NEW YORK - As the inaugural World Malaria Day approaches this Friday, April 25, MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer's community outreach initiative, is teaming up with the UN Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign in an attempt to cover an entire continent with long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. Malaria is the leading killer of children in Africa and every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria.
Throughout 2008, Major League Soccer and national partner Makita industrial power tools - - along with other professional sports leagues including the NBA and the WNBA - - will engage teams and fans through a series of in-stadium events, halftime presentations, auctions and fundraisers. Longtime MLS partner Makita industrial power tools has made a commitment to save 10,000 lives by donating $100,000 to Nothing But Nets. In addition, Makita and MLS W.O.R.K.S. have created the "Makita Team Up For Nets" program that will challenge MLS fans to save additional lives.
"MLS W.O.R.K.S. is committed to fighting malaria. We have successfully engaged our fans, players and referees in helping to prevent this deadly disease and we are extremely proud that Makita has become our first corporate partner to join us in the fight against malaria," said JoAnn Neale, executive vice president of Major League Soccer. "We are thankful to Makita for taking a leadership role in battling this deadly disease. We hope that other partners will follow Makita's example and join MLS W.O.R.K.S. to help eradicate malaria."
In addition, individual players are making their own contributions. On Friday, April 25, D.C. United's Ben Olsen will represent MLS W.O.R.K.S. at the World Malaria Day event to be held at the White House with President George W. Bush. This past offseason Chicago Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez and Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, both national spokesman for the Nothing But Nets campaign, traveled to Mali, Africa, to personally distribute bed nets. In 2007, Chicago's Andy Herron, San Jose's Nick Garcia and Chivas USA's Alecko Eskandarian joined Gutierrez to film a public service announcement that discusses the need for bed nets.
"Makita Team Up for Nets is a game-changing way to look at title night activations. We are proud to demonstrate our commitment to soccer and by saving 10,000 lives and supporting this important Major League Soccer community outreach initiative," said Ken Hefley, vice president of marketing for Makita USA. "We hope to inspire MLS fans to help us Team Up for Nets."
Makita and MLS W.O.R.K.S., through the Makita Team Up For Nets program, have developed three ways for MLS fans to make donations to Nothing But Nets. Makita will match the donations made between April 25 and June 30, 2008 via the following methods:
- Buy any Makita tool and register it at www.makitatools.com - Makita will donate a net with your purchase and credit it to your favorite MLS team.
- Donate at your MLS team's page at www.NothingButNets.net/mlsworks (drop down menu will enable fans to attribute their donation to their favorite MLS team).
- Come to any of the 13 Makita title nights of MLS matches and donate directly. The schedule of Makita title nights can be found at: http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/programs/mls_works/programs/malaria/
About Major League Soccer
Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and features many stars from the United States and around the world. The League's 13th season kicked off March 29. The 14 teams in MLS are: the Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Toronto FC. The League's 15th team, Seattle, will begin play in 2009, and 16th team, Philadelphia, will begin play in 2010. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official web site at www.MLSnet.com. For more information about MLS W.O.R.K.S., log on to the official website at www.MLSnet.com/works.
About Makita
Makita USA, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of over 450 professional, industrial quality power tools and has over 5,000 industrial accessories. Makita USA, Inc.'s home office is located in La Mirada, California and operates an extensive distribution network located throughout the U.S. For more information, please contact us at 1-800-4-MAKITA (1-800-462-5482) or visit the website at www.makitatools.com.
About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by sports columnist Rick Reilly, tens of thousands of people have joined the Campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association's NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated. It only costs $10 to provide a long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.
