Time to Put on a Red Nose

Red Nose Day is back on Friday 15 March in the UK.  British charity Comic Relief has been encouraging people to don a clown's red nose and "do something funny for money" since 1988. 

Red Nose Day is an occasion for many people across the country, and especially schools, to have a laugh while raising some serious money, whether simply wearing a red nose to school or work or taking part in more complex comic activities.

Last year's event raised over £35 million. The money collected is used in the UK and around the world to support charities working on homelessness and poverty, mental and physical health and gender discrimination. You can find out more here.

Ready to Rebel
This year, Comic Relief is suggesting secondary schools take inspiration from some inspiring young activists from around the world and stage a Red Nose Day Rebellion. There's a great lesson plan to download with accessible biographies of six twentysomething activists: Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg, Floridian LGBTQ+ campaigner Zander Moricz, British campaigner against period stigma Amika George, American anti-bullying campaigner Jaylen Arnold and Ecuadorian environmental and indigenous rights activist Helena Gualinga.

A few years ago, young people raised concerns with Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day charity, about all the plastic waste generated by the red noses sold for the event. So Comic Relief found ways to make them recyclable. Now you can even get ones that are compostable and contain seeds to attract bees or butterflies! This year, they let kids loose on making the video to promote the noses:

On 15 March, a TV special on the BBC will see comedians and celebrities join in the fun, and show stories of the people who have been helped with funding.

Up for a Challenge
Each year, celebrities take on challenges to raise money and awareness for Red Nose Day. One of this year's is an all-female Arctic Challenge: Sara Davies, Vicky Pattison, Alex Scott and Laura Whitmore spent four days trekking 50 km trekking across the Arctic Circle.

Businesswoman Sara Davies described an evening where they had to dig their tents out of the snow at the end of a long trek, "We just laid in that tent absolutely freezing, and the reality hit of that’s only a couple of nights for us, but for a lot of people, it’s an everyday thing trying to get warm in their house and I think it just gave us time to reflect on how lucky we are. And therefore, how we want to use the platforms we have to raise awareness and raise those funds."