October 24th is World Polio Day, an opportunity to recognize how far the world has come in fighting polio, but it also reestablishes that we cannot afford to stop short of eradicating this preventable disease. Echoing this message, Governor JB Pritzker proclaimed October 24, 2026 as World Polio Day in Illinois, recognizing Rotary International and its partners and encouraging continued commitment to ending polio worldwide. Since the global eradication campaign began in 1988, polio cases have declined by more than 99.9 percent. Wild poliovirus remains endemic in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yet the final steps to eradicating polio from our globe have proven difficult. A July 2026 article in Nature warned that abandoning eradication efforts could lead to hundreds of thousands of new cases annually. Funding challenges and complacency threaten decades of progress.

 

Our Club's Peace Builders Committee secured grants from the Healing Racism in Illinois Program (https://fieldfoundation.org/healingillinois) and the Rotary Literacy Grant program to create a partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) (www.sjsacademy.org) and The Outlet (www.theoutletillinois.org) supporting an SJSA academy for the African American young men and boys (as well as some of their parents, grandparents, and young girls) served by The Outlet. The Outlet largely serves youth in families without present fathers.

 

 

For three nights about 25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be an African American male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.

 

The insights and high level of engagement of participants was amazing to hear and see. One retired veteran teacher/quilter called it “one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.” Everyone involved from SJSA organizers to Outlet staff, to Rotary and quilter volunteers came away in awe of the young men’s work as well as energized and motivated to make sure their message was heard far and wide to spark change.

 

These squares have been transformed into a beautiful full-sized quilt by SJSA. With support from a second Club Grant from Rotary District 6460, the Peace Builders Committee is organizing community events where the quilt will be displayed and there will be opportunities to learn more about the meaning of the quilt squares created by the young men talking about their work will be presented to leaders and citizens across Springfield. The goal of these events is to spark community conversations about what Springfield needs to do to address the issues raised by these young men and their quilt and build greater peace in our community. The quilt was on public display at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield as a part of the Noir V: Resilience exhibition (June 13-September 2) (image below). The Outlet will be the ultimate home for the quilt. 

 

 

The Springfield Outlet-Rotary quilt will also be loaned for displays at national quilting expositions and museums along with the estimated 45 other community quilts created to date by SJSA to give voice to those who are often not heard by their communities and country.