Students Join The Fight Against Malaria
September 22, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Montreal Impact News Release
MONTREAL - UNICEF, a partner in the Spread the Net campaign, invites once again high school, CEGEP and university students across Canada to raise funds in the fight against malaria. UNICEF Quebec, which teamed up with the Impact in 2008 for the awareness program Right to Play, has invited Montreal Impact captain Mauro Biello to become the new spokesperson of the Spread the Net challenge.
"UNICEF is proud to extend its partnership with the Impact and is convinced that its new spokesperson will succeed in raising awareness about malaria among high school students and moreover, allow them to learn about what they can do in the fight against this illness," noted Marcèle Lamarche, executive director of UNICEF Quebec.
"It is unacceptable that malaria kills close to three thousand children daily, while there is a simple and efficient way to protect them from this illness," declared Mauro Biello. "The right of children to live and develop in good health must be protected and defended under all circumstances, and this is why we are inviting all students across Quebec to join the fight against malaria."
From September 10, 2009 to February 28, 2010, students will get the chance to register on unfiletdespoir.org and organize creative fundraising events with the collaboration of their friends, family and community. For every $10 collected, a family in Liberia or Rwanda will receive insecticide-treated bed nets as well as information on usage to reduce the transmission of malaria by 50 per cent.
For this third edition, the school that will raise the most funds will win a grand prize consisting of a soccer clinic presented by Mauro Biello and Impact goalkeeper coach Youssef Dahha. This training session will allow students to get professional advice, play with the hosts, as well as take part in an autograph session.
"The Spread the Net challenge gives youth the chance to save lives," added Marcèle Lamarche. "During the past two years, thousands of students in hundreds of schools across the nation have raised $650,000, which will allow us to purchase 65,000 bed nets."
The prime objective of Spread the Net is to allow UNICEF to purchase and distribute insecticide-treated bed nets to 500,000 families in Liberia and Rwanda, and to educate them on usage. To this day, thanks to the generosity of Canadians, UNICEF has distributed 393,800 bed nets.
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