Nothing But Nets

Dozens of people have already signed up to Sleep Out to End Malaria on April 24, World Malaria Day Eve. Join this team  of caring individuals leading the charge to show world leaders they are committed to saving lives from malaria.

Join the movement: Sign up to Sleep Out to End Malaria on April 24, 2010.

Why World Malaria Day? April 25 is a time of year when millions of people around the world join together to show their commitment to ending malaria deaths by 2015. This NET-work includes governments, countries, celebrities, non-profits, companies, and people like YOU. 

While Houston-area boy scouts celebrated the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary with their “An Adventure of a Lifetime” event at Minute Maid Park a couple weeks ago, they also learned that they have the power to be leaders in a life-saving adventure: helping to end malaria deaths.

Nothing But Nets joined the event by quizzing scouts’ knowledge of malaria through trivia questions. I was completely impressed! It was inspiring to meet young leaders that are aware of the impacts of malaria and determined to make a difference in their own communities. Many scouts are learning about Malaria 101 with their troops. Others are performing skits to their peers in their schools and communities to spread the buzz and the opportunity to send nets and save lives. Keep up the great work in Houston!

Last night I attended a screening at American University of a new documentary film, “When the Night Comes.” Directed by Bobby Bailey (who you may know through his work with Invisible Children), the film follows Bobby and two friends as they learn about malaria when traveling through northern Uganda meeting mothers, youth, health workers, and children who are all affected by this disease. The film is incredibly compelling –  funny at times and tragic at others – but most importantly I walked away feeling inspired and hopeful that we can come together and work to end malaria deaths by 2015.

“When the Night Comes” will soon be available on the Nothing But Nets Store, but you can watch the film trailer at www.WhenTheNightComes.com.

Co-authored by Andrea Gough

What do NBA legend Scottie Pippen, actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin from Superbad) and the Dallas community have in common?  They all saved a life at All-Star!

Fans from across the country came out to “Sink a Net. Save a Life.” during NBA All-Star weekend. Nothing But Nets’ founding partner, NBA Cares, donated $10 to send a life-saving bed net for every shot made on our hoop at Jam Session. It may be that love was in the air because of Valentine’s Day, or it may be that our awesome supporters are also great athletes, but basketball fans wore their hearts on their sleeves and sank 2,500 life-saving shots! Now that’s what we call being an All-Star!

Check out some of our footage on Flickr.

World Malaria Day, April 25, is just two short months away! This is a day when everyone around the world shows their commitment to eradicating malaria, and this year is no different.

We have a goal to end malaria deaths by 2015. To achieve this goal, we need to show world leaders that there is a large group of Americans committed to stopping malaria in Africa. We think world leaders will pay attention if we come together for one night to show the strength of our community.

That’s why we need you, your friends, family, and neighbors to Sleep Out to End Malaria on the eve of World Malaria Day – April 24, 2010. Let’s show families in Africa and world leaders that they’re not alone in the fight against malaria. You’ve already been sending nets and saving lives; now it’s time to join the movement and unite with thousands of others to Sleep Out to End Malaria, on April 24, 2010, World Malaria Day Eve.

It might come as little surprise to you that many mosquitoes roam the Nile Valley.  They also did so 3,000 years ago, and experts think they even killed one of the most powerful figures in Egyptian history: Tutankhamen, aka King Tut. A recent DNA-based study points to malaria as the probable cause of death for the nineteen year-old pharaoh.

This is a reminder that malaria, one of the deadliest diseases in human history, is also one of the oldest. Some experts claim that it even predates humanity! 

There's something big coming to the Lone-Star State from February 11-14 … it involves tall athletes, revolves around nets, and creates a lot of buzz wherever it goes…

Well, make that two big things: Nothing But Nets and NBA All-Star 2010!

Exactly two years ago, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Dallas City Council Member Angela Hunt declared February 4-10, 2008 Nothing But Nets Week, and many of you helped us spread the buzz around town to send nets to save lives in Africa. This year, we’re excited to come back to Dallas to join NBA Cares, one of our founding partners, at NBA All-Star’s Jam Session.

