Everything you need to know about Red Nose Day | Daily Mail Online
Everything you need to know about Red Nose Day
by ROSALIND RYAN, femail.co.uk
We all know that Red Nose Day is the chance to act silly to raise money for charity, but how many of us know what actually goes into making it so special?
You may wonder, 'how did the idea come about?' and 'what has it managed to achieve so far?' If you want to get involved, but shy away from public displays of silliness, you may want to know how else you can contribute.
Many people are also worried about donating to Comic Relief because they are unsure where their money is going and exactly who or what it is being spent on.
To answer your questions, read our background guide to Comic Relief and Red Nose Day below. For more information, visit the Red Nose website
What is Comic Relief and Red Nose Day?
Set up by the comedy community 18 years ago, Comic Relief uses comedy and laughter to get across messages about issues and problems that affect the lives of many people. The heart of what Comic Relief is about is their commitment to help end poverty and social injustice.
Comic Relief was launched live on BBC ONE on Christmas Day 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The charity  began with a few live events and the first Red Nose Day was broadcast three years later in 1988. Since then there have been eight Red Nose Days that have raised more than £250 million. Red Nose Day 2001 raised £55 million alone.
The projects that Comic Relief support cover a huge range of issues. Red Nose Day money in Africa has educated people about HIV and AIDS, taught women to read, immunised children and helped people rebuild their communities. Across the UK it has helped disabled people challenge prejudice and discrimination, supported older people in their fight to get their rights recognised and provided escape routes for women living with domestic violence.
What's happening this year?
Red Nose Day 2003 (RND03) promises to be one of the biggest and best Red Nose Days yet. The theme is the Big Hair Do, so ridiculous or red hair styles will be de rigueur on March 14.
As usual, a host of comics and celebrities are getting involved. Some of the highlight include:  vertigo-sufferer Jack Dee being sponsored to balance on top of a 50ft pole outside the BBC television centre on the night, Perrier comedy award nominee Tim FitzHigham canoeing the length of the Thames in a paper boat made from Metro newspapers, Liquid News presenter Claudia Winkleman is due to give birth on March 14 so will be sponsored for every hour of labour she endures and Lenny Henry has become the voice of the speaking clock from 10 to 23 March.
On the day, the streets in the City of London will be filled with 3,000 people on a fun run. They will be expected to walk, crawl, skate or be pushed in shopping trolleys in an bid to raise cash for Comic Relief. Rumours abound that a number of celebrities will also be taking part - so watch this space! The fun run is sponsored by Vauxhall Corsa.
Six celebrities have volunteered to learn to drive and take their test by RND03. Stars including Gareth Gates Eastenders' Sonia Natalie Cassidy, and Lily Savage creator Paul O'Grady have been caught on camera for Celebrity Driving School over the past three weeks having lessons and will find out if they have passed or failed on the night.
To find out what is happening in your area, visit www.rednoseday.com and click on the What's On button, then follow the links for Event Listings.
How can I get involved?
The easiest thing to do is buy a Big Hair Do Nose. The red nose - complete with funky hair - is only available from Sainsbury's stores and petrol stations, Oxfam stores and BBC shops and radio stations for £1. You can also buy them online from www.sainsburys.co.uk or www.rednoseday.com. If you prefer a more subtle statement of support, you can buy a Big Hair Do pin badge from the same outlets.
If you want to get sponsored to take part in the day's events, send off for a fundraising pack by calling 09065 500 500. Calls cost no more than £1.50. The kits are stuffed full of ideas such as getting sponsored for giving yourself a Big Hair Do for RND03, eating red food all day, or setting up a swear box at work to collect money every time you say ??**@@!!
You can enjoy a drink and give money to RND03 at the same time. Comic Relief and the UK's top wine sellers have joined forces to produce Wine Relief. For each bottle of specially selected wine sold, 10 per cent will go towards Comic Relief. You can find Wine Relief bottles in major supermarkets and smaller retailers. So start stocking your wine rack, it'd be rude not to really...
If you would just like to make a donation, simply call 08457 910 910 or log onto www.rednoseday.com. You can also press the red button on your interactive TV remote control. If you want to send a donation, cheques should be made out to Red Nose Day 2003 and sent to Red Nose Day 2003, Ernst and Young, PO Box 678, London, EC4A 1NT.
Where does the money go?
Comic Relief promise that for every pound donated by the public, a pound goes to helping people. They can do this because the cost of running Comic Relief is met by cash donations from all types of organisations such as the government and corporate donors. Many of the people involved in Comic Relief also volunteer their services for free or are paid 'in kind' i.e. they swap their labour for something in return.
The cash raised by Comic Relief - over £250 million so far - aims to help people help themselves. The charity says they give grants to projects that are involved at a 'grass roots' level, helping some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the UK and Africa get a leg up, not a hand out.
A board of 20 experts decides exactly what the money will be spent on. They carefully consider every grant before it is agreed on. The board is made up of the Comic Relief grants staff, grants committees and the charity's trustees.
Since Comic Relief began, 4,449 grants have been given to projects working with disadvantaged people in the UK, totalling £72,430,112.
Since the last Red Nose Day in 2001 Comic Relief has awarded Barnardo's, Bristol BASE £34,182 for their work with young people vulnerable to abuse through prostitution. Other projects that benefited include a women's refuge in Penzance to help women and children escaping domestic violence, a drop-in centre for young people with mental health problems in Abadare and schemes to help young male offenders in Northern Irelandreduce their likelihood of re-offending.
Since 1988, Red Nose Day cash has funded 1,349 grants in Africa worth over £141.7 million for projects working with poor and disadvantaged people.
Some specific projects in Africa who have been helped by Comic Relief include Save the Children Fund for their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan helping ex-child soldiers rebuild their lives, a shelter programme to help slum dwellers across Kenya and Uganda gain access to land to build safe communities, and a youth centre in Tanzania that helps street kids whose lives have been ruined by the impact of Aids and HIV on their families.
Comic Relief cash is also given to approximately 70 charities in the UK and Africa. Some you may recognise include Oxfam, Sight Savers and Christian Aid. They help fund projects both at home and abroad.
For more information about the projects and charities that benefit from your generosity, visit www.rednoseday.com and follow the links from the 'Comic Relief' section.