Comic Relief is a major charity based in the UK that strives to create a just world free from poverty; Working 365 days a year to make that vision become a reality. Since they were first established 25 years ago they’ve had three main ongoing aims:
- To raise millions of pounds through two big fundraising campaigns – Red Nose Day and Sport Relief.
- To spend that money in the best possible way to tackle the root causes of poverty and social injustice.
- To use the power of their brand to raise awareness of the issues that we all care most about.
What is Red Nose Day?
It appears too many Red nose Day has begun almost an institution since its first launch in 1988. The idea is pretty simple – Money is raised to help save and change countless lives across the UK and Africa, donations are simply raised by entertaining the public. Every two years, thousands of people do something funny for money. Either at home, at work, in schools, online, across the world, on TV – anywhere you can imagine. The BBC gives celebrities and comedians an entire evening to entertain the nation whilst urging them to donate generously.
Red nose Day History:
What is Sports Relief?
Sport Relief is a huge fundraising campaign which gets everyone as active as possible while they raise cash and help change lives in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries. Involving hundreds of thousands of inspiring people getting sponsored to do 1, 3 or 6 miles at the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile events across the country, plus fantastic fundraisers who organise sports quizzes, tournaments and challenges to raise much needed cash; And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the BBC’s brilliant weekend of Sport Relief TV treats and moving documentary films.
Sports Relief History
Will 2011 break the Red Nose Day fundraising record?
A staggering £82.3 million was raised in 2009 – Can Britain smash the record for a consecutive 12th record. A few reasons why you should donate this year your donations go towards a better future for people in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries. Some of the charities below are funded by Comic Relief, without your support their life-changing – and possibly life saving – work cannot take place:
United Against Malaria
Malaria kills over 2,000 children in Africa every day. In fact 91% of all malaria related deaths occur in Africa and 85% of these deaths are children under five years old. The tragic thing is that all of these deaths are preventable. Comic Relief is a big supporter and member of United against Malaria (UAM) – a coalition which is harnessing the massive popularity of football to spread global awareness of this preventable, yet deadly disease. UAM’s goal is to galvanise all football fans across the world to call for all households across Africa to have access to malaria-treating medicine and bed nets – a simple item that can prevent whole families from being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitoes while they sleep. In turn, this support will spur politicians across the world to tackle malaria head on. The goal is to put an end to malaria-related deaths by 2015 – and, by supporting this campaign; you can make a real difference too.
1Goal
For the 69 million children worldwide who can’t go to school, their chances of escaping grinding poverty are bleak, to say the least. An education can give these children the skills they need to get better jobs, work their way out of poverty and build a far brighter future for themselves. In 2000, world leaders made a promise that by 2015 they would ensure every child in the world had the chance to go to school. Since then, over 40 million kids have been given the chance to go to school. Great news; but there’s still a long way to go – That’s why, together with world-famous football stars, celebrities, world leaders and FIFA, we’re supporting 1GOAL’s campaign calling loudly for an education for all. The campaign aims to ensure the promises made ten years ago don’t get broken. Help us help children all over the world get the education they need to live a life free from poverty.
Send my Friends to School
In 2000, leaders from around the world made a promise that by 2015 every child, no matter where they live, will have access to an education. A lot has been achieved since 2000, however, 72 million children still don’t have the opportunity to go to school – and an education is the single most important tool they need to overcome a life of poverty. Send My Friend to School has brought together hundreds and thousands of teachers and students in the UK to hold our government to the promise they made a decade ago. It has developed some brilliant methods of educating young people about the importance of getting an education and has helped them to get their voices heard and make a difference in the world.
Time to Change
Although 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience mental health problems at some time in their lives; there remains a huge stigma around this issue. Many people struggle to find work and take part fully in their communities as a result. That’s why Comic Relief has given £4 million to Time to Change. It’s an innovative and ambitious campaign led by mental health charities Mind and Rethink which aims to end the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are living with mental health problems. It’s also the biggest initiative of its kind ever undertaken in England, and the first project in the world to actively try and change people’s behaviours – and not just attitudes – towards mental ill health. As part of Time to Change, 35 different projects are working together, ranging from wellbeing and horticultural projects to anti-stigma and mental health awareness campaigns.
Fairtrade
Comic Relief supports small scale farmers and workers in some of the world’s poorest countries to grow and develop Fairtrade produce. Our support to the African Fairtrade Network has helped to increase the number of producers who are certified as ‘Fairtrade’ across the whole of Africa. Fairtrade is all about making sure producers receive a fair price for their produce. As a concept, it also focuses on creating better working conditions, local sustainability and fairer terms of business for farmers and workers. As part of our commitment to Fairtrade, we fund TWIN, an organisation that supports people so they can make a living from Fairtrade. We’re also a big supporter of Liberation Nuts, which helps Fairtrade nut producers across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Plus ‘Dubble’ was developed with Divine, a Fairtrade chocolate bar that went down a treat. And if that wasn’t enough, Comic Relief also manages the Sainsbury’s Fair Development Fund. It’s an initiative which aims to create a broader and more collaborative way of supporting Fairtrade. Thanks to it, there are now more Fairtrade items on supermarket shelves.
Robin Hood Tax
Like most brilliant ideas, the Robin Hood Tax is incredibly simple. By introducing a tiny tax on the financial transactions carried out by banking institutions, a phenomenal amount of money would be raised to tackle poverty and climate change in the UK and the world. The tax is so small that it certainly wouldn’t break the bank – it equates to 50p for every £1000 – and yet it could generate billions for good causes every year. This money could be used to change the lives of millions of people. It could be used stop cuts to public services, to help end extreme poverty, to tackle climate change. In fact, it could do all these things and a lot more. We are a supporter of the Robin Hood Tax and its growing army of merry supporters who are calling for the world’s governments to implement it.
