As part of a worldwide effort by Rotary Clubs to help two international Rotary campaigns, Shelter Box and End Polio Now, the three local Rotary Cubs in the Dunfermline area, Dunfermline, Dunfermline Carnegie and West Fife are to join together to organise a week of activities from 20th to 27th February centred in the Kingsgate Shopping Centre and the Dunfermline Tesco Superstore at Duloch Park.

The main focus of Rotary's Thanks for Life week is End Polio Now, a campaign which local rotary clubs have been supporting for some time.

The scourge of Polio has almost been eradicated from the world. There are now only four countries left where children still get this terrible disease. Rotary International is joining with the Bill Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF in a final push to immunise those children who are still at risk.

When the children are vaccinated their pinkies are dyed purple, as a way of making sure that no child is missed, so a theme of the campaign is “purple pinkies”. To remind everyone of what the campaign is all about, the Rotary Clubs will hold Purple Pinkie Days on 26th and 27th February outside the Oasis Centre on the top floor of the Kingsgate. In return for a donation of 50 pence, the cost of the vaccine for one child, each donor will have his or her pinkie coloured purple. Inside the Oasis centre, there will be an exhibition about the End Polio Now Campaign. The Rotary Clubs will also be collecting money for the End Polio Now campaign on Saturday 27th February in the Kingsgate centre and in the Tesco superstore.

Local rotary clubs have recently been visible in raising funds for Shelter Box, including holding collections in the Kingsgate Centre in January, which resulted in the purchase of a number of Shelter Boxes to add to the many thousands already sent by Rotary clubs from around the world to aid the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. Each Shelter Box holds a tent and survival kit for up to 10 people. Now, on 26th and 27th February local Rotarians will give visitors to the Kingsgate a chance to see just what a Shelter Box is like and to take a look inside the tent.

Several schools will be coming along to the Kingsgate on 26th February or organising their own “purple pinkie” days. The Rotarians involved are keen to see lots of children with purple pinkies. They hope this week of activities will grab the public imagination and give a much-needed boost to these vital humanitarian campaigns. 

As part of their continuing efforts to aid the Haiti earthquake victims, Dunfermline Carnegie Rotary members joined forces with the children from Dunfermline's Dancepoint Dance School to organise a collection in the city's Kingsgate Centre.

Club mascot, Fergus Carnegie (pictured with children from the dance school) commented: "it's great that, along with the children, we have been able to raise over £200 from the generous folks in Dunfermline to fund Dunfermline Carnegie's purchase of a Shelter Box to send to Haiti."

Each Shelter Box kit contains a 10-person tent, a water purification system and other survival necessities. They are shipped through ShelterBox, a disaster response organisation based in the UK and supported by Rotary clubs world-wide. Over 5,000 boxes have already been shipped to Haiti, enough to help 50,000 people.

Fergus Carnegie Rotary Bear and Rotarians collected £2110 at the Kingsgate shopping centre for Shelterbox. Shelterbox is an international disaster relief charity who desperately need the funds to buy and send Shelterboxes to Haiti. Thanks to all who donated.