Are party bag toys and sweets really a good way to spend our money?
Every year in the UK, parents spend over £400 million on party bags to give to children who come along to children's parties. Surely there is something better we could be doing with this money, and at the same time help kids learn about something major that's happening in other parts of the world.
It's got to beat handing out plastic toys and more sweets - even the kids agree!
Malaria - the world's single largest killer of children and pregnant mothers
Malaria causes 350 million to 500 million illnesses per year and kills more than 1 million people - mostly children under the age of five. Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is the leading killer of children. Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from a malaria infection.
Mosquito nets are a simple, life saving solution
While malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases on the African continent, infections can be prevented by sleeping under long lasting insecticide treated bed nets. Bed nets work by creating a protective barrier against deadly-malaria carrying mosquitoes that bite at night. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for four to five years. The benefits of bed nets extend even further than protecting those sleeping underneath them. The insecticide woven into each net makes entire communities safer – killing and repelling mosquitoes so that they can’t go on to bite others who may not be protected by a net.
One childrens party could buy up to 15 mosquito nets
Just over £3 will buy one net, but this is well beyond most people at risk from malaria who survive on less than £1 per day. Our initial research has shown that parents spend £2-£4 on each party bag, so a single children's party can make a big difference.
Just 1% of the UKs annual spend on party bags would buy over 1.3 million mosquito nets.
So how do you get involved?
Party Bags Saves Lives is partnering with the Against Malaria Foundation (http://www.againstmalaria.com) to build a campaign behind this initiative. This foundation is unique in that 100% of the money raised will be used to buy nets. In addition, you can follow where your money has been spent and even see where and when the nets are purchased and distributed to the people that need them most.
So, if you want to use your party bag budget to buy mosquito nets please use this link which will let you quickly and easily donate to the Against Malaria Foundation.
If you would like to start a Party Bags Save Lives campaign for your kid's school or any other organisation (e.g beavers, cubs etc) then you can do this from the Party Bags Save Lives landing page on the above link. Just click on "Create your own sponsorship page, linked to this page" in the white writing in the middle of the page, and follow the instructions. Use the Contact Us link above if you need assistance.
Also, we have attached a sample flier (in MS Powerpoint and MS Word) that you can use to give the children at your kid's party.
What we have done is just print this and put it in a plain bag along with the piece of birthday cake - this helps give something to the kids that they can read and understand. Most kids have responded really well and shown a lot of interest in the fact that they are saving another child's life. So go on, spend your party bag budget on something that can really make a difference....
Party bags really can save lives!
