Red Nose Day is already something of a fixture in the UK and it has now been announced that the US will hold its own version of the charity fundraiser this year.
Red Nose Day is run by the Comic Relief charity and is supported by a number of top names. To date it has raised more than £1bn ($1.49bn). The charity was founded 30 years ago and has provided assistance to a number of charity projects around the world, particularly in Africa. The US version of the fundraiser will see a three-hour fundraising show on NBC and will benefit charitable causes all over the world.
One of the co-founders of Comic Relief is the filmmaker Richard Curtis, who is known for movies such as Love Actually. He will be taking part in the US version in the role of executive producer.
The first TV fundraiser for Comic Relief and Red Nose Day was held in 1988 and the event has taken place every two years since then. The premise is that you ‘do something funny for money’ and over the years both the general public and celebrities have taken part in all kinds of challenges to achieve the £1bn total. They take part in challenges at work, at school and on TV.
The UK’s latest Red Nose Day took place last week and pledges reached £78m during the live show. Stars such as Daniel Craig and Orlando Bloom took part and a number of celebrities have welcomed the news that the US will have its own Red Nose Day. It is not yet known who is going to be appearing during the telethon but you can expect to see plenty of top names helping to raise money for good causes.
The charity event became known as Red Nose Day because comic red noses are sold and worn during the day, which are available from a number of stores. These noses are made out of either plastic or foam and are the same type you would expect to see on a clown at a circus. Generally you would just make a donation for your red nose; however, sometimes a minimum amount is recommended. Sometimes schools and workplaces hold a red-themed day, where for a small donation you make sure that you wear something red to promote the event and the money raised is passed on to the charity.
If you really want to get into the spirit of the event, you can create your own fundraiser. Have you ever considered being sponsored to spend part of the day sitting in a bath of baked beans? Or perhaps you would prefer to be sponsored to hop everywhere? You don’t have to do anything strange to raise money to help, however, as simply buying a red nose and wearing it for a few hours would help a lot of people. Why not find out what events are being held to raise money in your local area and go along?
