KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To bolster the
effort to eradicate polio globally, 125 Dunkin' locations across
Alabama and Tennessee recently partnered with area Rotary
districts to raise funds and awareness through its Purple Pinkie
Day fundraiser. From the one-day fundraiser, the participating
Dunkin' restaurants and area Rotary districts raised more than
$1.2 Million to benefit
Rotary's End Polio Now campaign.
As part of the fundraiser, guests who donated $2 to End Polio Now at a participating Dunkin'
restaurant received a Purple Pinkie Donut as a thank you. As an
added bonus for each $2 guest
donation, Rotary donated $4 and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matched with $12, for a total donation of $18.
Bluemont Group LLC and the Catalano Group Bakeries, along with
Dunkin' restaurants in Alabama and
Tennessee donated over 60,000
Purple Pinkie Donuts to allow 100 percent of the $1.2 Million proceeds to benefit End Polio
Now.
In 2018, Dunkin' and Tennessee Rotary launched the Purple Pinkie
Donut fundraiser in 30 Dunkin' restaurants throughout Tennessee in efforts to support End Polio Now.
To date, the Dunkin' and Rotary promotion has raised more than
$1.8 Million to benefit End Polio Now
in recognition of World Polio Day.
"On behalf of everyone at Dunkin', we were honored to have the
opportunity to once again partner with our friends at Rotary to
help eradicate polio worldwide," said Dave
Baumgartner, President of Dunkin' Franchisee Network,
Bluemont Group LLC and member of the Rotary Club of Knoxville. "It was truly amazing to see so
many groups come together paired with the immense generosity from
our local communities to surpass our goal of raising $1 Million. This is such an important cause, and
we are proud to say that we are one step closer toward ridding the
world from the threat of this disease."
- Photos of Purple Pinkie Donut –
https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/D4ubbYYTxN
- Photos of Rotary's polio eradication efforts –
https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/SypXtez1a0
In countries where the threat of polio remains, children receive
their polio vaccine via drops in the mouth, rather than injection,
allowing millions of children to be vaccinated in a short period of
time. Vaccinating so many children can be difficult to document, so
when each child is vaccinated, they have the pinkie fingernail of
their left hand painted with a permanent purple marker. The mark
turns brown and lasts for one month allowing vaccinators to check a
child's finger to determine whether they have already received the
vaccine.
More than one million Rotary members have donated their time and
personal resources to end polio. Every year, hundreds of Rotary
members work side-by-side with health workers to vaccinate children
in polio-affected countries.
Rotary is committed to raising $50
million a year to be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, yielding $150
million for polio eradication activities every year. To
date, Rotary has contributed more than $2.1
billion to fight the disease, including matching funds from
the Gates Foundation.
In 1988, polio paralyzed 1,000 children every day in 125
countries. Today, thanks to the efforts of Rotary and its partners
in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, there have been 132
cases of wild poliovirus reported in 2020 across just two
countries, Pakistan and
Afghanistan. But as long as a
single child has polio, all children are at risk, which underscores
the need for ongoing funding for polio eradication activities.
To learn more about Dunkin',
visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or follow us on
Facebook @DunkinUS, Twitter @dunkindonuts and Instagram
@dunkin.
About Rotary
Rotary is a global network of 1.2
million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who unite
and take action to create lasting change in communities around the
globe. For more than 110 years, Rotary's people of action have used
their passion, energy, and intelligence to improve lives through
service. From promoting literacy and peace to providing clean water
and improving health care, Rotary members are always working to
better the world. Visit endpolio.org to learn more about Rotary and
the fight to eradicate polio.
About Dunkin'
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' is America's
favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin'
is a market leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced
regular/decaf/flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories.
Dunkin' has earned a No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the
coffee category by Brand Keys for 14 years running. The
company has more than 13,100 restaurants in 41 countries worldwide.
Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' is part of the Dunkin' Brands
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of companies. For more
information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.
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