Nothing But Nets
August 19, 2008 by David Bergman
It’s always cool when you can do a favor for friends and help raise awareness for a great cause at the same time. When Maureen and Tom Cavanagh asked me to shoot a charity basketball game in Harlem, there was no way I could turn them down.
Tom Cavanagh is most recognized from his TV show “Ed” and also plays Zach Braff’s older brother Dan on “Scrubs.” I’ve known his wife Mo for many years through her role as deputy photo editor at Sports Illustrated. They are two of the nicest, most down to earth people you will ever meet.
An SI column by Rick Reilly led to the creation of Nothing But Nets – a grassroots campaign to purchase anti-malaria bed nets to save the lives of children in Africa. Read the original article here and a follow-up here.
One person dies every 30 seconds from malaria, a disease that’s transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is the leading killer of children.
Tom actually had malaria as a kid when he lived in West Africa. He successfully beat it, but the experience motivated him to get involved with charitable initiatives to combat the disease.
For just $10, Nothing But Nets purchases and delivers an insecticide-treated bed net to a family in Africa. So far they’ve raised enough money for over 2 million nets and are constantly delivering them to families that need them.
For more information and to donate, go to NothingButNets.net (it’s “dot net,” get it?).
The first annual Cavanagh Classic took place yesterday at Harlem’s Rucker Park, a famous street basketball court where many top NBA players come to show their stuff during the summer.
I knew this wasn’t the NBA though when the “mascot,” a six-foot tall mosquito, showed up. If killing mosquitoes is the group’s goal, I think they’re on the right track because it must have been 150 degrees inside that poor guy’s suit.
I may have been donating my time, but I wanted to shoot this as if I was working for Sports Illustrated. I set up a few remote cameras and made this shot of Tom driving the lane.
They even had a slam dunk tournament at halftime.
Hey Tom — somehow I missed the shot of you making that monster dunk but it must have been because you jumped too high out of my camera frame. Maybe I’ll get it next year, unless they make you wear the mosquito suit.
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