In(c)ights | A Simple Net Helps the Power of Philanthropy Dawn on Young People
The New York Times’s assertion earlier this week that "[d]onating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers," completely misses the point. The focus should not be on hipness or the unusual coalition of partners (the Methodist and Lutheran churches, the NBA, the United Nations Foundation, VH1, American Idol) the effort has brought together but on how this very simple and easily graspable concept so effectively introduces young people to philanthropy.
With a mere 10 bucks buying a long-lasting, insecticidal net to protect a sleeping child from malaria-carrying mosquitoes, the drive allows kids to understand the true power of giving. Listen to what young people told the Times:
"The first time I donated money, after my bar mitzvah, it was for someone who needed a heart transplant," said Daniel Fogel, 18, a founder of his Waltham, Mass., high school’s juggling club, which raised $2,353 for nets last year. "But I had the feeling: Am I really helping? But if you can say $10 saves a life, that makes students feel they can help a lot. And every student has $10." …
At Howard University in Washington, Ololade Ajayi helped organize the African Student Association fashion show to raise $2,300. She had a personal interest, she said, because she caught malaria several times growing up in Nigeria and lost a friend to it.
"We had to take our own nets to boarding school," she said. "There were stagnant water pools on the school grounds. If your net got holes in it, you’d be bitten."
But the champion for her age and weight class is undoubtedly Katherine Commale of Hopewell, Pa., who has just turned 7 and has raised $43,000.
Her mother, Lynda Commale, said it started in April 2006 when she was watching television while the family slept and learned from a PBS documentary that a child died of malaria every 30 seconds.
"I couldn’t sleep," Ms. Commale said. "The next morning, the kids said, ‘Mom, what’s wrong with you?’ I told them — and Katherine was just 5, and she started counting on her fingers. She got to 30, and she looked horrified. And she said ‘Mommy, we have to do something.’"
With her 3-year-old brother, Katherine built a diorama from a pizza box and some Barbie dolls to represent an African family in a hut. Then, with a piece of tulle and a toy bug, she developed a short skit showing how nets protect sleeping children.
"She tucks it in, she says, ‘You’re safe now,’" Ms. Commale said. "Kids get this in like 90 seconds."
We’ll give the last work to New York University philanthropy expert Naomi Levine, who said of young people, "You won’t find them giving money to research," she added. "It’s too far off. But a net is something you can hold in your hand. And any time young people get interested in any form of philanthropy, it’s a good thing." | 501(c)
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