February 2025 – the crocuses are in full bloom in Bantock Park in support of Rotary’s campaign to eliminate polio. The purple crocus is the emblem of the campaign.

It was wonderful to have the support of the children from Merridale Primary, Warstones Primary and Low Hill Nursery schools when the corms were planted in October 2024.

Former Mayor of Wolverhampton, Rotarian Mike Hardacre happened along today to fix the signs.

Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.

As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we’ve reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.

Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.

Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.