Idol Fans & Twitterers Pave the Way in the Fight Against Malaria

*** Now You Can Tweet To Save a Life***

NEW YORK, April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On this week's American Idol "Idol Gives Back" episode, more than 20 million Americans tuned in to help raise almost $45 million for causes around the world. Malaria was one of them, and donations toward the cause are expected to climb in the days leading up to World Malaria Day on April 25.

Beginning today to honor World Malaria Day on Sunday, Malaria No More, the Case Foundation and Twitter are launching "End Malaria," an effort geared to activate tweets from all over the world to help end malaria deaths in Africa. Mosquito nets save lives, and now, so do tweets.

Every thirty seconds a child dies from malaria in Africa. However, malaria is a completely preventable and treatable disease.  

To show your support, please visit Hope140.org/EndMalaria and:

• Retweet this message from @MalariaNoMore to make a $10 donation: RT: Malaria kills a child every 30 secs. Nets #endmalaria. So do RTs. RT2Give $10 http://rt2give.com/t/425
  • If you already have an account on RT2Give, you'll receive a direct message asking for confirmation. If you don't have an account, Twitpay will send you an @reply message with simple instructions on how to enroll.
• Text 'NET' to 85944 to make a $10 donation to Malaria No More
  • A $10 donation will be charged to your mobile phone bill. Messaging and data rates may apply.
• Add hashtag(s) #endmalaria, #malaria, #malariaday and/or #worldmalariaday to your tweets and the hashtags will trigger the addition of clickable mosquito icons to the tweet that will take you to Hope140.org/EndMalaria

To further promote positive change through Twitter, the Case Foundation is matching each $10 donation up to $25,000 made through Twitpay's RT2Give service and text-to-give, giving Twitterers and texters the power to double their efforts to end malaria deaths in Africa.

"Through a donation platform that enables people to move from activism to action, the End Malaria campaign takes a transformative next step in leveraging the power of Twitter to raise both awareness and important funding," said Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation. "Malaria No More and Twitter have already proven the power of social media to ignite awareness, and the Case Foundation is honored to be a part of this important initiative."

The "End Malaria" effort is an extension of last year's World Malaria Day Twitter challenge between Ashton Kutcher and CNN for a race to 1 million followers. Kutcher's pledge of $100,000 to Malaria No More catapulted him to success and helped provide Senegal with 89,724 life-saving mosquito nets.

"Malaria has finally met its match in this partnership between Malaria No More, the Case Foundation and Twitter," said Scott Case, CEO of Malaria No More. "We know for a fact that tweets can translate into nets, and two villages in Senegal are living proof of that."

This is the second time Twitter has tweaked its tweets for a cause. The first time was to honor World AIDS Day last December by turning tweets red for the RED campaign, which became the most retweeted initiative at the time.

"The difference between life and death can come down to a $10 bed net," said Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. "The simple act of tweeting both donates to and promotes the important work of Malaria No More. By matching these donations, the Case Foundation transforms our tweets into a powerful force for good."

Campaign details, Twitpay tweets and donation tracking are available at Hope140.org/EndMalaria.

About Malaria No More

Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa – and we're helping the world get it done. Malaria No More leverages high-impact communications to engage the world, global advocacy to rally leadership and strategic investments to accelerate progress. For more information, visit www.MalariaNoMore.org, read our Buzzwords blog, fan our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

About Case Foundation

The Case Foundation, created by Steve and Jean Case in 1997, invests in people and ideas that can change the world. The Foundation champions initiatives that connect people, increase giving, and catalyze civic action. For more information, visit www.CaseFoundation.org.

SOURCE Malaria No More; The Case Foundation