As Malaria No More’s team of 25 runners prepares for Sunday’s New York City marathon, Alistair Fernie reflects on his fundraising efforts in last year’s race:

A lot of people thought I was insane to run the New York City marathon in 2008 two and a half weeks after my wife had given birth to twins. But as an experienced charity fund-raiser, I knew that nothing would help more with getting sponsorship for Malaria No More (except perhaps running in a giant mosquito costume). Most people think marathon runners are mad. Most people think people who have young twins deserve enormous sympathy. And charity sponsorship is all about milking that “rather you than me” feeling to raise funds for a good cause – “if this guy’s prepared to go through such agony, I should give some cash!”

I decided to raise money for Malaria No More because I had come across them in my work at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York, and been impressed by the clarity of their mission. I was also about to move to Nairobi as head of the UK government’s Department for International Development office there, running the British aid programmes in Kenya and Somalia…

Read more about Alistair’s experience in Africa and his reflections on running the marathon last year for Malaria No More on the Malaria No More UK website.

The 2009 team is getting ready to run the marathon on Sunday! Go team!

Nancy Fullman is running the ING NYC Marathon for Malaria No More this Sunday. To raise money for MNM, she hosted a “Malaria Night” event, which she offered to blog about on Buzzwords:

When I moved to Seattle just over a year ago to work at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), I knew very little about malaria. I had a lot to learn given I was immediately labeled the “malaria go-to” research fellow at IHME. As I started working on projects tracking mosquito net coverage and distribution, I became increasingly interested in the “how” and “who” behind net distributions – that is, who were the organizations orchestrating the massive mosquito net campaigns and by what means were they achieving their aims. When Malaria No More advertised running spots in the NYC marathon, I jumped at the opportunity; after all, you don’t frequently get to combine two great passions – running and global health – for an incredible cause!

As a supplement to my fundraising goals, I hosted a “Malaria Night” at a local bar in Seattle (The Alibi Room). Amidst donate-n-drink specials, the highlight of the night was a date auction in which brave volunteers were auctioned off with pre-set dates donated by local businesses and individuals. From kayaking packages to a flight around Puget Sound, the date auction helped to bring in over $1,400 for Malaria No More.

Participants already are demanding that “Malaria Night” become an annual event. I guess I might have to run another marathon to beat malaria next year…

Join MNM staff on the marathon sidelines on Sunday and show your support for the Malaria No More team!

This summer, John Logsdon reinforced his credentials as Malaria No More’s foremost expert on soccer when he traveled to San Diego to take part in the inaugural Kick 4 Hope youth soccer tournament.

I had the honor and privilege of attending the first Kick 4 Hope tournament in sunny San Diego, and witness another great example of how the soccer community is rallying behind the fight against malaria in the lead up to the first World Cup on African soil!

The Kick 4 Hope tournament, established by self-professed soccer mom Kristen Chandler, was inspired by her son’s work at an orphanage in Uganda and the stories he brought back with him about the young children’s passion for the game of soccer. As a result, Kristen decided to use the global game of soccer as a bridge between kids in the U.S. and Africa, and in her words, “give [U.S.] children the chance to ‘play hard & give big’ for the children of Africa.”

Malaria No More was fortunate to be one of four non-profits selected to benefit from the first Kick for Hope tournament and gave me the opportunity to educate 1,300 youth and their parents about malaria during the spirited two day event which raised over $40,000 in support of Kick for Hope and the four charities, including just under $6,000 for Malaria No More. The Kick 4 Hope funds will be used to support the upcoming distribution of life-saving mosquito nets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the country with the second highest malaria infection rate in the world), as a part of a game changing 1.08 million net distribution, keeping children malaria-free and ready to pursue their dreams, soccer-related or otherwise.

We were thrilled to hear that Kristen plans to make the Kick 4 Hope tournament in San Diego an annual event and eventually expand the model to other cities. For more information about Kick for Hope, visit kickforhope.org.

Last week in our nation’s capital, students of Cornerstone Schools in Washington, D.C. celebrated Malaria Awareness Week with a full schedule of activities and lesson plans focused on malaria and the impact we’re having in the fight to end malaria-related deaths. Students received a visit from the our Policy Center’s own Wendy T. and had the opportunity to see what it would feel like to be under a real mosquito net.

The lessons were complemented by a classroom fundraising competition which raised more than $300 to provide life-saving mosquito nets in Africa! In addition, Mrs. Coley’s third grade class was rewarded with a special treat for raising the most money during the week – the opportunity to throw a pie in the face of Cornerstone’s Principal Lange. What a sweet treat for this great group of students who are already making a global impact and helping us to save lives!

Watch Principal Lange get pied in the face by Mrs. Coley’s class!

Join us on Sunday at db Bistro Moderne for a special North African-inspired lunch and wine pairing to benefit our fight against malaria.

Who: Executive Chef Olivier Muller is running the ING NYC Marathon for Malaria No More. To support his fundraising efforts, he’s offering a three course North African inspired menu and wine pairing with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Malaria No More.

What: Three Course Brunch with wine pairing for $65

• Moroccan Tuna Tarate: cucumber raita, chickpeas, harissa
• Traditional Moroccan Couscous: roast chicken, lamb stew, merguez sausage, chickpea ragout, harissa jus
• Chef’s selection of fall dessert

Where: db Bistro Moderne in Midtown, NYC | 55 W 44^th St (betw 5^th and 6^th Ave)

When: This Sunday, October 18^th starting at noon

How: To make reservations, call 212-391-2400

Why: Who needs a why when you have good food for a good cause?!

