Nothing But Nets

The Nothing But Nets team is planning for 2011 and wants your opinion! Take our quick survey -– let us know your feedback, ideas, and what you’d like to see more of from us. 

Together, we've sent more than 3 million life-saving bednets to Africa, and we're that much closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of ending malaria and reducing child mortality by 2015. 

You've joined the global movement to fight malaria with Nothing But Nets. We're powered by you and the great work you do, so tell us how we're doing and share your ideas with us!

Not even a storm and loss of electricity can stop some of you from spreading the buzz. On Sunday, July 25, the United Methodist Women of Hamilton, Virginia, hosted an African-themed event to raise awareness and support Nothing But Nets. They also provided their guests with a small taste of Africa!

Plans for music, dancing, eating, and raising awareness were only slightly dampened by a huge afternoon storm and loss of power. Undeterred, the attendees dined by candlelight and enjoyed African cuisine. Guests of the event were able to view African artwork on display while they had the opportunity to win donated door prizes, including "Best Dressed" in traditional attire.   

Despite the rain and lack of electricity, the group was able to come together and raise enough to send 40 life-saving bed nets. Great work!

Singer/actress Mandy Moore has a message for you: Help Nothing But Nets send life-saving bed nets to everyone who needs one in the Central African Republic (CAR). Check out the video to see what Mandy has to say, then send a net today!

This year, Nothing But Nets, PSI, and Mandy Moore aim to send 837,000 nets to CAR. Help us reach our goal: Send a net. Save a life. Together we can cover a continent!

In case you missed it, on August 12 I had the privilege of joining singer and actress Mandy Moore, social activist (and malaria survivor) Derrick Ashong and PSI (Population Services International) in an awesome, one of a kind event – a Malaria Town Hall hosted on Facebook. With Derrick and Mandy joining from Los Angeles and PSI expert Angus Spiers and me joining from Washington, DC – and thousands of people tuning in from across the country and the world – we hosted a live-streaming discussion about malaria, with questions from people just like you.

It was an amazing experience! Thanks to all of the partners who helped to make it possible, including Facebook, UStream, and VSee. And - thanks to all of you who joined! We had tons of questions streaming in throughout the event. So many, in fact, that we were not able to answer them all! Check out some of the “Unanswered Questions” from the town hall below.

Yesterday I had the honor of joining a cadre of young leaders -- university students and young professionals -- in Seoul, Korea, as they joined the global movement to end malaria in Africa. Nets Go! is a new initiative providing Koreans the opportunity to send nets and save lives. During a three-day exhibit in Seoul City Plaza called “Night in Africa - Safe from Malaria,” thousands of Koreans were able to experience the simplicity and beauty of a $10 (10,000 Korean won) life-saving bed net through an artistic display of illuminated bed nets. 3,000 volunteers, representing the number of lives we are working to save each day from malaria, came to the heart of Seoul to show their support for ending this deadly disease by 2015.

Move over, fish nets -- there is a new kind of netting on 5th Avenue. Meet Alexandra Taylor, a recent graduate from Parsons School of Design who has been raising awareness about malaria in a unique fashion.

When Rick Reilly wrote his article in Sports Illustrated titled “Nothing But Nets” in 2006 he talked about hoop nets, soccer nets, lacrosse nets, New Jersey Nets, dot-nets and clarinets. He never once mentioned fashion nets. But Alexandra Taylor, a Nothing But Nets™ supporter, took his words to heart and did what she does best: design clothes.

Now, you may remember last year's Ugly Betty season premiere in which Betty ran a fashion show inspired by the issue of malaria prevention that supported Nothing But Nets. Well, Betty must have taken notes from Alexandra because that is exactly what Alexandra has been doing for the past year. Her senior thesis was dedicated to incorporating the issue of malaria and the beauty of a bed net into her collection: bed net textures on blazers, soft netting material on blouses, mosquito patterns on silk belts, and more.

Alexandra hopes to continue to spread the buzz through net-inspired clothing by selling her scarves, belts, and the works to fashion (and philanthropic) minded individuals.

Join singer/actress Mandy Moore, experts from Nothing But Nets and PSI, and our moderator, Social Media Envoy Derrick Ashong on Facebook tomorrow! 

Log in, head to the Nothing But Nets fan page, and start watching at 2pm ET. Ask Mandy all your questions about malaria and learn why we're working with her to send life-saving bed nets to every family that needs one in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Then, send "Moore" nets to save more lives in CAR - together, we can save a continent!

Last Friday the Nothing But Nets campaign did something we have never done before. We took 20 NBA and WNBA players, coaches, and Legends, to kick off a distribution of 20,000 life-saving bed nets in the town of Rufisque, Senegal – a small town outside the capital, Dakar. 

As you drive into Rufisque, it’s easy to see why malaria is such a rampant killer – the town is densely populated and the aging, dilapidated infrastructure leaves pools of standing water during the rainy season we are currently in the midst of – the perfect breeding ground for the malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

When we arrived in Rufisque, the town had gathered with the local officials to welcome the NBA players and talk about the importance of sleeping under bed nets each and every night. Rufisque has a goal for 2010: no severe cases of malaria and no deaths. This bed net distribution will go a long way to making this possible.

To make the distribution manageable, we split into groups and took five different routes along main streets through the town. I headed out with NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo, Nothing But Nets Champion DeSagana Diop (Charlotte Bobcats), Danilo Gallinari (New York Knicks) and Ronny Turiaf (New York Knicks).