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Red Nose Day Facts

Red Nose Day Facts
Red Nose Day is a biennial telethon broadcast fundraising event for people to act silly while raising money for charities. It began in 1988 as a broadcast to raise money by Comic Relief. Comic Relief is an organization that launched in 1985 to raise money to address poverty and social injustice throughout the world through the use of comedy and laughter. The event is held every two years as a U.K fundraising event, and it encourages people to wear a red nose and act silly to help raise money. On red Nose Day the BBC One broadcasts comedy and documentary films, bringing the U.K. together to address poverty and injustice in Africa and in the U.K.
Interesting Red Nose Day Facts:
The first broadcast by the charity Comic Relief took place on Christmas Day on BBC One, from the Sudan in a refugee camp.
In 1988 Comic Relief broadcast the first Red Nose Day. It is held in March every two years.
Issues covered by Red Nose Day in Africa include HIV and AIDS education, literacy, immunization, and community rebuilding.
Issues covered by Red Nose Day in the U.K. include discrimination and prejudice against disabled people, rights of older people, and domestic violence escape routes for women.
Every pound (U.K. money) raised goes to helping others. The charity itself is run by donations, and by volunteers so money donated for Red Nose Day events is spent on helping others.
The mission of Comic Relief is to drive positive change through the use of entertainment.
Comic Relief's founders were Alexander Mendes and Richard Curtis. Richard Curtis is a screenwriter. He wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Bridget Jones's Diary (and the sequel), The No. 1 Detective Agency, and One Night with Robbie Williams. They started the charity in response to the famine that was occurring in Ethiopia.
The first Red Nose Day event raised a whopping 15 million pounds. In 2009 the event raised 82 million pounds. In 2011 Red Nose Day raised 108 million pounds. In total since its beginning the Comic Relief charity has raised more than 600 million pounds.
76 countries have benefited from Red Nose Day fundraising events.
More than 11,000 projects in the United Kingdom have been funded by Red Nose Day contributions alone.
Comic Relief raises money all year long to support their work, not just on Red Nose Day.
Money raised in New Zealand on Red Nose Day goes to help fund research into SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
The name for Red Nose Day was inspired by the fact that clowns wear red noses and make people laugh by doing silly things.
Some of the charities given funds by Comic Relief include Oxfam, Christian Aid, Sight Savers, and Save the Children Fund.
Celebrities often get involved with Red Nose Day, including Kate Moss, Simon Cowell, Hugh Grant, Damian Lewis, Lily Allen, David Williams, and Nick Grimshaw.
Comic Relief also has other telethon events to raise money for its causes, including Sport Relief, and Children in Need.


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