools worried members of the Rotary Club of Taveuni Island, who want to ensure students find employment or go on to college, says club member Geoffrey Amos. "We want them to go into the market with computer skills."

Working with Auckland University of Technology and the Rotary clubs of Newmarket, Botany East Tamaki, and Ellerslie Sunrise, New Zealand, Taveuni Island Rotarians launched a project to provide 70 computer tablets to Bucalevu Secondary School and nearby Niusawa Methodist High School. They received matching funds from districts 9920 and 9970, and partial funding from a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant. (Matching Grants have since been phased out; learn more about Foundation grants.

Rotary scholar alumna Kelsi Cox, a Canadian who studied in New Zealand, led a team that trained teachers and students how to use the tablets. "These small things hold a world of information, and can take these young people to places far beyond the classroom," she says.

The teens took to the devices immediately. "It's like having 100 textbooks," Sepa says. During the training, the group used a science app to study cell structure. "After looking at the pictures today, and at all the cells and definitions, I get a clear picture of what a cell really is," she notes. Kidia adds that what he's learning on the tablet will help prepare him for university.

The devices are preloaded with an array of educational apps, as well as tools for students to record songs and take videos, allowing them to document their lives and culture outside the classroom.

"It's what they need to empower their community so they can create positive changes for the future," Cox says. Those changes are already occurring: Amos reports that on 2014 achievement tests, students had higher pass rates than before. They also showed improved computer skills, which will help them continue their education or find jobs.

A Quiz, Rotary Family Health Days, Youth Leadership Course & Gordon Froud.

Last Week
Steve Anastopoulos entertained us with a challenging "Mind Trap Quiz"last week.  It was great fun and we all laughed a lot but the accountants definitely had the mathematical advantage.  There were only two tables of Rotarians present because of the Rotary Family Health Days and the Club's Youth Leadership Course being held in the Magaliesberg over the weekend but it didn't matter.  Expert scoring ensured that the result was a draw.  Many thanks, Steve for providing such good entertainment and it was a pleasure meeting your wife, Vicky.

Rotary Family Health Days a Short Report from David Bradshaw

Our Club helped Kyalami and Morningside Rotary Clubs at their venues.

Kyalami was based at Ivory Park and the venue was far from ideal, 144 people were seen on the Wednesday, 324 on the Thursday and 269 on the Friday, giving them a total of 737.The Dept of Health had their yellow gazebo's with staff offering various services.  

I assisted on the Wednesday and Mark Franklin on the Thursday. They will certainly discuss with the Dept of Health an alternative venue for 2016.

Morningside held their's at the Diepsloot Methodist Church Hall which was packed with providers and offered a wide range of services including a large eye testing unit with over 40 people assisting, and with the opportunity to purchase new modern framed spectacles for R200. 

There was a mobile clinic outside the hall, private HIV testing and counselling, etc etc.

On the Wednesday they assisted 220 people and Rosebank members, Ken and Melodene Stonestreet, Jos Tsosa, Lyn Collocott, John Symons and myself assisted on the Thursday when 409 were seen.

Friday was their busiest day when 617 people were seen, giving them a grand total of 1246.

Arnold Bell of Morningside, the Club Champion for the Health Days did a wonderful job with his team in putting this all together.

There will be a full report from District going into more detail.

Youth Leadership Course

This took place over the weekend.....see President Neville's comments.  We'll put the pictures on next week.

Rotary Leadership Institute Course
There is a course on Saturday 24th October at the Rotary Centre.  If you are interested, please let me know. peter@pjsfood.co.za  I have an application form.

This Week

Our speaker is Gordon Froud, Senior Lecturer in the Dept of Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg.  he has been actively involved in the South African and international art world for more than 30 years as an artist, educator and curator.  He regularly shows on more than 20 exhibitions a year and he has just returned from Beijing where he curated an exhibition of South African work for the Beijing Biennial.  That will be the subject of his talk to us.

DG's Regional Dinner Thursday 19th November

When we have more details I will send round a circular for those who would like to go.  

We will have our normal lunchtime meeting on the following day.  

Please diarise the 19th as it is important to show our support for our Club at this event and also our support for DG David Grant.

Kristen Bell is the newest face to join Rotary's 'This Close' public awareness campaign for polio eradication. 

Bell joins Rotary's fight against polio as the service organization and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative enter the final push to eliminate the vaccine-preventable disease. With the historic removal of Nigeria from the list of polio-endemic countries last month, just two continue to report polio cases: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"I am overjoyed to work with Rotary at such an important moment in history," Bell said. "To help create awareness about this horrible disease is exhilarating."

Bell is best known for her roles as the quick-witted, sassy title character in the hit series Veronica Mars, razor-sharp Jeannie van der Hooven of House of Lies, and the voice of Princess Anna of Arendelle in Disney's third highest-grossing film Frozen. She became interested in the importance of vaccines after the birth of her two daughters, Lincoln (age two) and Delta (age one).

"As the mother of two young girls, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to make sure every child is safe," she said. "Polio can be prevented with just 60 cents worth of vaccine - there's absolutely no reason any child should suffer from it. Hopefully by lending my voice to send this message, I can help rid the world of polio forever."

As part of the 'This Close' campaign, Bell will be featured in ads raising her thumb and forefinger in the 'this close' gesture with the tagline 'we're this close to ending polio.' Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to less than 400 confirmed in 2014. Kristen Bell is the newest face to join Rotary's 'This Close' public awareness campaign for polio eradication. A paralyzing and life altering disease, polio is on the verge of becoming the second human disease ever to be eliminated worldwide after smallpox.

The actress joins other public figures and celebrities participating in Rotary's public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;  Supermodel Isabeli Fontana;  Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman; Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.

Bell's ad will debut during Rotary's World Polio Day livestream event, taking place on Friday, 23 October at 6:30 p.m. EST at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Click here to view the streaming event.

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary's roles within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, raising awareness and mobilizing volunteers. To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.4 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year. To date, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against the paralyzing and sometimes deadly polio virus.