Charity Ball

On October 19th, 5 days before the World Polio Day, the Interact Club of Acton-Boxborough High School

in Acton held a wildly successful Charity Ball to support Polio. The $3000 raised at the ball, along with

the multiplying factors of The Gates Foundation, means that $9000 will be donated to fight the last

occurrences of polio in the world.

It all started with a small group of Interact students, rejuvenated in the last year by their new officers

determined to make a difference. Make them aware of what a dreaded, deadly disease polio once was

and tell them the inspiring story of Rotary’s journey toward eradicating it forever. Add a vibrant Rotary

advisor who challenged the students, asking “Now that you know about polio, what do you want to do

to help?” Stir in the fact that teenagers love dances but few high schools are willing to hold them, and

voila! The Charity Ball was born. The symbolism was extremely powerful - dance to raise money for

fighting the disease that affects the joints and the bones, causes muscle weakness and paralysis. The

“ticket” for the Ball was having the students’ pinkies painted in purple, holding firm to tradition during

the vaccinations against polio.

Co-Presidents Mila Rushkin and Natalie Dawn worked for over a year under the watchful eye of their

advisor DGE Diana Nestorova to decide on a project, find a venue, find ways to raise funds, assign tasks,

and work together to accomplish their goal. They found businesses willing to donate food and held bake

sales to assemble the funds they needed for refreshments and decorations. When it came to publicity,

they are young people of their time; they successfully turned to social media and over 200 students

came to the Ball from many surrounding towns and schools.

They also knew that there would need to be rules. They used numbered paper bags to store purses,

coats, etc. and prevent students from bringing in unwanted items, and students wrote the number of

the bag on their hand. They determined that once a student left, he or she could not be readmitted, and

they stood by their decision, handling individual cases with tact but determination. Once in, the kids had

a blast! The dance floor was crowded with young people, jumping, singing, and having a great time.

Rotarians who attended as chaperones were mightily impressed with how well the evening went, how

thoroughly it had been planned, and well behaved the young people were. The event shows that the

spirit of action and of giving is alive and well in the young peoples of today. They are just looking for a

way to contribute, and for this group of 24 students, Interact and End Polio gave them their purpose. As

Maureen Masciola, an Acton-Boxborough Rotary member and chaperone at the Ball said, “Here is a

group of high schoolers have taken up the polio cause, something that was not even a part of their life

experiences.” Anjali Raman, one of the Interact officers commented, “We also sought to spread

awareness that while Polio may no longer affect our country, it is our responsibility to help other

countries. Responsibility knows no borders.” That is surely the spirit of a future Rotarian! Very

impressed by the deportment of the students, the Acton-Boxborough Rotary Club President Marianne

Fleckner exclaimed: “the satisfaction you receive by partnering with our future leaders and Rotarians of

tomorrow, is priceless”.