The five Rotary clubs of Kauai have teamed up for an End Polio Now benefit concert Saturday. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. at Kauai Beach Resort and features popular Hawaiian musical group Na Leo and singer Amy Hanaialii Gilliom,
The five Rotary clubs of Kauai have teamed up for an End Polio Now benefit concert Saturday.
The show begins at 6:30 p.m. at Kauai Beach Resort and features popular Hawaiian musical group Na Leo and singer Amy Hanaialii Gilliom, who will be accompanied by her trio and Kauai keyboardist Michael Ruff.
North Shore-based Indian jazz guitarist Amit Heri has been tapped to kick off the special occasion.
With World Polio Day on Thursday, Oct. 24, Ron Margolis, president of the Rotary Club of Kapaa, said the idea was for each of the Hawaiian Islands to get together and do something to raise both awareness and money.
“It feels like a good thing to put our heart, our care and our energy into,” he said. “It’s also a lot of fun that all five clubs are working together.”
The concert is sponsored by the five Rotary clubs on Kauai as part of Rotary International’s quest to eradicate polio from the planet, according to a release for the event. Since Rotary International began this program in 1985, the number of polio-endemic countries has decreased dramatically, from 125 to three.
Polio, a disease that cripples children, was eliminated in the United States in the 1950s by vaccination.
During the Saturday event, Rotary Humanitarian Awards will be presented in each of five categories: Firefighter/water safety officer, police officer, healthcare worker, social worker and teacher.
Net proceeds from the concert will be matched 2-for-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and will go to The Rotary Foundation’s Polio Plus initiative.
The concert takes place on national Make a Difference Day.
“This is something kind of different for us,” Margolis said of the show. “I hope a lot of people come.”
Tickets range from $40 to $75 per person and are available online at www.kauaiendpolionow.com.
Info: Ron Margolis, ron@hawaiilife.com or 346-7095.