Nothing But Nets

My name is Maddie Johnson, and I am in seventh grade. My uncle was raising money for Nothing But Nets, and I decided I wanted to help, so I wrote a letter to my principal, Mr. Fam, to ask permission to have a fundraiser at school. I told him it would help the people in Africa who may get bitten by a mosquito and possible contract malaria, and that these nets would go over the children when they sleep so they don’t have to worry about getting bitten by mosquitoes.

Each net only costs $10, and I wanted to raise at least $100. My idea was to have a bake sale. I baked large heart shaped cookies and sold them on Valentines day for $1.00 each. I asked my friends to help with the baking and we sold them during the lunch periods. We also had a donation jar for those who didn't have a dollar but who wanted to donate anyway. I told everyone in school (the teachers too) about the sale and how it would benefit families in Africa. I named the bake sale "Have a Heart. Send a Net. Save a Life."

When I wrote Mr. Fam, I had told him I thought this was a good idea because we need to help Africa because the problems there are very sad. Sometimes it seems like no one in our towns, states, and maybe even country care about Africa. We are the wealthiest country, and I can see why other countries envy us, and I told him that we can do more to help other countries with all of our money. Millions of children die unnecessarily each year because of malaria, and I told my principal that I wanted to do something about it.

I had my fundraiser on Valentines Day and it was a huge success! I ended up raising $400 from my bake sale and helped my uncle to meet his goal of $5,000, and now he’s trying to raise another $5,000! You can help too.

You can join my uncle’s team, Namaste for Nets, or start your own, and for $10, you can send a mosquito net to Africa and protect someone from malaria.