Friday is a massive day in the UK, and even though I’m thousands of miles away, I’m following along and trying to help as much as I can! On the third Friday of March each year, known nationally as “Red Nose Day”, the entire country bands together to raise money in countless different ways to help impoverished or underprivileged people across the UK, and around the world. Currently, Comic Relief is supporting projects across the world, including helping young people with mental health issues, including dealing with self-harm and suicidal thoughts; sexually exploited and trafficked young people, the elderly, those experiencing domestic or sexual abuse, local communities, and helping develop technology to better help people with disabilities. And that’s just at home. Internationally, Comic Relief is making enormous strides to help children living and working on the street, people affected by HIV and AIDS, women and girls, people affected by conflict, those living in slums, giving people access to education and healthcare, helping develop systems so communities can become self-sufficient, and protecting families from social injustice, abuse and neglect.
This may sound like I’m trying to ask you for a donation, but I’m not. Today I just want to write about this incredible cause, and just spread awareness of how big of a difference people can make if they really band together. If you’re not familiar with Comic Relief, allow me to explain: For a few weeks every March, absolutely everyone from the local postman to the nation’s favourite celebrity will be doing something to get involved in doing something to make this world a better place. Taxi drivers donate a day’s fares to the charity. Schools and workplaces have fundraisers across the country, and everyone joins in in “doing something funny for money.” Teachers lead classes of students in activities and contests; employees hold talent shows, shave their heads, walk around in costumes, run marathons, sit in baths full of baked beans, throw pies at bosses and even hold T-shirt relays, where branches of a company across the country take part in getting the shirt from one end of England to the other, having it ride all sorts of modes of transport with staff and taking in landmarks across the country.
Celebrities from all modes of entertainment get in on the action too, and raise hundreds of thousands in donations – 100% of which goes straight to changing countless lives throughout the world. For the last few weeks, groups of celebs have given up all their creature comforts to experience life in one of the world’s most impoverished and unsanitary places – the Kibera slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Almost 4,000 people joined in at the Royal Albert Hall to blast out Ride of the Valkyries on kazoos to break a Guiness World Record. Stars of stage and screen join together to create parodies of popular TV shows, and favourite TV programmes air short specials during which people can make a pledge to the charity. A couple of years ago, a team of some of my favourites (including the nation’s favourite radio DJ, the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the world, and the beautiful Cheryl Cole) went on a six-day trek to climb Kilimanjaro, experiencing freezing temperatures, exhaustion, and altitude sickness to raise money for malaria nets in Africa. The six-part documentary was incredible, moving, and absolutely awe-inspiring, and I remember bawling as I watched them reach the summit, and find out they’d raised over 3.3 million pounds – over $5,000,000 through the climb alone. This year, another team went on a hundred-kilometre trek in 100 degree heat across the desert – all in an effort to raise money for people living unimaginably tough lives in Africa and the UK. As I wri
te, the aforementioned DJ is currently broadcasting live on national radio for thirty-seven hours straight – they’re in the eighth hour, and are at 93 thousand pounds already. [Update: 4:47 PM CST – at hour fifteen, they have a giant beacon of a building promoting the show towering over London, and are at a quarter of a million. Update: Thursday morning: hour THIRTY-TWO, and over £600,000 -that’s over a million dollars!!) Tomorrow night, there’ll be a TV marathon culminating celebrity activities, comedy specials, and a documentary on the desert trek, with the final amount announced to the nation on just how much they’ve done to help countless lives across the world.
It’s things like this that make me proud to be British. I wish Comic Relief could go international, and North America could build their own nation-wide team of events and activities designed to change the world. Where every TV show, radio station, and newspaper had coverage of all the things people were doing to raise money, The power of a team on this scale, where everybody is involved, is absolutely phenomenal, and though I’m not asking you to donate, I am just asking you to take a moment to think, just for a second, about how lucky you are. If you have Internet access and are simply able to read these words, you are blessed. If you don’t have to worry about dinner tonight, or if your home is going to be safe, you are blessed. If you have access to water, and working limbs, you are blessed. And just for a moment, I’d like you to reflect on the good things you really do have in your life right now. Maybe you don’t like your job, or maybe you had a fight with your boyfriend. Maybe you ran out of milk, or your laptop is broken. Maybe you missed the bus. But please, if just for a minute or two, think about the thousands of people elsewhere in the world, who are living in war-torn or impoverished countries. Who lost their vision, or a limb. Whose entire families have been taken away by a catastrophic natural disaster. Who can’t afford to provide for their children, or who die from disease leaving those children to fend for themselves, or who go home to be abused every night. If you feel moved enough to donate to Comic Relief, you can from anywhere in the world just by going here. We may not be living our ideal life, but we can count our blessings. We may not be in a position to donate, but we can spread awareness. And we may not be able to change the entire world, but we can make a dent, and go about our days with a spirit of gratitude, servanthood, and compassion.
