Overview

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland has joined forces with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to plant over seven million purple crocus corms across Britain & Ireland as part of their Purple4Polio campaign to raise awareness and funds for End Polio Now.

Rotary clubs have been teaming up with RHS Britain in Bloom, It’s Your Neighbourhood groups and other community organisations to plant the bulbs in public spaces in local communities.

The last of the seven million bulbs will be planted in a special event taking place at Regent’s Park on Friday 9th December. This will also coincide with the announcement of new Rotary Purple4Polio Ambassadors, broadcaster Julia Roberts and Paralympian Anne Wafula Strike.

Julia and Anne will join fellow Rotary Purple4Polio Ambassadors Ade Adepitan and Konnie Huq at the planting event, along with RIBI President Eve Conway and RHS Community Development Manager Kay Clark.

Ade Adepitan – Paralympian, broadcaster and polio survivor. Ade contracted polio in Nigeria when he was just one year old and has made a number of documentaries to raise awareness of the fight against the disease.

Twitter - @AdeAdepitanFacebook - /ade.adepitanInstagram - @adeadepitan

Konnie Huq – TV Presenter who travelled to India with Rotary in 2009, where she took part in a key immunisation process, which was featured on BBC News,

Twitter - @Konnie_Huq

Anne Wafula Strike – Contracted polio in Kenya when she was two and a half years old but went on to become the first Kenyan wheelchair racer to represent her country before becoming a British Paralympian.

Twitter - @Anne_W_StrikeFacebook - /AnneWafulaStrike

Julia Roberts – Broadcaster, author and polio survior. Julia contracted polio when she was just 14 months old but went on to become a professional dancer, which kicked off a long and successful career in the entertainment and broadcasting industry.

Twitter - @JuliaRobertsTVFacebook - /JuliaRobertsTV

Folk singer Donovan, broadcaster Chris Tarrant and celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh have also shown their support for the campaign by becoming Rotary Purple4Polio Ambassadors.

Clubs have already done a fantastic job of raising awareness for the Purple4Polio campaign, but we want to carry on spreading the word. In addition to the regional press release template already provided to clubs, below are a series of draft social media posts to help celebrate our success and raise even more awareness.

By posting across social media on 9th December, we can maximise our impact and share the message far and wide.

For more information on Friday’s event, check out the national press release.

Draft social media posts

Twitter

A single case of polio anywhere in the world puts children everywhere at risk. Help @RotaryGBI go #Purple4Polio http://www.rotarygbi.org/what-we-do/purple4polio/

Did you know since Rotary committed to end polio across the world, cases of the disease have been reduced by 99.9%? #purple4polio

Polio used to paralyse 350,000 children every year, with Rotary’s help that is now fewer than 35. Help us make it zero! #Purple4Polio

It is so exciting to have a number of polio survivors teaming up with @RotaryGBI as #Purple4Polio Ambassadors: http://www.rotarygbi.org/what-we-do/purple4polio/ambassadors/

Keep your eyes out for our purple crocus display this spring at [insert location]. #Purple4Polio [insert planting event pictures]

Facebook

It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we work together. Rotary clubs across Britain and Ireland have planted over 7 million crocus corms as part of the #Purple4Polio campaign! Be sure to keep an eye out for the crocuses we planted at [insert location] this spring! [Insert planting event pictures]

After Rotary clubs planted 7 million crocus corms across Britain and Ireland, @RotaryinGBI #Purple4Polio ambassadors Ade Adepitan, Konnie Huq, Anne Wafula Strike and Julia Roberts are planting the final corms in Regent’s Park. We are giving communities a splash of colour to raise awareness of Rotary’s 30 year fight to eradicate polio. Find out more: http://www.rotarygbi.org/what-we-do/purple4polio/

Did you know that when Rotary made the commitment to eradicate polio in 1985, more than 350,000 children per year were paralysed by polio? With Rotary’s help that is now fewer than 35. Help us make that zero! #Purple4Polio

Images

A selection of images can be downloaded:

Vaccinations being given Purple crocuses

Useful links

Rotary’s Purple4Polio campaign Purple4Polio campaign resources End Polio Now Global Polio Eradication Initiative Royal Horticultural Society