Seton Hall's Rotaract club held its annual "Purple Pinkie" fundraiser in Jubilee Hall between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 in order to raise money for polio research.
The goal of the event was to raise money to buy polio vaccinations and support research of the disease in areas where it is still prevalent.
"A lot of people don't realize that polio is still a serious problem in countries around the world," junior, and president of the University's Rotaract club, Katie Harris, said.
The fundraiser kicked off with a showing of the documentary "The Last Child," which tells the story of a group of Rotary activists as they travel to different parts of the world affected by polio, providing vaccinations and comforting the people stricken with the disease.
Rotaract members campaigned for three days to educate University students and faculty about Polio and to raise money for the Polio cause after the film was shown.
"Purple Pinkie" is a program sponsored by Rotary International and supported by Rotary and Rotaract chapters around the world, according to the Rotary International website. It was started in 1988 as part of a joint project between Rotary International, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Center for Disease Control.
The name of the program comes from the fact that each time a child receives a polio vaccination, their little finger is stamped with purple ink to mark that they have been vaccinated, according to the Rotary International website.
Seton Hall's Rotaract club has held "Purple Pinkie" events in the past, which have seen varying success over the years.
"I think we raised about $150 this year," junior Joe Forlini, said. "Everything we raised was given directly to Rotary International."
However, last year saw greater success in terms of monetary donations.
"But last year we raised almost $400," Harris said.
The efforts of the University's Rotaract club will help significantly to achieve Rotary International's goal of completely eradicating polio.
"Each vaccination only costs ten cents, so this year we raised enough money to save the lives of about 500 children," Forlini said.
Joseph Grogan can be reached at joseph.grogan@student.shu.edu
