Fairfield Glade Rotary Club participated in Purple Pinkie Day in recognition of World Polio Day on Oct. 24.
The Club presented Purple Pinkie Donuts to the Fairfield Glade Police Department to thank them for their service to the community.
Rotary began its campaign to rid the world of polio in 1985. Now, only two countries — Pakistan and Afghanistan — are not polio free, and in 2023 there have been only nine cases of wild-virus-caused polio.
The East Tennessee District of Rotary partnered with Dunkin franchises to raise awareness and funds to continue the effort to eradicate polio. The Purple Pinkie doughnut is a symbol of polio eradication efforts via vaccination.
In countries where the threat of polio remains high, National Immunization Days are held to administer oral polio vaccines to all children younger than 5.
To document those who have received the vaccine, the pinkie of the left hand was painted with indelible purple ink. Over time the “purple pinkie” has come to symbolize efforts for a polio-free world.
Rotarians preorder boxes of Purple Pinkie doughnuts. The boxes of 10 Purple Pinkie doughnuts are provided by Dunkin for every $25 donated to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign by Dunkin franchisees.
That $25 donation is matched three times — the final match from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — so each box raises $187.50 for polio eradication.
From East Tennessee, this program has expanded to Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and Kansas.
This year, the total raised via this program 2023 Dunkin Purple Pinkie Project was $188,870, which becomes more than $1.4 million after all matches. That amount is 8.5% over that raised last year.