Diamond Park will be the site of a fun event Wednesday with an important cause — eradicating polio. The Butler A.M. and P.M. Rotary clubs will compete against each other by tossing frozen turkeys at a set of bowling pins from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the park across from the courthouse on Main Street.

Those attending the event who contribute $5 or more toward polio relief can also take a crack at rolling a turkey for the chance to win a prize.

When Rotary International launched its Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year in 125 countries, according to a news release from Leslie Osche, president of the Butler P.M. Rotary.

Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9%, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan recording cases of poliovirus.

Rotary International has contributed more than $2.1 billion toward ending the paralyzing disease since launching the initiative. “Butler County's many Rotary clubs have contributed nearly a half of a million dollars to Polio Plus since its inception in 1985,” Osche said.

The Rotary club that loses the competition at Diamond Park will match the amount raised, Osche said.

She looks forward to a fun event that raises lots of money for polio relief.

“We all need a good laugh right now,” Osche said.

Once the competition is complete, the turkeys will be roasted and donated to local animal rescue organizations to use for food, she said.

The county commissioners at their Wednesday meeting issued a proclamation recognizing World Polio Day on Oct. 24.