The Hinesville Rotary Club hosted their World Polio Day walk on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The walk combats the disease in third-world countries where sufficient healthcare and preventative measures are relatively non-existent.

President Jack Standard organized the group, andbefore the walk began, let rotary member and Liberty County Armed Services YMCA Director Michael Whitten say a few words.

“We’re here to walk, run, crawl, however we want to get a mile in with this group,” Whitten said. “It’s to raise awareness and funds to end Polio on World Polio Day.”

Miles for Polio began on Oct. 15, and is extended through Nov. 30, Whitten continued. It’s a series of small walks, runs or bikes that raise awareness and money per mile.

“The event ends Nov. 30,” he said. “We’ll start another session in the spring, running from Jan. 15- Mar. 15.”

Fellow Rotarian Brigitte Cabeza-Shanken, of Coldwell Banker Holtzman Realtors reiterated that pledging money is another form of contribution.

“This is not just a Rotarian cause, this is a community cause,” Whitten added. “Every bit from our community helps.”

“We are here to help continue to eradicate Polio throughout the world,” Shanken said. “We have three countries that still have active cases of Polio: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Please help us terminate this terrible disease. Hopefully we’ll never have to see it again.”