On Monday, the NBA and the United Nations Foundation launched a promotion that gets you two free tickets to an NBA game if you donate $10 or more to send an anti-malaria bed net to Africa as part of the Nothing But Nets campaign. The promotion, with corporate support from HP, runs through January 31, 2010.
Just log on to www.NothingButNets.net to send life-saving bed nets to displaced families in Africa to help protect them from malaria, the number one killer of refugees on the continent. The basketball tickets are subject to availability.
The promotion will help the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to reach its goal of protecting more than one million refugees in Africa from malaria this year.
“Thanks to the commitment of the NBA, our partners, and supporters, we’ve already covered more than 600,000 refugees with bed nets in eastern Africa this year alone,” said Nothing But Nets Director Adrianna Logalbo. “Now we hope the NBA and its fans can help us exceed our goal to protect more than one million of the world’s most vulnerable people as the need for these life-saving nets is far from over.”
ESPN sportswriter Rick Reilly, who inspired the United Nations Foundation to create the Nothing But Nets campaign through his May 2006 Sports Illustrated column, will match fan donations — net for net — up to a total of $25,000.
To date, Nothing But Nets has raised close to $30 million and has sent nearly three million nets to children, pregnant women, and refugees throughout Africa.
Long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets are one of the easiest and most cost-effective methods of preventing the disease’s spread. They create a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of malaria transmissions occur. One bed net can protect a family of four, and lasts three to five years. It costs just $10 to purchase, deliver, and educate the recipient on its proper use.
“This tremendous effort aligns with the NBA’s long tradition of addressing important health and wellness issues worldwide,” said NBA Executive Vice President Social Responsibility and Player Programs Kathy Behrens. “We know our fans care about these causes as passionately as the NBA, and we are proud to provide them the opportunity to make a life-saving donation as part of the NBA Cares Season of Giving.”
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, the people of The United Methodist Church and Sports Illustrated. It costs only $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. To learn more about Nothing But Nets or to make your life-saving donation, log on to www.NothingButNets.net .
I’d like to contribute, but this website does not seem to be secure for credit card info