Prose and Constellations 
I bought my RND shirt yesterday – this year they’ve been designed by Vivienne Westwood (does that mean I’m finally wearing something with a designer label?? hehe)
I watched the documentary thingy about Helen Skelton doing the wire walk (I’d watched the amazon rowing one before) she deserves an OBE or something (that might not be the right one lol)
I also watched the Kibera Slums one – it was so heartbreaking. To watch Lenny Henry break down in tears because he didn’t know what else to do when he saw the conditions the kids were living in. You can donate £5 by text now (it’s just added onto your bill but the money goes straight to Comic Relief) at that point I donated my £5 – thats enough for 1 mozzy net, or something crazy like a years worth of HIV meds. But having watched that slums documentary that £5 could be a years pay and that needs to go on food and rent before medication.
Sorry splurge over 🙂
I’m so glad they had the stream available outside the UK today – usually we don’t get to see any video on the BBC websites, and I have to look elsewhere for Comic Relief documentaries etc. but it’s been great following Chris and Dave all day! Can’t wait to see the Desert Trek doc. tomorrow.
I had forgotten about that one till it was mentioned on Radio 2 this morning – going to make sure I record it so I can watch it when I get in from band practice 🙂
Moyles is at half a million right now!! So proud! 😀
Did you know that in a way it IS going international? This year people in the Netherlands are taking the example of the British and organizing a Red Nose Day all of their own. 🙂
That’s fantastic!! I hope it explodes just like it did in the UK!
THIS IS PHENOMINAL. The fact that all of the UK comes together for a good cause is astounding. Truly inspiring and touching. I hadn’t heard of this before, but I am glad you wrote about it. Your last paragraph is beautiful. Very well written and I completely agree. we are all so blessed to have the little things that we completely take for granted. While highly doubtful that Americans would do this, I would LOVE to see Red Nose Day come to America. Thanks for sharing!
I’d love it to come here, too!! Until then, we can support the British one 🙂
This is amazing! Can you imagine if every major country in the world joined in on this and had all their media, celebrities, and just everyone involved like this… what a feeling of national pride knowing everyone made such a difference while having so much fun! Can’t believe that guy’s on air for 37 hours… very impressive. I am going to donate a little something.
It would be incredible if the whole WORLD joined in and it was just as huge everywhere else as it is in the UK. Yep he’s at hour 16 right now… almost halfway there!!
what an awesome idea–i wish it would go international too. how does one go about making things like that happen i wonder?
I wish I knew…
I’ll be in London on Friday, and, thanks to you, I’ll get in on the action! Thanks so much for posting this!
Excellent!! Enjoy the festivities! They raised almost $4 MILLION through the radio show alone!! 🙂
i’ve been listening to chris since about lunch time and they are on hour 13 i think now… over £200,000 now! interested to hear how they’re holding up this time tomorrow. can’t wait to see olly murs on the desert documentary, i’ve been hearing about his pants all week!
We just watched it last night… no pants unfortunately! I was blown away though – especially with the BLIND MAN trekking 100K across the desert. Unbelievable stuff. I cried when the first man got his sight back 🙂 🙂
Australians have lots of things that go on all over australia but none that happen all at once. Men grow moustaches in november, people shave and dye their hair in March. And the good friday appeal is fairly huge as well.
But I love the sound of EVERYONE getting involved. That’s absolutely amazing.
It’s amazing, and I LOVE being able to follow it all from over here 🙂
i’ve never heard of red nose day until now and i too wish it would go global! what a wonderful thing for everyone to do. you know how much i love this :]
I’ve heard of Red Nose Day, but didn’t really know much about it…thanks for sharing this, Emily!
Wendy
hey, we’ve had a red nose day in germany for years now. i love this cause!
Excellent!!
I dressed up in drag one year – as did the rest of the office, and went collecting around town with buckets.
Brilliant!! I really wish they had something like this over here…
Honestly, its things like this (or take Japan, for instance) that just remind you that you’re fortunate and lucky — and able to change your situation if you don’t like it, unlike people in these larger scale and tougher atmospheres. We are a spoiled bunch! 🙂
I had no idea that the UK did something like this yearly. That’s SO awesome! I agree with other commenters who wish it would turn into an international thing, but maybe the first step is getting in national in SEVERAL countries. I just don’t know how you go about doing something like that without money first, ha!
Oh my gosh what an amazing idea! I totally agree with Rachel above me, maybe the next step is to move it to several countries and keep growing from there.
That’s an absolutely amazing idea and how awesome that the entire country gets involved to help make the world a better place. I wish it could go international and that people everywhere, around the world, could help those less fortunate.
.The charity states that its aim is to bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people which we believe requires investing in work that addresses peoples immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. . They are a goofy one called Honkus with larger ones that are like beanbags which laugh when you bash them called Brian these are not red noses however but are the same as the character a pirate called Captain Conk and a nerdy one called Chucklechomp..Each year the style of noses change with some people collecting the different variations..On the 2011 appeal night it was revealed that approximately 50 million red noses have been sold so far…… Similarly several other frequent contributors from previous years appeared only in appeal films or as part of the 24 Hour Panel People event.