Nothing But Nets

It’s the buzziest time of the summer for boy scouts as more than 40,000 scouts from across the nation gathered at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, for the Boy Scout National Jamboree. I had the honor of joining more than 5,000 scouts on an open field on a beautiful and sunny morning at the United Methodist Church’s Sunday service at the Jamboree. Nothing But Nets™ Champion Bishop Bickerton delivered the day’s message and talked about the important leadership role that scouts and Methodists can play to end one of the deadliest diseases in history. Bishop Bickerton then challenged the group to do what they could right then and there, and led the way with his own donation to the campaign. I was blown away by the response. The future leaders immediately stepped up to the plate as global citizens and humanitarians and collected more than $12,000 from the crowd for the purchase of 1,200 life-saving bed nets for families in Africa.

Scouts also committed to continue to spread the buzz about malaria by proudly wearing their commemorative Nothing But Nets patches with the United Methodist Church and by starting Nothing But Nets service projects in their home community. If other scouts are interested in starting a project and earning a service ribbon for the 100 Year Anniversary, make sure you check out our toolkit specifically for scouts. After all, it was through Lord Baden Powell’s experiences in Africa that inspired him to start the Scouting Movement. After 100 years of Scouting, we need to ensure his legacy carries on, and we can by helping the most vulnerable families in Africa prevent malaria.

Co-authored by Dave Burton

Part 1: Sunday, July 11
On Friday night, United Against Malaria hosted a reception for all of the partners to wrap up a great collaboration over the last year, ending with the World Cup final games this weekend. It was a great opportunity to meet the different partners, and hear about their involvement. A true highlight was listening to the stories of Kingsley Holgate's expeditions up and down the rivers of Africa distributing bed nets.

From there we headed down to the concert. This was a truly proud night for malaria. Our malaria PSAs had the full attention of 12,000 people, who also heard personal stories from two soccer players and a passionate and beautiful presentation from South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka. It was great to see the United Against Malaria logo up on the screens throughout the concert - a fantastic tribute to how far this partnership has come. We also heard from singer Andrea Bocelli and a children's choir.

Co-Authored by Dave Burton

From the very humorous comment made by the KLM pilot leaving Amsterdam that "We will be able to get going as soon as the last of the vuvuzelas are loaded," to the decked out airport, to the international flags lining all the major roadways, it is clear that World Cup fever is everywhere.

We are now down to the final two teams in the tournament, and the talk turns to who everyone is now rooting for. No matter your favorite, being here in South Africa is a source of great pride for the country, and a fantastic chance for the world to focus its attention on the continent of Africa, both for its enormous beauty and its struggles.

Tonight, during the finale concert, we will have the opportunity to share important stories about malaria throughout the performances. I hope that along with football fever, team loyalty, and a great time, people are able to see that now is the time to get involved and make a difference. We are united against malaria. Send a net. Save a life.

This week, Nothing But Nets™ teamed up with Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake to spread awareness about malaria. As the winner of last year’s MLS Cup, the soccer club met with President Obama today to receive his congratulations. 

Earlier in the week, the club co-hosted a malaria workshop with us on the Mall in front of the White House with local youth. The kids from DC Scores and the RSL Juniors soccer programs worked with Real Salt Lake players, Nothing But Nets™, and our friends at MLS W.O.R.K.S to perfect their soccer skills and learn how they can be part of the movement to send nets and save lives.

Even as I put on my Buzzkill shirt and filled my suitcase full of soccer balls to head up to the New York Red Bulls game for a Nothing But Nets/United Against Malaria title night, it was easy to take for granted the fact that malaria is not an issue that personally touches us daily.

Running very late, and with my taxi waiting outside, I rushed to grab my items for the trip and in doing so forgot the one piece of equipment that it is becoming harder to live without lately -- my blackberry. A mile down the road my kind taxi driver turned around so I could retrieve the forgotten equipment, and then finally we were on our way. Perhaps due to this frantic start, it wasn't until we were more than halfway to the train station that my taxi driver started up a conversation by asking me where I was going and what I was doing there. I shared with him that I was going to a soccer game and my teammates and I were going to have a booth set up to educate soccer fans about getting involved with malaria prevention. 

Hey New York supporters - the Buzz Tour will be in your neck of the woods on Saturday, April 17, hanging out with the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena. We’ll have a booth set up from 4:30pm onwards at soccer celebration and on the concourse. Come strike a pose with Mozzie the Mosquito, sign our giant 10-foot soccer ball to show your support for ending malaria deaths in Africa, and receive free give-aways from our team! 

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!

Last week's San Francisco Bay Area City Tour, our 17th, was a fantastic success! The biggest highlight of the week was at our supporter rally in the heart of San Francisco on Wednesday, where our supporters heard from the Nothing But Nets team and partners and had the opportunity to sign our giant Message of Hope. We had challenged the city to achieve at least 200 signatures to unlock funds from a generous donor who would send 1,000 bed nets. Not only did we reach our goal, but we nearly doubled it! 

