Nothing But Nets!!

Okay this is our socially responsible blog post. There won't be that many so calm down. I just can't help it, I got so excited by something I was recently involved in.

Here's the deal, each year, about 1.1 million people (90% children) die from malaria, and at least a million more from complications such as severe anemia. Despite this, there is a simple solution to prevent malaria deaths. For just $10, Nothing But Nets purchases a treated bed net, delivers it to a family, and explains how to use it. Doing so has been shown to cut the deaths by more than HALF - just by sleeping under a net!

I love this idea because it is such a SIMPLE solution to a huge problem. No expensive drugs, no complicated treatment - just a simple mosquito net! I agree with the New York Times and the Washington Post that this is a "genuinely historic achievement."

It turns out that Bill Gates agrees with that too, which brings me to the point of my post. He was so excited by the results of this campaign, he pledged to match personally any donations given. When the Vice President of my division heard about these he agreed to double match any donation over $100 and Microsoft already matches our donations to any charitable organization. So I decided, okay, I will donate $100. Here's what happened:
1. I donated $100 (10 nets)
2. My Vice President double matched it - $100+$200=$300 (30 nets)
3. Microsoft matched that - $300+$300=$600 (60 nets)
4. Bill Gates matched that - $600+$600=$1200 (120 nets!!!!!)

That could potentially protect an entire village. Anyway, I just thought it was really cool to be part of this campaign that is saving lives in such a simple way!