Nothing But Nets

Lynda & Katherine

Eight-year-old Katherine and her family have been raising awareness and money for bed nets with their NET-Raiser Team, ONE BED NET AT A TIME.

To date, Katherine and her mother have raised more than $100,000, and have also raised global awareness to the malaria situation in Africa.

It was the 2006 PBS program "Malaria: Fever Wars" that compelled Lynda to take action, as she learned not only of the devastating impact of malaria, how it kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds, but also of the incredible ease by which this deadly disease can be prevented—by sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net.  At the mere age of 5, Katherine understood the importance of bed nets and wanted to send them to Africa right away!

Katherine and Lynda made their first bed net presentation during Labor Day Weekend 2006 at their church in Pennsylvania. To reach the church youngsters, they displayed actual bed nets, performed skits, crafted bookmarks and used a handmade diorama, constructed by Katherine and her three year-old brother Joseph. During the holiday season, children from Katherine's church and local community as well as her neighborhood friends and even her little brother hand-decorated over 600 gift certificates, allowing gift givers to purchase bed nets in honor of a friend, teacher or family member. The certificates were a huge success, and by Christmas, Katherine and her mother had raised more than $10,000, reaching their fund raising goal for 2006.

In early 2007, Katherine and Lynda participated in the NothingButNets.net launch in NYC where they were honored for their fund raising efforts. In front of bright lights and cameras, Katherine used her handmade diorama to show how a mosquito net covers a sleeping family in their home. It was an exciting time and they were thrilled to share their story, which has spread nationally through United Methodist Churches.

On April 25, 2007, Africa Malaria Day, Katherine and her parents attended the first ever Malaria Awareness Day at the White House in Washington, DC. They had the opportunity to hear the First Lady and President speak about the nation’s dedication to preventing this heartbreaking and debilitating disease. They also had the chance to spend time with Kyle Korver, Philadelphia 76ers Nothing But Nets Representative. Katherine enjoyed the African dance performance and especially enjoyed the President’s drumming and dancing.

Katherine and Lynda have continued to give bed net presentation to schools and churches, some of them including Mann Elementary School in Philadelphia,PA, Ancillae-Assumpta Academy in Wyncote, PA and Malvern UMC. 

In April of 2008, they attended the Annual Conference for the United Methodist Church where Katherine spoke to over 6,000 international Bishops and lay people about her efforts.  When asked what her goal was, she innocently responded, "When everyone who needs a bed net, gets a bed net!" 

Not long after the conference, The Commales were featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer and amazingly on the front page of The New York Times.

During summer vacation Katherine had a blast in NYC while playing "model" for a day.  She did a photo shoot for Good Play Magazine, published through Macy's Department Store and FAO Schwartz.  The magazine will feature Katherine's amazing commitment to bed nets and helping kids 

Most recently, Katherine participated in the Clinton Global Initiative where she represented Nothing But Nets and the amazing grassroots efforts of children and adults throughout the world to help eliminate malaria in Africa. On the same day, she and Lynda were both featured live on CNN! 

The Commale family looks forward to a night of Nothing But Nets celebration with the United Methodist Eastern Conference, including Bishop Johnson, at their church Hopewell UMC.

The Commale family—Anthony, Lynda, Katherine and Joseph—will continue to fight malaria and hope you will join them. 

It's pretty simple folks. Spend $10. Send a net. Save a life.

Join Lynda & Katherine's team

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