We share some tips to get the most out of Comic Relief 2019!
Today is Red Nose Day -- and this evening we’ll be able to see the results of Comic Relief’s efforts to raise money for those in need around the globe during its biennial telethon. It’s been 34 years since Comic Relief was founded in 1985 by Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry in an attempt to gather funds for those affected by famine in Ethiopia, and since then the charity’s main event, Red Nose Day, has become something of a cultural phenomenon which brings families and communities together to rally around some truly worthy causes.
One of the biggest supporters of Red Nose Day and the people Comic Relief try to help have always been schools. Every year students, teachers and school staff alike plan for the best way to make money for and do their bit to show support for the people around the world who perhaps aren’t as lucky as them -- and they always manage to have fun and raise a smile in the process. So what are the best ways to raise money for Comic Relief? We’ve done the research so you don’t have to!
Dress-up day! Not to be confused with the more common dress-down day, dress-up days are an altogether more fun and entertaining way to ditch the uniform. Rather than simply wearing casual clothes instead of school stuff in exchange for a donation to charity as you would on a dress-down day, dress-up days usually see students and teachers swapping the uniform and workwear for costumes that match a prescribed theme. The theme could be anything - Disney movies, 80s retro-fashion, book characters, comic-book characters - you name it! I personally have fond memories of dressing up in a Tim Burton-inspired costume for Red Nose Day at my school… safe to say it went down well! It’s a fun and easy way to raise money, and get a good giggle out of how ridiculous everyone looks.
Throw some shapes! In most schools in England, if it’s been decided that the primary form of money raising will be through a ticketed dance, this usually means a ball or disco for students and staff to attend. However, in Scottish schools this usually involves a Ceilidh stuffed full of Scottish country dancing (the steps to which students will have learnt in PE!), so I am more qualified to speak about these. Ceilidhs are joyful, inclusive and occasionally hilarious occasions in which you don’t need to worry about looking cool or even being a good dancer -- there’s little freestyle movement involved so you can cast aside any anxiety about your awkward improvisational dad-dancing, and the band leader will lead you through the steps of the dances if you don’t know them the first time you run one through. I would highly encourage any schools in England to get on it and organise a last minute charity Ceilidh -- you won’t regret it when you see the headteacher frantically trying to keep up during the Strip the Willow!
Ready, set, bake off! Who doesn’t love a little bit of cake? The only thing better than scoffing some yummy cake is knowing that you’re doing it for a good cause! Bake sales are relatively easy to pull off if everyone is asked to bring in homebaking (even if half of the people forget there will still be enough cake to go around!) and as a result they’re quite a popular choice. On top of this, thanks to years of bake sales during my school days I’ve managed to perfect a pretty decent cupcake recipe, so it’s handy for the old life skills too! With the rise of popular shows such as Bake Off, Nailed It and Ace of Cakes, charity baking is definitely en vogue among head teachers planning their Red Nose Day events - who knows, maybe this year we’ll see some Bake-Off style charity baking competitions instead of simple bake sales?!
When schools raise money for Red Nose Day, they: help contribute towards initiatives that provide clean drinking water to communities that don’t have access to any; help charities to fight gender-based violence and discrimination; provide safe places to live for marginalised communities; and give children better access to education and training. For these reasons I’m sure we’ll see many schools dress-up, dance and bake their socks off for a good cause today!
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Madeleine helps to run our Admin Team. Despite the fact that she read Japanese at university, Madeleine’s main passion in life is opera and she hopes to become the next Maria Callas some day...
Madeleine manages the staff on our Admin Team, liaising with tutors, clients and applicants. She is responsible for processing the ID, Qualifications, DBS Check and References for all our newly joining tutors.