From Thursday through Saturday, Nothing But Nets will be at NBA All-Star Jam Session at the Dallas Convention Center, and we’d love to see you if you’re in the area! Everyone who stops by our booth will have a chance to join NBA players in saving lives — and it couldn’t be easier: Sink a Net. Save a Life. For every NBA fan — from preteens to pros — who sinks a net on our Nothing But Nets basketball hoop during the All-Star Jam Session, NBA Cares will donate $10 to send a life-saving net to Africa!

If you can’t make it, follow us on Twitter @NothingButNets or on Facebook for live updates, and tell your friends!

This weekend is all about fun, friends and basketball — the chance to save a life only makes it better. Remember, long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets are the best Defense! Defense! Defense!

Hope to see you there! 

Earlier this week Bill Gates posted his second Annual Letter on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website. In it, he talks about the importance of innovation across a spectrum of issue areas – including malaria. He writes:

“Two years ago, Melinda and I challenged the health field to set a goal of eventually eradicating malaria. Because it is such a widespread disease, the foundation has backed a number of different types of innovations. In 2005 we helped fund a medium-risk pilot project in Zambia to test having most people in an area sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets and spray the inside of their house with insecticides. These interventions have proven to reduce malaria substantially, and other partners have now taken the lead on the large-scale delivery of these interventions.”

Now comes the shout out! That’s right…Bill Gates recognizes the impact that YOU are having by raising funds for life-saving bed nets:

“There has been a dramatic increase in bed net usage thanks to donations from individuals (some through church organizations and Nothing But Nets), the Global Fund, and rich governments.”

You can read the rest of Bill Gates’ Annual Letter here. 

Last month, one of our long-time supporters from Georgetown University and the Malaria Awareness Project, together with a number of campus organizations, spearheaded “Global Hip Hop 101, a Malaria Benefit Concert”, benefitting Nothing But Nets. Georgetown sponsored several West African artists to perform on campus with the goal of spreading awareness about African Hip-Hop as well as social justice and global health. 

Noting that malaria is such a major issue in Africa with far-reaching consequences, the Malaria Awareness Project selected Nothing But Nets as the beneficiary of their efforts. It was a night of music, fun, and creativity that helped to send life-saving bed nets to Africa!
 

Earlier this fall, one of our young supporters decided to take Nothing But Nets to the streets in a 22-mile bike ride. For her Bat Mitzvah project, Samantha Collins recruited support from family and friends to spread the buzz about malaria leading up to the lengthy bike race. 

She had been inspired to support Nothing But Nets after she learned that she could make a difference and send a bed net for just $10. In response to her efforts, she says, “Next thing I know, I am receiving generous checks to go towards nets in Africa!” Samantha raised enough to send 81 nets! 

As you have probably seen, the images of the devastating earthquake in Haiti are heartbreaking. The last 48 hours and the coming days continue to be critical to relief efforts.  While we have lost many UN friends and colleagues, the UN will stay on the front lines of the relief effort during this critical period.

At the UN Foundation, our team has joined these relief efforts, committing $1 million in aid to Haiti already, and is working with the United Nations to coordinate relief efforts through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). 

Update from Haiti: Our own Dr. Dan Carucci (VP, Global Health at the UN Foundation) is delivering medical supplies in Port-au-Prince.

Let’s begin 2010 with some exciting news: You helped to raise enough money to reach our goal of sending life-saving nets to more than one million refugees in Africa – congratulations! We are so proud to have supporters like you on the Nothing But Nets campaign.

In 2009 we teamed up with the United Nations Refugees Agency and began delivering your nets and Messages of Hope to families in camps in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Watch this special video to see a message of thanks from the refugees you’ve protected from malaria.

Thank you for sending nets and saving lives. Keep up the good work – we’re on our way to covering the African continent with nets!

Last night, celebrity Ashton Kutcher, the #1 followed person on Twitter, won an award for “Favorite Web Celeb” at the People's Choice Awards. Ashton live streamed the event - and he even brought his camera up on stage to accept his award. Then came our favorite moment: he thanked Ray Chambers, UN Special Envoy for Malaria, and our partner, Malaria No More.

Ashton said the true reward was that 90,000 people in Senegal are sleeping under bed nets, as a result of his globally-followed race against CNN to reach a million followers on Twitter last April. Remember when he vowed to play ding-dong ditch (and then did!) on UN Foundation founder and Chairman Ted Turner if he beat CNN?

We applaud Ashton for spreading the word about malaria prevention, sending nets and saving lives, and supporting our partners on a national stage. Great job, Ashton!
 

