American Idol announced today that it will host the third-ever “Idol Gives Back” charity special on April 21, 2010 — and Malaria No More has been chosen as a beneficiary!!!

“Idol Gives Back” has raised millions of dollars to help fight malaria and shown millions of Idol fans across the country that every individual can be a hero in the fight against malaria.

Thanks to Idol and the generous sponsorship of ExxonMobil, we have distributed mosquito nets in Uganda, Zambia, Angola, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and strengthened our programs in Africa to save lives.

We have traveled to Africa with Idol alums Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle and worked with Elliott Yamin and Brooke White to help raise awareness.

We’re looking forward to another great “Idol Gives Back” in 2010!

Saint Isabel Orphanage and School (OSCI) in Luanda, Angola was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from ExxonMobil to help improve their facilities to better fight malaria and protect the children that stay there.

In addition, and in conjunction with American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin’s performance at the 1st Annual Washington Ideas Forum today, the ExxonMobil grant will also cover the launch of an art-based malaria prevention education program at OSCI.

Elliot, a champion in the fight against malaria, said:
When I visited Angola as part of Idol Gives Back, I saw how devastating malaria is in Africa and that there are some basic actions we can take to save lives. Saint Isabel provides hope and new lives for the children of Luanda, and I am very honored to support its efforts.

ExxonMobil does a lot of amazing work in the malaria space and we’re proud to work closely with them to end malaria deaths in Africa. Thanks to their support through American Idol’s Idol Gives Back, we’ve been able to expand our programs in Africa by strengthening country capacity and improving the delivery and use of malaria interventions.

We’ll continue to track the progress being made at OCSI and you can too by visiting their site.

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.

Malaria No More has learned that Carrie Underwood is going to appear on American Idol tonight to report back on some of the incredible work we’ve been able to do in Angola thanks to Idol Gives Back and millions of generous American Idol fans across the country!

Carrie traveled to Angola with American Idol corporate sponsor (and MNM partner!) ExxonMobil, the largest non-pharmaceutical corporate donor to the fight against malaria. Carrie is showing how Idol fans are helping families across Africa protect themselves with long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets. The world is winning the battle to end malaria deaths—and Idol fans are a vital part of the team.

Thanks to Idol Gives Back funds, 287,000 bed nets were distributed by Malaria No More to protect children and pregnant mothers from malaria in 2008.

Check out videos from Exxon’s trip to Angola with Idol alums Elliott Yamin and Fantasia too!

Also, see what Malaria No More is up to with American Idols Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle and Brooke White.

Elliott on the big screen at Nationals Stadium

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

The Exxon Mobil Corporation announced today that it is giving a $1 million grant to support the President’s Malaria Initiative in honor of World Malaria Day. The grant will support vital training for health-care workers in malaria prevention and treatment, with a focus on those most vulnerable to malaria—pregnant women and young children.

ExxonMobil is a vital partner in the fight against malaria. ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson is co-chair of the Malaria Capital Campaign, an initiative from Malaria No More and the Global Business Coalition to raise resources and leverage best business practices from the private sector. ExxonMobil shows how core competencies and expertise are used to tackle a deadly disease for maximum impact: saving lives.

ExxonMobil has created a special website for World Malaria Day, including video and podcasts of global experts talking about the role business can play in combating the disease. In addition, they are placing malaria awareness ads on television and radio to really help get the message out!

To top it off, Exxon helped American Idol alum Elliott Yamin raise awareness at the DC Nationals game on Tuesday night, highlighting his trip to Angola to raise funds for Malaria No More and get the crowd excited for World Malaria Day!

ExxonMobil’s Africa Health Initiative has committed a total of $55 million so far to programs to fight malaria.

MNM's Peter Chernin & Scott Case; Highcroft's David Brabham

The stars were out in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night at the BritWeek Gala to benefit Malaria No More.  Former British Prime Minister and guest speaker Tony Blair, Ryan Seacrest and Malaria No More Chairman Peter Chernin inspired guests with accounts of their own personal connection to the fight against malaria and a performance by Daughtry ended the evening on a high note.  Malaria No More was joined at the event by the Patron Highcroft race team, fresh off the American Le Mans circuit, who brought the car along to show how they are using Miles To End Malaria. The event was a great success, raising more than $1 million to support Malaria No More’s efforts to end malaria deaths!