We were thrilled to be joined by the UN Refugee Agency once again and are excited to send this Message of Hope with bed nets to a refugee settlement in the near future. And of course, we got to meet and thank many of our supporters - the true heroes in the effort to end malaria.

It’s time for another Nothing But Nets City Tour – our 16th – and we’re not traveling far from home this time. From June 13-23, we’ll be hosting events in our nation’s capital – Washington, DC. With World Refugee Day on June 20, we’ll be joining all of our DC partners and local supporters, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to help fulfill the need for hundreds of thousands of bed nets for refugees in Africa. The week is filled with lots of fun stuff for you to participate in, so we hope to see you at one or more of these events! Check out the lineup below and RSVP to our events on the Nothing But Nets Facebook fan page, too!

• Nothing But Nets Night with D.C. United: Come out to watch a soccer game against the Chicago Fire, and stop by our table on the concourse! You can purchase tickets on the D.C. United website. 7:30pm, Saturday, June 13; RFK Stadium
  
  
• Nothing But Nets Kick-off Rally: We are gathering with all of our local partners, including mascots for the local sports teams at the US Navy Memorial where Councilman Jack Evans will be proclaiming it Nothing But Nets Week in DC. Partners include DC First Lady Mrs. Michelle Fenty, The United Methodist Church, D.C. United, NBA Wizards, WNBA Mystics, Union for Reform Judaism, Washington Bayhawks, Washington Kastles, UNHCR, and more! At the event, we will recognize all of our local supporters, so come on out. RSVP to info@nothingbutnets.net. 11:30am-12:30pm, June 16; U.S. Navy Memorial; 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Keep reading for more events and details about the City Tour!

This Friday, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church is teaming up with the Harlem Globetrotters to raise awareness and funds to prevent malaria! Through the New England Conference, for just $30, you can attend the February 19th Harlem Globetrotters game, the March 21st Springfield Falcons hockey game, and make a $10 donation to Nothing But Nets. Please visit www.neumc.org/globetrotters to purchase tickets.
 
Want to get involved but live too far away? You can also donate the cost of a ticket which will be given to a child at the local Boys and Girls Club or Shriner’s Hospital so that he or she can get a chance to attend the game and join in the fun!  Check out www.neumc.org/globetrotters for details.

Boston was truly an amazing city tour. The Museum of Science allowed us to put up a bed net display in a key location in their lobby and this enabled us to speak with hundreds of very engaged people, both young and old. Children were able to climb onto the cot under the bed net to get a sense of how it works and both parents and children wrote very special messages of hope to refugees in Africa. It was a wonderful start to our tour!

That Sunday, the Nothing But Nets team presented at a Union for Reform Judaism breakfast.  The ideas and energy in the room were completely inspiring. The group of people, gathered from four different temples, want to work together to create a very successful Nothing But Nets fundraiser and are very anxious to get started!

Today we started our 14th Nothing But Nets City Tour in Boston and we hope to meet you while we’re out there! We’ll be in the New England neighborhood until January 29th, so there are plenty of opportunities to see you at our various events.

We’re beginning our tour today with our bed net display exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. You can take pictures with Mozzie the Mosquito, watch a video to learn about Nothing But Nets, and take home some give-aways.  The exhibit will be up today until 9pm, and all day on Saturday and Sunday....

Nothing But Nets is thrilled to be in Los Angeles this week as a featured charity of the Major League Soccer Cup and MLS W.O.R.K.S!  In addition to educating soccer fans, we have been out and about on the UCLA, USC and California State University campuses with our mosquito mascot, Mozzie, and our bed net display.  We’ve talked to hundreds of college students about ways that they can get involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign.

Today, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., we will have our 50 bed net exhibit for you all to view on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  Come and see this amazing exhibit, talk with our Nothing But Nets team members, and get your picture taken with Mozzie!  We have felt more than welcomed and completely energized by the city of Los Angeles, and we hope to meet even more of you today!  

Our last day in Philadelphia started off with 120 enthusiastic students at Mann Elementary School.  A classroom at Mann Elementary raised funds for Nothing But Nets for two consecutive years. We definitely thought this was something worth recognizing.  Joining our Nothing But Nets team that morning was Minister Byrd, from the Mayor’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives, and Lynda Commale, one half of the mother-daughter team that raised $60,000 for bed nets over the last couple of years. 

After viewing a couple of malaria videos and listening to an informative malaria learning session with Adrianna Logalbo, our energetic group of 4th graders were called up on stage to receive a certificate of appreciation from our campaign, as well as a very warm hug from Lynda.

Tomorrow Nothing But Nets is bringing a City Tour to Philadelphia!  Our over-sized mosquito mascot will be out and about, and we’ll have some bed net displays where you can send messages of hope to refugees in camps in Africa.  The only thing we need now is you! 

Our events kick-off on Wednesday and finish up on Friday Come check out our opening rally in Dilworth Plaza to start the events of the week.  A local choir will get things started, and then we’ll hear from our dedicated partners on what they are doing in the Philly area to combat malaria – and they’ll share how you can best get involved.  We’ll have free giveaways and an opportunity to chat with Nothing But Nets staff to get more information!