Rotary Club of Huntley Illinois with RILEE at Deicke Park in Huntley for Fall Fest 2021. Rotarians Tetyana Torzhevska, Karen Hutchings and Nancy Hufty. |
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RILEE - Rotary Iron Lung Education Exhibit - made her first 2019 appearance at a community event when she visited the Lake Zurich (IL) Chamber of Commerce Expo on Saturday March 16. Left - RILEE with Nancy Shepherdson, Past President of the Rotary Club of Lake Zurich Below - RILEE with Mike Rein, current President of the Rotary Club of Lake Zurich Rotary has made a promise to the world's children to eradicate polio from the face of the earch. For over 30 years Rotary International, The Rotary Foundation, and Rotarians and friends worldwide (including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) have been striving to reach this goal. To request RILEE to visit your community event or school, please contact your local Rotary Club or https://rotary6440.org/page/rilee-our-iron-lung-trailer |
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| RILEE
has lived a life of great humanitarian service. Her first life
was dedicated to saving lives by breathing for polio patients; in her
second life, she served as an exhibit at the G.Whiz Children’s Museum
in Sarasota, FL; and now will enter a third life as a mobile
museum serving northern Illinois. Charter
Sponsors have funded RILEE’s preparation for her third life of service:
her custom trailer, her graphic design, her insurance, her license, her
care and feeding. Inspired by the trailer designed by Roger Frank, Upper Eden Rotary Club, England and featured in the Rotarian Magazine in February 2017, the quest began to secure an iron lung for District 6440 and with collaboration with Districts 6450 and 6420, the project came to fruition. The Iron Lung Task force emerged to tackle the puzzling challenges of how to display RILEE, how to make her available to clubs and how to care for her. Thank you to Donald Brewer DG 6440, Scott McAdam, DG 6450, Steve Kuhn,DG 6420, Suzanne and Mark Gibson, Kat Beringer, Paul Metivier, Rick and Helen Rivkin, Carol Wells, Linda Borton, Sarah Oliver. It is our ardent desire that RILEE will spark an emotional connection between our youth - the post polio generation - and Rotary’s signature international project, polio eradication and inspire donations to the End Polio Now campaign. RILEE has two salient messages to deliver: • As long as one child is diagnosed with polio, every child in the world is at risk, and • Immunizations must continue for at least three years after the last diagnosed case. RILEE is now ready for display at your Rotary events. Visit www.rotary6440.org and click on RILEE in the events bar on the left, or by visiting our  Facebook page Rotary District 6440 Iron Lung. |
Naperville and Aurora Rotary Clubs
Keep up the Push to Eradicate Polio Click here for the full story from the Chicago Tribune and Autora Beacon-News. 
Rotary International President Barry Rassin meets RILEE
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