Nothing But Nets

At the halftime show of last night’s MLS game between D.C. United and the Chicago Fire, Makita presented Nothing But Nets with a giant $100,000 check to represent their gift to the Campaign – and I was the lucky one to accept on behalf of the UN Foundation and Nothing But Nets!

Five minutes before half-time I went to our Nothing But Nets booth (we got to pass out t-shirts to donors and talk to fans about malaria) to be escorted down to the field with Ryan McKenna from Makita and D.C. United’s Nothing But Nets spokesman, Ben Olsen. There were 10 excited girls each holding a sign that said “Saving 1,000 Lives” which was is a brilliant representation of the more than 10,000 lives saved by this generous donation. All 13 of us were ushered onto the field, cameras rolling, and Ryan from Makita presented us with the giant check that will shortly be put to use covering African children with protective bed nets.

Students from Holy Family Catholic Academy in Inverness, Illinois, commemorated World Malaria Day by giving a presentation about malaria and Nothing But Nets to their community. For weeks leading up to April 25, 2008, students were busy following curriculum written specifically about malaria and the Nothing But Nets campaign in preparation for the World Malaria Day event!

Their World Malaria Day presentation included skits by kindergartners dressed as mosquitoes, facts about government and biomes in Africa given by third-graders and fourth-graders, and personal stories about children who have suffered the devastating effects of malaria told by fifth-graders. The event concluded with sixth-graders challenging each person in the audience to be a hero in the lives of children in Africa. Contributions were accepted for books written about malaria by first-graders and lemonade sold by second-graders.

When it comes down to it, some kids just know how to throw a party.

Just ask Henry Leue. He recently came across the Nothing But Nets blog about ten year-old Naomi Kodama turning her birthday party into a chance to help others. She threw a party where her guests were able to donate money for life-saving bed nets.
After reading Naomi’s blog, Henry was inspired to use his tenth birthday for good, too. Instead of hosting the small party with family and friends that his mother had intended, Henry turned his birthday gathering into an event to support JCI’s fund-raising efforts for the Nothing But Nets campaign!

When I woke up April 25th, 2008, I did three things: I stretched, yawned and thought to myself, it’s World Malaria Day! As an intern for the Nothing But Nets campaign, World Malaria Day is a big deal to me. I was excited to head over to American University, where my colleague Kate Kovarovic, AU Professor Gemma Puglisi and a senior PR Portfolio class had developed an amazing project to raise awareness for Nothing But Nets.

The Most Reverend George J. Rassas, Vicar for Vicariate I in the Archdiocese of Chicago, recently presented teens from The St. Anne Catholic Community in Barrington, Illinois with the Youth Leadership Award for their involvement in the Nothing But Nets campaign.

The teens launched the Nothing But Nets campaign in their community by presenting the devastating effects of malaria and the life-saving solutions to an audience of several thousand people. In the following months, the community responded by generously contributing to the Campaign. The presentation included a skit with children dressed like mosquitoes, volunteers sleeping under a bed net, and a resounding challenge to the audience to take part in the Nothing But Nets Campaign!

For World Malaria Day, a group of UMC members thought they would show their support for Nothing But Nets by biking for 238 miles! The group started the four-day bike ride in Montgomery, TX and concluded in Ft. Worth, TX. View the map of their ride! Several churches along the route opened their doors to cyclists, providing them with food and a place to sleep. The ride ended on April 23rd, marking the first day of General Conference, a gathering of United Methodists from all over the world.

The bikers originally set a fund-raising goal of $100,000.  After nearly 240 miles, hundreds of individuals contacted for donations, and untold man hours of effort, the Nothing But Sweat bike riders raised $156,144.00!  Check out the Nothing But Sweat blog if you’d like to see more pictures from the event, and congratulations to everyone!

Ted Turner, Rick Reilly and the mosquito just rang the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closing bell. That closes the first annual World Malaria Day ever! The NYSE floor was crazy and everyone loved the mosquito- just as we had hoped.

So even though the bell has rung, our efforts at Nothing But Nets aren't over. Keep on sending nets and saving lives!