While you may not know anyone who wants their bed covered in insecticide-treated mesh, there are people abroad to whom this gift won't simply be nice and thoughtful, but life-saving. A child dies from malaria every 30 seconds, and the use of a bed net can reduce disease transmission by up to 90%. The bed nets donated through the Union for Reform Judaism's Nothing But Nets initiative will go straight to refugees of conflict in Africa-one of the populations most vulnerable to malaria. It takes only $10 to send a net.

And while your friends and family won't receive a bed net themselves, they will get the gift of leaning how small efforts at home can change lives far away. They will get a broader understanding of and connection to the world around them. They will get the chance to teach their children about issues facing children abroad. They will get an appreciation of the goodness in their lives. And most of all, they get to take part in one of the most important and amazing things in the world-saving someone else's life.

As Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted yesterday (on a call promoting ONE Sabbath, a great way to extend your Nothing But Nets activism,) "When you buy one net for $10, you are saving a life. That is a very rare thing to do. When you feed someone for $10 you will need to do it again. When you buy one net, it stays there."

This winter, due to the efforts of congregations, B'nai mitzvah students and others, the first shipment of bed nets will be delivered to the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda, providing malaria protection for the entire camp.

We are halfway to our goal of delivering 50,000 bed nets. Inspire your friends and family with the gift of saving a life this Chanukkah. Give them each a donation to Nothing But Nets. Ask them to give the same to you. Have a net-giving party for your whole family! Make a great miracle happen there.