What would you do if you saw a poverty-stricken child on the street? No doubt you would stop to help, whether with food or blankets or money. But what about all the children affected by poverty that you don’t see every day? Today there are children all over the United States and the entire world living in poverty. It’s becoming an epidemic that desperately needs our attention. Thankfully, Red Nose Day is making a substantial effort to make a difference and change lives.
Run by the UK non-profit organization Comic Relief Inc., Red Nose Day USA is a campaign that recently spent an entire day raising funds for children in need. The focus of the day is to start by bringing happiness and laughter to those kids, and from there, create awareness that turns into donations to the cause.
The entire event was then broadcasted as a three-hour entertainment special on NBC, bringing in some of Hollywood’s top talent in singers, actors and comedians to encourage people to donate. All over the country, people went to their local Walgreens to buy little red noses and vendor partner products and then donated during the NBC special. Donations were spread between 12 different charities that help children in poverty, including Boys & Girls Clubs, Children’s Health Fund, National Council of La Raza, National Urban League, Save the Children, Oxfam America and more.
Now a little over six months after the event, the Red Nose Day Campaign is pleased to announce that they have raised over $23 million to help those in need! This money has been spread across all 50 states of the United States as well as 15 international countries. Even further, Red Nose Day helped to serve almost eight million meals to children in the U.S. through food banks.
You may remember the Coldplay musical with the cast of Game of Thrones and some of the comedy skits by Reese Witherspoon and Gwen Stefani, and other A-list celebrities.
But Red Nose Day is about more than just food. The funds raised also helped to educate over 200,000 American children to reading level and provided essential health care for 50,000 children and their families. And that’s just in the United States!
Excited to announce that our #RedNoseDay special will return to @nbc Thursday, May 26! pic.twitter.com/YMzjGVyDjB
— Red Nose Day USA (@RedNoseDayUS) November 3, 2015
Internationally, funds raised from Red Nose Day supplied more than 170,000 essential and life-saving vaccinations to children in Africa and delivered clean water to over 30,000 children and their families all across Africa.
Richard Curtis, co-founder of Red Nose Day, was thrilled with the outcome. “I love the fact that this was all done by people having fun and being funny… I thank and salute everyone who played a part in making this happen and really look forward to next year,” he said of the event’s success.
The president of Red Nose Day USA, Paul Telegdy, added “It’s so wonderful to know that so many children will benefit because of what was achieved on the inaugural Red Nose Day. I can think of nothing better than to do it again next year and continue this worthwhile and important mission.”
The tremendous success of Red Nose Day means even more success for children that currently have to survive in poverty. Your donation today can help a child in need. To donate, click here.
For more information on the Red Nose Day, visit www.rednoseday.org or follow @RedNoseDayUS on social media. For more, check out the hashtag #RedNose on all accounts.