Ideas for Parish Activities

(Download this file as a PDF)

Each of these activities would be accompanied by an educational component, including malaria education, the NFL video, etc.

Work with the director of the children’s or adult choirs to plan a song from Sub-Saharan Africa to be sung sometime during the campaign -- possible kick-off or closing.

Work with the Altar Guild to use tulle for some of the altar/church decorations during the campaign--very visual!

The “A-Thons:”  Read-a-thon, Walk-a-thon, Dance-a-thon, Bike-a-thon, Knit-a-thon, etc.

Car Wash

Garage Sale

Silent Auction

Sunday School or other group (prayer group, small group, dinner group) dinner with “admission” that goes for a net

Hold a related “fun event” with admission going to nets…a “hairnet dinner” or youth group play, for example

Net display with a bucket for donations—AND a member of clergy in a mosquito costume promoting it!  (Contact Chapel of the Cross for details!)

Book club reading or study around malaria education and its impact on families

A “sleep-outside-Friday-night” in the summer…each camper contributes a dollar, but the lesson is about the bug spray, repellents, etc. that we have available to protect us, and how much they cost, and what a net can do

A quarter a week = 1½ nets a year!

By the way, have we given up on the idea that an NFL team might want to get involved?  We can ask the Panthers—and pray for them, they need it!

Change collection…what do you do with all the coins you find in the sofa, on the floor, etc.?  Keep a Net Jar handy!

“Net” angels—preschoolers or elementary children make net angels as a project and sell them as Christmas decorations with proceeds going to nets

A camping trip with Nets as the theme, especially good near a swamp during summer

A basketball game with an extra $1 per ticket going for nets…talk with the college near you!  

A March Madness Nets Challenge, while everyone is focused on NCAA nets…or a “Nets Bowl” on the Sunday before the NCAA Championship

Any game with nets…soccer, volleyball, etc. doing the same thing!  Does your kid play a game that involves nets?  Have the team sponsor a net or two---

Potluck with a donation and the video, and perhaps an invited speaker from the Health Department or a mission group that’s visited Sub-Saharan Africa

Neighborhood or Church Game Night with admission going to nets

Children’s Group does a play with admission going to Nets

One Net = 3 trips to Starbucks, or 12 visits (or less!) to the Coke machine

A Parish Net Challenge—can the Men’s Group get more Nets than the ECW or EYC? 

An alternative gift drive for Christmas

For the health of children, as a Baptism gift in honor of the newly baptized

Use a Net?  (including the Internet)  Give a Net!

Sell at church bazaar, ECW or other

“Adopt-a-village” by different groups or the parish as a whole, and provide nets that will protect a village

Remember that any of these ideas are transferable to ecumenical or neighborhood groups, or even work.  (If you need to, visit the website and get a listing of the significant corporate sponsors for the National NetsforLife Inspiration Fund.  It should convince the hardiest separator of church and state that while this is a faith based effort, it is much larger than a denominational concern.)

Kick-off ideas include:

• Displays
• the Rector as Mosquito
• a Handprint banner made by the children of the parish with 2880 handprints—one for each of the children who dies every day from malaria
• The Black Dots—calculate how many people would die of malaria during the course of Sunday worship, a parish event, etc.  Distribute visible black dots to that number of people who are in attendance (exercising sensitivity regarding who gets the dots), with a time printed on each dot.  At the time printed on the dot, the person wearing it stands, leaves the congregation, or in some other way makes it evident that they are now “dead.”  At the conclusion of the event, explain what has happened and ask questions of the congregation such as “what would our parish be like without these people?”  or, “if you could have done something to prevent the deaths of any of these folks, what would you have been willing to do?”  (This does not need to be a discussion; it can be a reflection).  Follow a period of silence by inviting Net contributions.
• Any other type of event with an educational component as well as an activity component, and remember, food always helps!