Church youths fundraise $3,749 to help stop the spread of malaria

By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
    CARIBOU, Maine — Sunday School students of the Gray Memorial United Methodist Church created quite a buzz when they raised $3,749 for the Imagine No Malaria campaign, which aims to stop the spread of malaria in Africa.    Sunday School teacher Michele Sterner explained that when the youths were deciding what to focus their fundraising on, they were looking for a way to make a difference — maybe even save a life.
“When choosing this campaign, the children and I saw a picture of a baby sleeping soundly under a net,” Sterner explained. “I think they liked the idea of saving that baby’s life, and it only takes $10 to buy a net,” she added, mentioning that one net lasts for years.
While the cause is pretty serious, the youths did find a way to have a little fun with their fundraising — they used netting to cover the church’s balcony during the service, and ran up and down the church aisles to collect the donations dressed like mosquitoes and buzzing.
Sterner said it was a lot of fun for the kids.
“We got everyone’s attention that day; it was a great kickoff to a great cause,” she added.
Though the children did enjoy their efforts, they learned the seriousness of how malaria affects people all over the world; they also learned how to work together on a project.
“I think the biggest thing they learned was that they could make a difference, and they did,” Sterner said.