Would you spend ten dollars to save a child’s life? If it seems too simple, that’s because it is. And that’s what makes the Nothing But Nets campaign so incredible.
Nothing But Nets is a global grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria–the leading killer of children in Africa. For just ten dollars, you can provide a child with a life-saving anti-malaria bed net. It’s really that easy.
Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, who asked each of his readers to donate at least $10 for a bed net, the campaign is now thousands strong, with partners such as the UN Foundation, NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated, VH1, The People of the United Methodist Church, the Mark J. Gordon Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (In fact, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have recently awarded a challenge grant to Nothing But Nets, meaning they’ll match donations dollar for dollar up to $3 million!)
I had the pleasure of going to a Nothing But Nets event yesterday at the NBA store in New York City, and the excitement around the campaign was amazing.
In addition to featuring Rick Reilly and representatives from the campaign partners, perhaps the most convincing attendees were six-year old Katherine Commale and her mother, Lynda. After viewing a PBS program on Malaria and learning how the disease kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds, Katherine and Lynda decided to take action. To date, they have raised over $10,000 for the campaign.
If a six-year old can do it, so can we. So please, spread the word about Nothing But Nets and start saving lives one net at a time.
To learn more about Malaria, click here.
To join the campaign, or to help out, click here.