Earlier this week, our team received an email from Liz, whose son decided to donate his “tooth fairy money” to Malaria No More. We liked the story so much that we asked her to write a guest blog post about it. Read her charitable tale below:

Last holiday season I gave each of my children $10 to donate to a nonprofit. I gave them a few nonprofits to choose from. One of my children, Will (who is now five) chose to donate to Malaria No More to buy a bed net for, in his words, “the place with the most mosquitoes”.

Fast forward to the other day when Will lost his first tooth. Or, more accurately, when Will lost his first two teeth since the dentist had to pull them to make room for adult teeth. The tooth fairy came and gave Will $3 per tooth. The next morning I asked what Will wanted to do with the money. He shocked me by saying that he wanted to donate $5 out of the $6. Since we had just read “Three Cups of Tea”, I asked if he would like to fund a year of school for five children (by donating to a nonprofit that is currently holding a fundraiser at his school). ‘No’, said Will. ‘I want to give it to the bug place’ (which I eventually figured out was Malaria No More). ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘Because it’s more important to live than to go to school’, said Will.

Leave it to a five-year old to get to the heart of the matter. And leave it to a five-year old to remind us what a privilege it is to be a part of something as important as ending malaria.

Trying to use your last 24 days of training to get it together for the big race? Or just looking for an excuse to eat healthy in the big city? We’ve got the meal ticket for you!

db Bistro Moderne is now offering a prix-fixe “marathon menu” to NYC runners to help give them a lift during their last leg of training. Executive Chef, Olivier Muller, is running the marathon to raise awareness of Malaria No More and db Bistro is showing its support for Olivier and the fight against malaria by combining runner-friendly food and a charitable donation in the October-only dinner special. The 3-course meal will fill famished runners on tasty avocado carpaccio, delicious house-made whole wheat ravioli and sweet grape sorbet dessert for $55. The cherry on top is that every “marathon meal” includes a $10 donation to Malaria No More to help African families protect themselves from malaria.

Get more details about the “marathon menu” and special db Bistro African-inspired lunch and fundraiser here.

Last week, I was both inspired and humbled at the hands of some amazing six and seven year old students in the South Bronx. Each year, this local elementary school embarks on a penny drive competition among the classrooms to raise money for a charity selected by the winning room. The winning room from last year, a group of enthusiastic first graders, raised more than 120 pounds of change to win the competition handily. This year, that same group of students is now in the second grade, and is now learning what they can do to join in the fight against malaria.

When I was asked to spend a day speaking to first and second grade students about malaria and how young people can get involved, I was immediately thrilled with the opportunity. I expected a day filled with reading stories about malaria and passing around a mosquito net. What I didn’t expect was the level of concern, knowledge, and enthusiasm that was displayed by each of the classrooms that I visited. 15-minute presentations turned into 45-minute question and answer sessions with students quizzing me, “Why don’t you find a way to stop malaria?” and “If I can’t get malaria here, why can someone else get malaria there?” The simple questions, unfortunately, did not have simple answers.

Students listened intently as I spoke and eagerly raised their hands with questions when I finished. Afterwards, each student was asked to draw a picture from one of the malaria-related stories that I had read and to write a simple sentence describing their picture. They couldn’t wait to show me their finished products as I walked around the rooms and helped them spell “mosquito.” I was met with pictures of mosquitoes and mosquito nets and children, and I found sentences such as, “Stop the Sting” used to describe the drawings. The kids were each given the opportunity to stand under a mosquito net and to feel the material, which helped them to see exactly what their efforts could provide. Empowered by the notion that, even though they were only kids, they could still do something to make a big difference and literally save lives, students from different classrooms declared that they would win the penny war this year and that all of the change that was collected throughout the school would be used to buy mosquito nets just like the one they got to stand under.

While the winning room of the penny drive has yet to be determined, to say that the eagerness and passion displayed by the first and second graders at a local elementary school in the South Bronx was inspiring would be an understatement. Asked at the end of the day by a second-grader if I would be returning to teach the students again on Monday, a young girl interrupted before I could answer with, “Miss Lacey can’t come back Monday. She has to stop malaria on Monday.”

Lacey is the new Marketing Associate at Malaria No More and star soccer player on the MDGs 2015.

Melinda & Brabs

This weekend, I had the huge pleasure of traveling to Road Atlanta with American Idol alum—and Malaria No More supporter extraordinaire—Melinda Doolittle. Melinda was on hand to cheer the Patron Highcroft Race team and support their Miles To End Malaria program. During Saturday’s race, the team crossed the $50,000 fundraising mark and are still accepting donations at MilesToEndMalaria.org as they get ready for the last race of the season on October 10th in California.

The weekend was packed-full with drama. First, Highcroft suffered a crash during a practice run on Thursday. Luckily, no one was hurt and the team rebuilt the car, from the ground up, in 24 hours. The team effort was astounding!

Melinda joined us on Saturday morning to sing the national anthem (beautifully) and wave the green flag to signal the start of the race. We then slipped into fire suits and joined the team in the pit lane—an amazing experience.

To cap it off, Patron Highcroft Racing earned enough championship points to stay at the top of the leader board heading into the last race of the ALMS season.

Vote for your favorite American Le Mans Series star for the annual “From the Fans” award! There are five people up for consideration for “who made the biggest impact this year?” award and one of them is Patron Highcroft Racing’s own Duncan Dayton!

Duncan is not only the owner of the first-place team, he is also one of the driving forces (pun absolutely intended) behind the Miles To End Malaria campaign. The program has raised nearly $50,000 to fight malaria in Africa, saving lives with every lap around the track!

Duncan is making impact both on and off the grid—if there were a “From the Humanitarians” award, he’d be a shoo-in! Help us give Duncan the recognition he deserves and vote today. You can also vote for favorite driver—both Scott Sharp and David Brabham have been nominated. We can’t choose between these two great guys…they’re both favorites of Malaria No More’s!