Emerging DC-area band Honor By August could kick off the New Year any number of ways, but they have decided to start on a generous note by raising awareness and an anticipated $10,000 to combat malaria.

This Friday, January 8th, the pop/rock band will benefit Nothing But Nets during their concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The Nothing But Nets team will be there and we hope you can join us! All ages are welcomed. The 9:30 Club is located at 814 V Street NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $15 and are available through www.honorbyaugust.com. 

I got the chance to talk about this great event with the band's lead singer, Michael, on local television. Check out the clip here: it's the top one on the right on the page.

On New Year’s Eve, Nothing But Nets supporters gathered at Skye Lounge in Washington, DC, to put on their party hats, sound their noisemakers, and ring in 2010 with a purpose. This celebration was unique: it was the only party in the city where guests helped send nets and save lives simply by joining in on the fun!

Thanks to our friends at Skye Lounge, a portion of ticket sales were donated to Nothing But Nets to purchase long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets for refugees in need.

Residents of the Nation’s Capital came dressed in sequins and ties to celebrate the biggest night of the year, all while helping the Nothing But Nets campaign deliver 160,000 life-saving bed nets to protect refugees in Africa by New Year Eve.

The clock is ticking. There are 24 hours and counting (more or less depending on where you live!) until the giant, glowing ball descends in Times Square, ringing in the New Year.

24 hours left to drop the New Year’s Eve ball on malaria. Have you sent a net and saved a life yet?

More than a year ago, we launched a campaign with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to send one million nets to refugees in malaria-endemic countries in Africa. Since then, we’ve delivered thousands of your nets and Messages of Hope to displaced families in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

Happy Holidays from the entire Nothing But Nets team. For all of you who are spending time with your family and friends, we hope you're relaxing and having fun!

During this time of year when the spirit of giving is all around us, we encourage you to give the gift of life today, and send a net to a refugee in Africa.

As many of us are excitedly trying on our new sweaters and scarves, sitting down to family dinners, or hoping for snow, refugees in Africa are waking up to another day in a camp, hoping they weren't bitten by a mosquito carrying malaria overnight. We think they should be waking up under a life-saving bed net instead, and starting the day with hope that their lives will someday soon return to normal. Wouldn't that be a great gift to wake up to?

Send a net and save a life today.

One more week until it’s time to toast to the New Year – hasn’t 2009 been a great year? I think it has. But what’s making this year end so great is that we have some amazing support rolling in to help us reach our goal of sending 160,000 nets to refugees by 2010. This just in: a generous anonymous donor will match your gifts up to $200,000 to help us get to the finish line!

Inspired by Rick Reilly’s $25,000 match and the NBA Cares and HP special offer to give NBA game tickets to Nothing But Nets donors, our anonymous donor was eager to get in the game. Within 24 hours, donors met Rick’s match. So $200,000 is nothing, right? We're close to our goal -- this is your chance to turn your $10 into $20! 

Still need a resolution for the New Year? How about saving lives? That’s right – you can send a net and save a life this New Year’s Eve! The United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets is rolling out the orange carpet for the biggest night of the year, and YOU are invited to the celebration.

On December 31st, join Nothing But Nets and UN Foundation staff at Skye Lounge in Washington, DC to watch the ball drop, and a portion of your ticket price will go towards the purchase of a bed net to protect a refugee in Africa from malaria. General admission is $75 for the open bar and appetizers between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., or you can include dinner as well for $100.

Click here to buy your tickets now, and be sure to use the promo code: NBN2010 so that $10 of your ticket cost sends a net and saves a life!

Get a date and save a life. That was Ashley Harrington’s idea to raise funds and awareness for Nothing But Nets at her school in Minnesota.

Ashley and her classmates at Minnesota State University Morehead (MSUM) received a compelling assignment in their leadership class: find a charity and plan a fundraiser. Ashley had seen a commercial featuring Nothing But Nets Champion Gavin DeGraw talking about the devastating effects of malaria in Africa, and knew right away what charity she wanted to support – Nothing But Nets!

Her group began planning a series of fundraisers and events to raise awareness for the cause across campus. They sold buttons at the student union and held a shoot-out at halftime of a MSUM basketball game, but their main event was the first ever Student Organization Auction.