10:10
An ambitious project with one simple idea: we all commit to reduce our carbon emissions by 10% a year, starting in 2010, then work together to make it happen. Everyone, from celebrities and politicians to individuals, businesses and schools, can take part. Carbon emissions (more accurately greenhouse gas emissions) are the cause of climate change and are released when fuels are burned in vehicles, homes, power stations and factories. Although climate change will affect us all, it’s the poorest people around the world who’ll be most affected by rising sea levels and environmental instability. In fact, many poor communities across the globe are already feeling the effects now. Almost everyone, though, has the ability to cut their carbon emissions – and 10:10 will help us all to make little changes in our lives that can make a huge difference in the fight to stop climate change.
See Africa Differently
When you think of Africa, what springs to mind? Do you think of Nobel Prize winners, successful businesses and thriving agriculture? No? Then we’ve got just the thing for you. It’s a lovely website that we set up to celebrate all that’s good about Africa and to highlight the positive changes that the people who live in these 53 incredible countries are working hard to bring about. You can even sample African music while you’re there, be inspired by African fashion and learn how to cook some authentic African food. Plus you can watch some great films that Richard Ayoade from The IT Crowd and Mighty Boosh was kind enough to do for us. And, as if that’s not enough, there’s a little show and tell space for you to share your own personal stories and pictures from the world’s second largest continent. So, celebrate the good news and start to See Africa Differently!
Awareness Raising in Africa
Over the past 25 years, Comic Relief has been instrumental in raising awareness of some important issues that many people across Africa face. This project helps us to continue that work. Using the global popularity of football as a springboard, we’ve helped to gather together some of Africa and England’s top football stars to produce a series of educational films. Tackling key issues in Africa ranging from HIV/AIDS to education, each short film uses humour to communicate a serious message and educate people about what they can do to help themselves, their families and their communities. Our films are screened in over 30 different countries throughout Africa in slots between UK Premiership football matches and reached a weekly audience of around 300 million viewers.
The causes listed above are just a handful of the fantastic organisations the donations from Red Nose Day will support.
Red Nose Day 2011
There’s hundreds of different ways to fundraise money for charity, here are a few Red Nose Day recommend as ‘Funny for Money’ fundraising ideas:
- Wear Something.
- Eat Something.
- Stage Something.
- Hair-Do Something.
- Dare Something.
- Sell Something.
- Fundraising at Work.
- Fundraising Online.
- Fundraising Youth Groups.
- Buy from Red Nose Day’s Official Online Shop
Follow the 2011 celebrities who are 4 days in to their Red Nose Day Desert Trek, across the Sahara all in the name of charity. Keep an eye on their progress, or take inspiration from their trek and take up a challenging adventure for yourself on behalf of Comic Relief.
Not in the UK?
You can still enjoy the wonderful charity event that is Red Nose Day as they grow bigger each year the charity is beginning to break borders, having extremely successful international events in the following countries:
- Canada: In Canada, Comic Relief holds a licensing agreement with the Juste Pour Aider charity. They run the Juste Pour Aider TV fundraising event that takes place every other year at the end of the extremely popular Juste Pour Rire comedy festival. Half the funds raised go to Maison Du Pere, a Canadian homeless charity, and half go to international projects funded by Comic Relief UK. In 2009, the event raised an impressive 600,000 Canadian Dollars.
- Finland: Comic Relief holds a license in Finland with the charity Ylen Hyvä, who runs their Nenäpäivä or ‘Nose Day’ in partnership with the national TV station Yle. The event has gone from strength to strength since it began in 2007, which saw a guerrilla placement of red noses on all the key statues around Helsinki and Tampere. Their last event in 2009 raised more than €1.2 million to help change lives.
- Germany: In Germany, Comic Relief’s licensee, the German TV station Pro 7 initiated Red Nose Day in 2003 and it has taken place annually ever since.
- Iceland: In Iceland, the licensee UNICEF, held its first Dagur Rauda Nefsins (Red Nose Day) in 2006. It was a huge success and their last event in 2009 raised 1.5 million Icelandic Kroner. A great achievement – especially for a population of fewer than 350,000 people!
- Norway: Norwegian licensee held its first Rødnesedagen (Red Nose Day) on 29 November 2009 on the MTG network, with Save the Children as the principal beneficiary. This inaugural event went straight to the nation’s hearts and they responded by emptying their pockets to the tune of 12.6 million Norwegian Kroner. Top work Norway!
- South Africa: In March 2010, the first ever international flagship Mile took place in Cape Town, South Africa. The spectacular route took in the beachfront promenade and the glorious new Cape Town Stadium, with over 3500 runners and walkers of all ages and abilities raising funds for disadvantaged kids supported by Child Welfare South Africa. Football legend Alan Shearer and double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes joined local presenter Tammy-Anne Fortuin at the Cape Town Mile, where they presented all the local action for a two-hour Sport Relief TV show that aired across Africa.
- USA: 2007, Comic Relief played a key role in organising the American Idol charity special ‘Idol Gives Back’, which was a huge TV fundraiser in the United States. A new US charity was also set up to distribute the money raised. And it raised a lot. In total, the event pulled in a massive $75 million, with 50% of the money going to projects in Africa and 50% to charitable organisations in the United States.
- Sports Relief Miles: In recent years, Comic Relief has worked with the British Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take the Sport Relief Mile around the world. These fantastic events took place in the following countries:
2006– Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, South Africa
2008 – Egypt, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Yemen
2010 – Too many to list here but it was in over 55 countries around the world!
2012 – Lots more in store so watch this space!
18th March 2011 – Help us make history once more.
hy please can you give me some more ideas for raising money for red nose day many thanks sean