Contest nets funds to fight malaria

Wesley Center students raised about $3,000 for the Nothing But Nets campaign during basketball games Jan. 23 at Oklahoma City University. Fund-raising included a celebrity free-throw contest and a portion of ticket proceeds.

Scoring points and funds for each completed free-throw were Bishop Robert Hayes Jr., at right;` Robert Gorrell and Mark Barnett, above; and former Miss America Jayne Jayroe, Dee Hayes, Diana Cox-Crawford, and Tish Malloy, among others.

Shown at the t-shirt display are Stephanie Carlsen and Bekah Gadim of Kappa Phi, a Christian women’s organization on campus. The Wesley Center is the name for the United Methodist campus ministry at OCU and is led by clergywoman Jennifer J. Long.

Nothing But Nets provides families in Africa with specially treated bed netting to block mosquitoes that carry malaria. The campaign’s major sponsors are the National Basketball Association and The United Methodist Church.

The OCU Stars won both games against Oklahoma Baptist University’s teams.