Lynda & Katherine
The Commale family—Anthony, Lynda, Katherine and Joseph—have teamed up to fight malaria through church, community and local schools.
Seven-year-old Katherine and her family have been raising awareness and money for bed nets with their Netraiser Team, ONE BED NET AT A TIME. It was the 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.
The Commales were recently featured with Nothing But Nets in a New York Times article about the rising number of youths raising for charity. To date, Katherine and her mother have raised $50,000.
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 over $10,000, reaching their fundraising 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.
In May 2007, Lynda gave bed net presentations to Ancillae-Assumpta Academy, where her husband Anthony is a 7th and 8th grade math teacher. The school made a pledge to bring awareness to the tragic malaria situation in Africa. St. Joseph’s University head basketball coach, Phil Martelli, joined Lynda at the school’s sports luncheon where he spoke about the importance of leadership and the Commales’ mission.
It's pretty simple folks. Spend $10. Send a net. Save a life.
Please help us send more bed nets to Africa by either joining or sponsoring our team, ONE BED NET AT A TIME.
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Comments
Great!
Created by Sarabeth on 27 Jul 08 11:33 AM CDT
Great job Katherine Are whole familys proud Love, Gass family
VBS
Created by Laura on 11 Jul 08 04:29 PM CDT
I was very impressed with your mission. I can't wait to share it with our kids at our VBS program in angola, New York.
I would like to Join
Created by Carmen Harris on 24 Jun 08 12:26 PM CDT
I have a friend in Africa who has suffered from Malaria and would like to help get him back to the states. Where he can get the help he needs. He is to be released from the hospital tomorrow June 25, 2008. Could you please help in some way.
Mosquito net for a school in Kenya.
Created by Joshua Machinga on 04 Jun 08 04:16 AM CDT
Dear Lynda & Kathrines' Team, Greetings from Common Ground Program (CGP) based in Kitale, Kenya. CGP is a registered Kenyan non-governmental community-based organization with its headquarters in Kitale , Kenya . CGP’s mission is to help mitigate poverty, the single largest threat to human well-being and social stability in Kenya . Poverty breeds hunger, disease, illiteracy and environmental degradation. It also sharpens civil conflicts. To this end, CGP strives to reduce poverty while conserving the Earth's natural heritage and biodiversity, and to demonstrate in a concrete, observable way that modern human societies can live sustainably and comfortably in harmony with nature. CGP founded and operates a primary school ( Pathfinder Academy ) with grades 1-8, with over 360 students, mainly orphans and vulnerable children. Each year students and faculty go out to groups such as AIDS widows groups to teach them Biointensive growing methods in order to help them become self-reliant and attain food security. As a result of its community service, the school has received awards from the Ministry of Education for four consecutive years for being the best school in reaching out to communities. Experiences gained at Pathfinder Academy have been shared with many others through local media and international forums, which are being replicated in Tanzania , Zambia , Nepal and UK . CGP works with communities to use and adapt their existing technologies and resources; helps strengthen local institutions; uses participatory methodologies; brings in expertise to focus on the needs of the community; is gender sensitive; promotes income generation; promotes environmental protection; and implements childhood education and protection programs CGP is seeking your support towards its school project. we seeking to provide mosquito nets to our school who are suffering from Malaria. We have at least 3-10 cases of Malaria everyday. The net that costs about $4 will do as miracles. Your thoughts and assistance will be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to hear from you. Blessings, Joshua Machinga.