SEOUL, South Korea: Sept. 23, 2021 – Jimin, a member of K-pop boy band BTS, is supporting the eradication of polio, a devastating vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed 1,000 children every single day.

Jimin’s donation of 100 million won ($88,000) to Rotary's polio eradication program, will protect children in countries where the disease is still a threat.

“Thanks to the effort of Rotary and so many people, polio is coming to an end on this planet,” Jimin said. “I wanted to join this historic moment to make sure no child suffers from polio.”

Polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent over the past three decades, thanks to the efforts of Rotary, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Today just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, continue to report cases of wild polio, and Jimin’s donation brings the effort one step closer to a polio-free world.

“We expect the donation by Jimin, a member of the world's most beloved boyband BTS, will increase the global interest in polio eradication,” said Rotary International District 3590 (South Korea) Governor Im-Sook Kim. “Rotary will keep the commitment of Jimin and other supporters in its heart and make every effort to ensure that no child ever suffers from polio."

By Eva Palmer, assistant governor for District 7280 (Pennsylvania, USA)

Our club is very committed to working with our community and telling people about Rotary. It’s woven into everything we do, including our club’s strategic plan. So when I heard that the city wanted to update the welcome signs leading into our town of Oil City, I jumped at the opportunity to help beautify our city, support tourism efforts, and promote Rotary at the same time.

Because Oil City has three main roads in and out of the town, we needed to replace all three welcome signs and refresh the landscaping around each at a cost of about $3,500. Rotary District 7280 provides grant money to support local projects, as long as the club uses its logo properly, in compliance with Rotary’s brand guidelines, and the project is publicized externally, like in the local newspaper. Our club raised half of the money needed and the district grant covered the rest.

We wanted our club name prominently displayed on the signs, not just the Rotary wheel. So we checked the Brand Center to make sure our logo was correct — and we were happy to find out that it was, with our club name and logo in the right places.

Supporting local business

This project was also a great opportunity to support small businesses in our community. A local company produced and installed the signs. They even created several options for us to choose from, which I presented to all members to ensure everyone had a say in the final design. We also hired a landscaping and garden club to update the planters with seasonal flowers.

Once the signs were installed, we promoted our work on our club website and social media channels. Our local newspaper also published a story about the new signs and the county’s Chamber of Commerce posted about it on their websites and social media pages too. Our local PBS/NPR television station is even featuring the signs to promote a virtual scrapbook series currently in development called Our Town: More Stories from Oil City.

The signs are beautiful and very welcoming, which is exactly what a welcome sign should be. Plus, our club logo is proudly displayed on all three signs — you can’t miss it!