The band’s played enough together now that we had a certain…uh…connection with each other that night. It was a fun night.

Best of all, we raised a heck of a lot for another good cause. The good folks at Walnut Hill suggested a new beneficiary for this show, and we agreed. It’s called the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. When all the cash is counted, we’ll probably exceed $2,000 raised for this great cause

Nothing But Net is a campaign to eradicate malaria in African countries. The idea is that that a simple mosquito net with a mild insecticide can actually help prevent the spread of this killer disease.

The movement was inspired by a short essay that ran in Sports Illustrated some time back. Folks associated with the NBA heard about it, and thus the name. As I understand it, many NBA stars have adopted this as a non-profit that they support. It’s grown to where it’s officially a United Nations program, and the United Methodist Church is now a sponsor.

Studies show that someone in infected with malaria every 30 seconds. These nets can last a family up to four years, as I understand it, and they reduce the likelihood of transmission 90 percent!

The NBN website reminds us all that the conflict in Darfur continues unabated. There are many refugees from the conflict how living in Chad, and the “rainy season” is coming soon. Estimates are that 25 percent more refugees could die this year from malaria than last.

One net can be furnished to a family for a simple $10 contribution.

So, it looks like we may have helped save more than 200 people’s lives on Sunday night.

That puts it in some pretty sharp relief, no?

So, many thanks to the good folks at Walnut Hill. You all were very kind in your compliments of the band afterwards. We did a mix of Chicago, Eagles, and Fogelberg,. All in all, a good time was had by all.

Oh yeah…you know, you could send a net too. Just click here to do it right now.