Music soothes souls. This music cures polio, too.
The four Rotary Clubs of Fargo-Moorhead will present Recital with a Cause, a young artists’ recital to end polio on Thursday, March 24, at 7:30 pm at the Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral in south Fargo.
This recital will showcase young regional solo artists who are past winners of the Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphonies Concerto Competition and the Young Artists Solo Competition sponsored by the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota Public Radio.
Tickets for the event are $12 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased through the FM Symphony by calling (218) 233-8397 and on the web at www.fmsymphony.org or from a Fargo-Moorhead Rotary member. 30% of the proceeds will go toward FM Youth Symphonies Scholarships and 70% of the proceeds from the event will go directly toward Polio Plus efforts through the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
Rotary has helped reduce the spread of polio throughout the world since 1985. In 1985, there were 350 thousand polio cases in 125 countries. Today, only four countries remain endemic, the lowest in history: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Our work isn’t done yet.
If polio isn’t eradicated, the world will continue to live under the threat of the disease.
According to Rotary Past District Governor, Gary Nolte, Nigeria has had no new cases of polio in the last 12 months. And the number of new cases in northern India is also in decline. The challenge is that population in India increases by 25 million people per year and children may require as many as 12 to 15 doses each to be effective.
Recital with a Cause is back for the second year. It is a recital featuring some of the best local classical musicians and produced locally by the Fargo-Moorhead Rotary Clubs.
Contributions will help Rotary raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In one year, Rotary International has raised more than $165 million toward the $200 million challenge. The resulting $555 million will support immunization campaigns in developing countries where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families.
As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk. The stakes are that high. We can help achieve a polio-free world.
Founded in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.
CONTACT:
Cheryl Knudson
701-306-4090
cknudson@eidebailly.com