Missed the event?  You can still be a part of the celebrity action with our online auction, featuring a chance to meet Kiefer Sutherland, tickets to the 2009 Teen Choice awards, tickets to the American Idol Season Eight Finale and more!  But hurry up and place your bids – the auction ends on April 28th!

Kelly Mahoney is Development Officer at Malaria No More. She likes the LA life—fast cars, rock stars…and England?

“Every 30 seconds a child dies from Malaria. Nets save lives. Support World Malaria Day”

Thanks to a certain super-twitter (Ashton Kutcher), this “tweet” reverberated in the online twitter community and raised tons of awareness for World Malaria Day and the life-saving potential of insecticide-treated bed nets. (Follow Malaria No More at www.twitter.com/MalariaNoMore)

Speaking of good-hearted celebs, Madonna has been promoting her organization’s documentary film, I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, that portrays the extraordinary challenges faced by Malawian children every day. The film will be featured on hulu.com for six weeks, so be sure to check it out. Malaria No More is featured on the website as a partner in helping Malawian orphans have an opportunity to overcome their overwhelming circumstances.

A little birdie also tells me that American Idol star Brooke White is such an active supporter of Malaria No More…that she even got her mom into it! Brooke’s mom suggested a charitable spin on Casual Fridays at the office—her colleagues were invited to wear jeans in return for a small donation to Malaria No More. That’s some creative fundraising!

Talk about using star power!!

A week ago, Malaria Foundation International announced its picks for the 2008 End Malaria Awards, which recognize noteworthy efforts and achievements in the fight against malaria in 2007.

Malaria No More is honored to have been named the “Roll Back Malaria Partnership Advocate of the Year”, for engaging the public and private sector and raising funds for the fight against malaria in our first year as an organization.

We were also thrilled to see that Melinda Doolittle was named “Singer of the Year” for her efforts to raise awareness about malaria with Malaria No More and through a trip to Zambia with First Lady Laura Bush in 2007.  Melinda has been a strong supporter of Malaria No More ever since.

Also recognized as “Performance of the Year” was American Idol Gives Back, the charity special that raised over $17 million for malaria in 2007 and helped millions of Americans learn what they could do to help end malaria deaths.

Many thanks to our partners at MFI for this wonderful award!

American Idol’s 2008 charity special, “Idol Gives Back”, announced today that it raised $64 million for worthy causes, including Malaria No More.

Tens of millions of Americans watched the Emmy-winning program in April and learned how to join the fight against malaria by donating a simple $10 mosquito net that can save a life.

American Idol winner David Cook presented Malaria No More’s check, on behalf of “Idol Gives Back” and corporate sponsor ExxonMobil, to soccer superstar David Beckham. Beckam accepted the check on MNM’s behalf and thanked millions of Americans for their support.

See the video of the check presentation here.

Malaria No More CEO Scott Case said, ““By helping us provide life-saving mosquito nets, American Idol fans are helping mothers in Africa keep their children safe from malaria. The generosity of “Idol Gives Back” and ExxonMobil show that Americans refuse to accept preventable deaths. Together with the help of committed individuals and groups like these, we can make malaria no more.”

Additional beneficiaries included Children’s Defense Fund; Children’s Health Fund; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Make It Right; and Save the Children. Read the press release for more details.

© FamePictures

Spotted!

American Idol champ David Cook has brunch in L.A. with his main squeeze, former Idol finalist Kimberly Caldwell, as reported on the celebrity blog JustJared.com. The article discusses David’s career and relationship, but the most important piece of this story is shamefully overlooked: his t-shirt!

Take a gander at the oh-so-hip look the famous rocker is rocking. Distressed jeans and a casual vest set the tone, but it’s the t-shirt that makes the statement.

Get your Malaria No More gear at the Malaria No More store and all proceeds will go to Malaria No More.

Lauren is an intern at Malaria No More and a celebrity sleuth.