Nothing But Nets

We are honored to present you with the Nothing But Nets™ 2009 annual report, an inspirational story of our collective efforts to save lives from malaria over the last three years. 

It is amazing to think that this campaign has grown from an 815 word article in Sports Illustrated to an award-winning, grassroots campaign that has raised more than $30 million and distributed more than 3 million life-saving bed nets in just three years. The reason for this success is simple: YOU - the hundreds of thousands of you that have donated $10 to Nothing But Nets™ and asked your communities to also send a net and save a life.

The Nothing But Nets™ campaign has become a story of students coming together through bake sales and coin drives, of bishops and basketball players taking a shot to knock out malaria, and of CEOs and individuals alike spreading the buzz so that more and more children in Africa can sleep safely from malaria. We invite you to browse the Nothing But Nets™ 2009 annual report to see how your story has helped to grow the movement to end malaria.
 

Over the weekend we were in Los Angeles for our most recent stop of the Nothing But Nets™ Buzz Tour, and it was chock full of celebrity sightings. But the biggest celebrity of all seems to be Nothing But Nets™ itself! Everywhere we drove, from the Santa Monica pier to the soccer pitch, Los Angeles residents know about Nothing But Nets™ and were “stoked” to see us.

On Friday, the Buzz Tour hit the beach in Santa Monica and while at the 3rd Street Promenade, actor David Arquette stopped by to say how much he loved our campaign. Check out this short, high-energy video of David Arquette with Mozzie the Mosquito!  

These last few weeks have been particularly busy for the Nothing But Nets™ campaign – which is always a good sign. With the Buzz Tour making its way across the country from Chicago to Salt Lake City, to Los Angeles; an event with 2009 MLS Cup winner Real Salt Lake, MLS W.O.R.K.S., and the White House near the Washington Monument; and the World Cup kicking off next week, we have our hands full! So it's always nice to take time to pause and recognize the efforts of our partners and supporters in helping to save lives in innovative and tireless ways.

Yesterday in Chicago the Nothing But Nets™ campaign received such recognition!

I am proud to report that the Nothing But Nets™ campaign and our partner NBA Cares were honored with two awards from the Cause Marketing Forum for our partnership to prevent malaria in Africa. We won Gold and Silver awards for the Send a Net. Save a Life. See a Game. promotion we conducted with NBA Cares last December.

This week, Nothing But Nets™ teamed up with Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake to spread awareness about malaria. As the winner of last year’s MLS Cup, the soccer club met with President Obama today to receive his congratulations. 

Earlier in the week, the club co-hosted a malaria workshop with us on the Mall in front of the White House with local youth. The kids from DC Scores and the RSL Juniors soccer programs worked with Real Salt Lake players, Nothing But Nets™, and our friends at MLS W.O.R.K.S to perfect their soccer skills and learn how they can be part of the movement to send nets and save lives.

Since the Buzz Tour began in March, we’ve eaten barbeque in Kansas City, hung out with the Buckeyes in Ohio, chilled with our Champion Diego Gutierrez in Chicago, and watched soccer in Salt Lake. Along the way, we’ve met thousands of awesome Nothing But Nets™ supporters like yourself, and Mozzie has made lots of friends, too!

Take a look at some of our favorite moments on the Buzz Tour so far:

• Illinois Governor Pat Quinn declared it Nothing But Nets™ Week while we were in Chicago
• In Boston, we met with teacher Pat Mahoney’s 7th-grade class, who raised more than $18,000 to send nets and save lives!
• Our team member Danielle met a cab driver in New York who shared a moving story of why he had to leave Ghana because he was always sick with malaria

High school students in Utah have a new opportunity to get rewarded for sending nets – a summer kickoff with AMERICAN IDOL season 7 winner David Cook and Real Salt Lake in Tinto Stadium! Join the Real Salt Lake NET-Raiser team here or email Amanda Hammons to get involved with this important chance to send a net and save a life. The student who raises the most funds on the team from through June 4th will win the Ultimate Summer Kickoff Party thanks to RSL and Zions Bank!

What’s the Grand Prize? You, along with 25 of your friends, will have a limo ride to Rio Tinto Stadium, courtesy of Royal Limousine, to watch Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy, along with free food and drinks. But it doesn’t stop there - the winner also receives FRONT ROW tickets for a David Cook post game concert and a meet and greet with this AMERICAN IDOL winner! There’s never been a better time for students in Utah to get involved with Nothing But Nets™ and make a difference!

Things were really BUZZING in Georgia around the Marietta Square on Sunday, April 2, as more than 500 people joined Marietta First Baptist Church, Grammy award winning band Third Day, ONE, Sustenance Group, Malaria No More, and Nothing But Nets™ at the first annual World Malaria Day event to raise awareness and money. 

The day started early as more than 60 volunteers began streaming in to set up. The afternoon’s events started in the Marietta First Baptist Church Family Life Center. Paul Howell, internationally recognized mosquito expert for the Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4) at the Centers for Disease Control, put together a fascinating look at mosquitoes and the use of bed nets in the developing world. Nets were hung over air mattresses as a “village at night” was created for people to experience. Kids were welcomed into the village and were encouraged to sleep under a bed net – at least for a little while. The new Bobby Bailey film, “When the Night Comes,” played in the background as people experienced the night in our village. Paul Howell brought in more than 500 contained mosquitoes to demonstrate how many infectious bites a child can receive in one year, and also to show people how the mosquitoes react to the chemicals when they come in contact with treated nets.

The Nothing But Nets NET-work is hundreds of thousands of people strong – people who all joined for different reasons. Whatever the reason, we’re glad to have you as part of our team – united against malaria.

It doesn’t matter whether you joined us three years ago or yesterday, in Chicago, or in Pittsburgh – we’re all here for the same reason – to end malaria deaths by 2015.

We thought it would be fun to share why some our supporters around the world send nets and save lives. What’s your reason?

• @corgtag04 on Twitter: I send nets because no one should have to get sick when two lunches out could save their life!
• Julie Baccelli on Facebook: Because for such a simple contribution you can make a positive impact for such a preventable situation.
• @kristiwooten on Twitter: Answer is easy -- knowing that kids can get 500+ infectious bites in a year.