Red Nose Day transforms the lives of people both here in the UK and across Africa. The projects that Comic Relief support cover a huge range of issues. In the UK, the money raised has helped to give shelter to young people on the streets and protection to those living with sexual and domestic abuse. In Africa, it has saved thousands from Malaria and provided fresh water and life-saving vaccines for communities.
Comic Relief was founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. Since its launch, it has raised a staggering £750 million pounds.
Currently, its main supporters are the BBC, BT and Sainsbury's. As you may know, the BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on Red Nose Day, which has proven to be extremely popular with 10,260,000 tuning in to BBC 1 in 2011.
Thousands of celebrities have contributed to Comic Relief over the past years including Take That, Paul McCartney and Sir Alan Sugar. This year is no exception with the likes of Miranda, One direction and England’s football team supporting the event.
This year, Red Nose Day takes place on the 15th March. It’s so easy to get involved and there are so many great ideas on the Red Nose Day website to help you get started. To provide you with even more I went around my school and asked my friends the funniest thing they could think of to raise money for comic relief. The best suggestions were: organizing a pancake race, getting sponsored to shave your eyebrows off and sitting in a bath of baked beans. In whatever way you can, remember to support Comic Relief this year.
Eva Farenden, Waldegrave School
