Nothing But Nets

WASHINGTON, DC (November 14, 2006)—The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) announced today the launch of Nothing But Nets – a grassroots campaign asking individuals to donate $10 to “send a net, save a life.” Each $10 donation pays for an insecticide-treated bed net, distributes it to a family in need in Africa, and provides education on its proper use to prevent malaria. Founding partners of the campaign are NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated.

This campaign was created after Sports Illustrated (SI) columnist Rick Reilly's May 5, 2006, column, "Nothing But Nets," raised $1.2 million. More than 120,000 bed nets have already been delivered in Nigeria as a result of Reilly’s call to readers who had "ever cut down a net, jumped over a net, watched the New Jersey Nets, worn a hair net, surfed the net, or thought of Angelina Jolie in fishnets" to donate $10 to purchase insecticide-treated nets.

“Send a net. Save a life. It’s that simple,” said Andrea Gay, Director of Children’s Health Programs at the UN Foundation and Program Director for Nothing But Nets. “Malaria is a leading cause of death in Africa and one of the most preventable diseases world-wide. We know that together we can stop the spread of malaria in a simple, easy, and affordable way.”

Malaria is a disease that infects nearly 500 million people each year and kills more than one million of those who become infected. Malaria can be prevented through a simple, inexpensive measure: sleeping each night under a net treated with insecticides that kill mosquitoes or stop them from biting.

“Once you learn about the devastating effects of malaria, how this disease contributes to global poverty, and how easy it is to prevent, it is hard not to get involved,” said Kathy Behrens, Senior Vice President of Community and Player Programs for the National Basketball Association. “Our teams, players, and the league are firmly committed to this campaign.”

“We’re excited about our involvement in this campaign. The People of the United Methodist Church have been in mission across Africa for more than 160 years,” said United Methodist Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of Pittsburgh. “Our work in the area of malaria prevention made Nothing But Nets a natural partner for us. There are many ways to stop the spread of malaria, but buying a bed net for a family in Africa is something that almost everyone can do. We hope that everyone will join us and our other partners in support of this effort.”

Several global agencies of The United Methodist Church will launch supporting campaigns to educate and raise money for bed nets. The church is creating a special Web page through www.UMC.org in conjunction with www.NothingButNets.net. The People of the United Methodist Church are making Nothing But Nets a focal point of their youth outreach program. The efforts will culminate at the Youth 2007 gathering in Greensboro, N.C., in June 2007. More than 10,000 young people are expected to attend this event.

"This is the all-time no-brainer," said SI's Rick Reilly. "No governments to topple, no disease to cure, no warlords to fight. Ten bucks puts a net over a kid -- sometimes two and three kids -- and saves their lives. For the price of a new CD, you just saved two lives. It's such a good feeling; the country is starting to get behind it. And that's a very cool net result."

Rick Reilly visited Nigeria the week of November 6, 2006, and his follow-up column on the campaign will appear in the December 4 issue of Sports Illustrated, which will appear on newsstands on or around November 28.

To distribute the nets throughout communities in Africa throughout 2007 and 2008, Nothing But Nets has partnered with the Measles Initiative -- an integrated health campaign whose partners include the American Red Cross, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the UN Foundation. The Measles Initiative is one of the most successful vaccination efforts ever. The campaign will also fund education on the use of bed nets.

Additional partners for the campaign include AOL Black Voices, Malaria No More, and VH-1. To learn more about Nothing But Nets, visit www.NothingButNets.net.

About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.

About NBA Cares
NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. During the first year of NBA Cares, teams, current and former players, and the league office contributed 205,000 hours of hands-on volunteer service, raised more than $32 million for charity, and created 109 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including UNICEF, Reading Is Fundamental, Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Feed the Children, Special Olympics, KaBoom!, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and many others. Visit: www.nba.com/nba_cares.

About The People of The United Methodist Church
The People of The United Methodist Church have been in mission across Africa for more than 160 years. The denomination’s work in the area of malaria prevention makes it a natural partner for Nothing But Nets. Several global agencies of The United Methodist Church will launch supporting campaigns to educate and raise money for bed nets. The church is creating a special Web page through www.UMC.org in conjunction with www.NothingButNets.net in November.

About the United Nations Foundation
The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems and also works to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. The UN Foundation is a public charity. For a complete listing of UN Foundation grants and programs or to learn more about the United Nations Foundation, visit www.unfoundation.org.

About Sports Illustrated
The initial outreach for Nothing But Nets was accomplished through Rick Reilly’s column in Sports Illustrated, where he encouraged sports enthusiasts to donate $10 to the United Nations Foundation for the purchase of anti-malaria bed nets to help save a life in Africa. To date, 18,000 people have responded with $1.2 million in donations. Sports Illustrated is thrilled to be a founding partner of the Nothing But Nets Campaign. Please visit Sports Illustrated and Rick Reilly at sportsillustrated.cnn.com.

Press Contacts:
Katherine Miller
Communications Director
United Nations Foundation
(o) 202.778.1622
(e) kmiller@unfoundation.org

Amy DiElsi
Press Secretary
United Nations Foundation
(o) 202.419.3230
(e) adielsi@unfoundation.org