FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina – When 12-year-old, First Class Boy Scout Nathaniel Stafford decided to do something for the 100th Anniversary of Scouting in America, he also wanted to make a difference. As a result, he put together Trek 4 Nets a fundraising effort for Nothing But Nets a global grassroots Malaria prevention campaign to save lives by sending long-lasting insecticide treated nets to families in Africa. Through Trek 4 Nets, Nathaniel hopes to build awareness about malaria and inspire others, particularly Scouts by his example.

On February 22, 2010, the birthday of Lord Baden-Powell who was the Founder of the Scouting Movement, Nathaniel will embark on a 100 mile, nine day road hike through five counties in North Carolina ending in downtown Fayetteville at 5:00pm on Tuesday, March 2. Trek 4 Nets will begin near the Occoneechee Council’s Camp Durant in Carthage, North Carolina at 9:00am February 22, 2010 and go through Cameron, Sanford, Corinth, Fuquay-Varina, Lillington, Anderson Creek, Spring Lake and into downtown Fayetteville where this 100 mile road hike will end. This event is open for others to participate in part or the entire event. There are specific Rally Points established for the final leg of the journey.

The first is at Horne’s Plaza off Sycamore Dairy and Bragg Blvd at 3:30pm, 4.3 miles from downtown and the second is at Brantley Electronic Supply, 935 Bragg Blvd at 4:30pm only 1.5 miles to the finish. Each net costs $10 and Nathaniel hopes to raise enough money for 1,000 nets.

Fundraising began in February and he has already collected several hundred dollars. He has established a website, www.trek4nets.org and a presence on Facebook. During the Trek there will be journal entries, photos and video blogs of his progress on the route. Boy Scouts of America will introduce several new merit badges this year to include GPS/GIS.

Nathaniel plans to search for several geocaches along his route as well as place one to commemorate Trek 4 Nets. “When I read that a child dies every thirty seconds from Malaria in Africa and that it could be prevented with nets through Nothing But Nets, I wanted to do something. Since it is the 100th Anniversary of Scouting and I really like scouting, I decided to put the two things together.” Nathaniel said. “What started as an idea has come together in a very real way. I am even more motivated by the encouragement of others which will probably really help during the 100 miles.”

Nathaniel joined the Scouting program at the age of eight as a Cub Scout, was awarded the Spirit of Scouting award and continues to demonstrate those qualities in his daily life. He then spent a year as a Webelos Lone Scout, too busy with competitive gymnastics to participate with a traditional Pack. He earned his Arrow of Light and joined Troop 747, chartered in Fayetteville North Carolina, St. James Lutheran Church in late 2008. He is part of the Classical Conversations program in Fayetteville with other area homeschooling youth and is a member of the Fayetteville Flying Fish swim team under Oscar Roverato.

BSA Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca and Nothing But Nets Director Adrianna Logalbo launched the life-saving partnership August 27, 2009 as part of its A Year of Celebration, A Century of Making a Difference program during a malaria workshop in Detroit, Michigan which also included Bill Gates Sr., Distinguished Eagle Scout and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Honorable Dave Bing, Mayor of Detroit and Deron Washington of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.

“We are pleased to partner with the Boy Scouts of America and see hundreds of youth leaders work together to raise malaria awareness and spread the message of how simple it is to prevent the disease,” Logalbo said. “This initiative is powered by passionate people, and we are grateful to have the Boy Scouts help us build support to prevent malaria in Africa.” For more information about Trek4Nets, visit www.trek4nets.org.

### 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, more than 100,000 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 costs just $10 to provide a long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed net to prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life. About the Boy Scouts of America Serving nearly 4.1 million youth between the ages of 7 and 20, with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the BSA is the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The Scouting movement is composed of 1.2 million volunteers, whose dedication of time and resources has enabled the BSA to remain the nation’s leading youth-service organization. For more information on the BSA, please visit www.scouting.org. More information about 100 Years of Scouting can be found at www.scouting.org/100years.