The Rotary Club of Key West once again joins the organization’s global fight to eradicate polio with an END POLIO NOW event Nov. 1 at the San Carlos Institute on Duval Street.
Local Rotarians will host a screening of the award-winning documentary, “Extra Innings: The Linn Hendershot Story,” with a champagne reception and hors d’oeuvres from 6 to 10 p.m. at the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval St. Tickets are $125 and available at keystix.com.
All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Rotary Foundation, which for decades has worked worldwide to eliminate the disease that is often transmitted through contaminated drinking water.
The disease reached epidemic proportions in the United States in 1952, relegating its victims to wheelchairs, crutches and the infamous iron lung. Polio is now reported in only two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan — but that’s two countries too many for Rotarians.
“The eradication of polio is one of our longest standing and most significant efforts,” according to Rotary International. “Along with our partners, we have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. We have reduced polio cases by 99.9% worldwide and we won’t stop until we end the disease for good.”
The Nov. 1 film screening at the San Carlos Institute highlights the triumphs of Linn Hendershot, a Marylan man and polio survivor who defied the odds again and again to effect change and make a difference.
“Linn Hendershot was a polio survivor who served during his lifetime and beyond as an inspiration to many. Despite being on crutches, he coached baseball and held several high profile jobs with Bucknell University, the Atlanta Falcons, United States Auto Club, and NASCAR,” according to the synopsis of ‘Extra Innings.’ “After a fall, he was relegated to a wheelchair, which only intensified his resolve to work as an advocate for others and raise awareness of the challenges and solutions for differently abled people, including taking a lead role on the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Committee on Disability Access.
“Later Hendershot contracted pneumonia and almost died, leaving him on a ventilator for the remainder of his life. While in recovery at Western Maryland Hospital Center he started a computer lab for patients to connect with the outside world. He was later elected to the city council in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“At a time when disabled populations were considered ‘crippled’and doomed to a life of inertia, Noah Linn Hendershot used the powers of perseverance and persuasion to destroy those perceptions,” the summary states.
Join The Rotary Club of Key West at 6 p.m. on Nov. 1 for the film screening, champagne reception and hors d’oeuvres at the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval St.
