2. Comic Relief & Red Nose Day

Focus on

comic relief and a funny man Two children with red noses
Imagen de Working Word en Flickr. Licencia CC
 Imagen de Just me... en Flickr. Licencia CC

Reading activity

Read the following text about Comic Relief.

Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief. Comic Relief is one of the two high profile telethon events held in the United Kingdom, the other being Children in Need, held annually in November.
Comic Relief was launched live on Noel Edmonds' Late, Late Breakfast Show on BBC1, on Christmas Day 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The idea for Comic Relief came from the charity worker Jane Tewson, who established it as the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England and Scotland.
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 people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice".
One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors, or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed.
Currently, its main supporters are the BBC, BT, Sainsbury's supermarket chain and British Airways. The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on Red Nose Day; BT provides the telephony, and Sainsbury's sells merchandise on behalf of the charity.
The July 2010 accounts for charity registration 326568 show grant payments of £59 million, net assets of £135 million, with an investment portfolio held in a range of managed pooled funds and fixed term deposits. The average full-time staff was 214, with 14 staff paid over £60,000 with remuneration for the year, excluding pensions, for Kevin Cahill, chief executive of £120,410.
In 2002, Comic Relief and BBC Sport teamed up to create Sport Relief, a new initiative, aiming to unite the sporting community and culminate in a night of sport, entertainment and fund-raising on BBC One. Sport Relief is a biennial charity event, and the campaign deliberately alternates years with Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's flagship event. Red Nose Day occurs in odd-numbered years, and Sport Relief in even-numbered years.
In 2009, Comic Relief launched a website calling for a financial transaction tax, the "Robin Hood" tax.
As of the Red Nose Day appeal in 2015, the charity has raised a total of over £1bn.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Relief

Answer the following comprehension questions about the text above. 

  1. When was Comic Relief founded?
  2. What was the main reason for its foundation?
  3. When is Red Nose Day held?
  4. There is another famous telethon event in the UK. Which one is it?
  5. Who had the idea for Comic Relief?
  6. What's this charity's aim?
  7. What does the "Golden Pound Principle" consists of?
  8. Comic Relief's main supporters are...
  9. When was Sport Relief created?
  10. How much money has the charity raised on Red Nose Day 2015?

Do it yourself

Choose the best heading for each paragraph.

Wearing a red nose for a day may seem like a strange way to raise money for charity. However, it seems to work in Britain.

Red Nose Day (RND) is a well-known event in the UK. The aim of the day is to raise money for a charity called Comic Relief which helps people in need in Africa and in the UK.

I love red nose dayImagen de Comic Relief en Flickr. Licencia CC

Comic Relief was started in 1985 by the scriptwriter Richard Curtis. He wrote the series ‘Blackadder' as well as the famous films 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and 'Notting Hill'. Richard's idea to start Comic Relief was as a response to the severe famine in Ethiopia. It's called Red Nose Day as on this day many people buy a plastic red nose to wear! The money made from selling red noses goes to the charity.

Red Nose Day takes place every two years in the spring and is now so well established that many people consider it to be an unofficial national holiday. For example, many schools have non-uniform days. The next Red Nose Day is on 13th March 2015.

The slogan for the last RND was ‘Do Something Funny for Money' and the money that was collected helped to fund projects in the following areas: treating malaria, education, maternal health and mental health. The BBC Red Nose Day telethon raised £74.3 million! Money-raising events take place all over the country and many schools participate. People also donate money by post, in banks, by phone using a credit card and online.

people celebrating comic relief

Imagen de Comic Relief en Flickr. Licencia CC

Getting sponsored to do something is a common way to raise money on RND. If someone sponsors you it means that they agree to give you a specific amount of money for your actions. Here are some ways that people raise money:

• Get sponsored to wear your pyjamas all day at work or in school.

• Get sponsored to grow a moustache or beard for a month.

• Ask colleagues or classmates for a donation to wear a red wig for the day.

• Get sponsored to give up chocolate, biscuits or crisps.

In the evening of Red Nose Day a telethon takes place on the BBC TV channels. This is like a television marathon that shows a selection of the events of the day, as well as lots of comic sketches and reports of how the money raised will be spent. There’s a RND Facebook page and you can follow RND on Twitter. People also upload videos of local charity events on YouTube and Facebook.

So, if you are ever in the UK on Red Nose Day, now you know why you may find normal people wearing red noses and doing silly things! It's all for a good cause! If you want to find out more about the day, have a look at the official Red Nose Day website.

Source: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/read-uk/red-nose-day

Enable JavaScript

Do it yourself

After reading the text above, check your understanding. Choose true or false for the following sentences.

Question 1

1. Comic relief gives money to people in Africa and Britain.

Question 2

2. On Red Nose Day people buy plastic money.

Question 3

3. Red Nose Day takes place every year.

Question 4

4. The BBC collected over 74 million pounds for charity last year.

Question 5

5. If you sponsor someone, you give them money to do a specific activity.

Question 6

6. There are special programmes on TV in the morning on Red Nose Day.

 
Please, donate
Imagen de Gerry Dincher en Flickr. Licencia CC




Write a brief paragraph answering the following questions:

  • Have you ever raised money for charity? What did you do? How much money did you raise?
  • What do you think of Red Nose Day?
 

Click on the picture below to watch and listen to the beautiful Red Nose Day 2015 song , "Lay Me Down" performed by Sam Smith ft. John Legend. This song is a contribution to Comic Relief cause and all of us can collaborate by downloading this song on itunes following this link.

Click on the audioscript picture if you want to sing the song along.

A little black girl

Imagen de Pepe Pont en Flickr. Licencia CC

Audioscript

Do it yourself

Sam Smith and John Legend speak to Lizo Mzimba about singing the official Comic Relief single. Watch it on BBC News and  choose who says what in the following extracts taken from this interview.

WHAT? WHO?
It's the first song I wrote from my record
...how happy some of these kids are because of the support
The song is really beautiful
I'm so happy I can do something with Comic Relief
I think it's magnificent
Well, it's about needing love, needing companionship, needing friendship...

Enable JavaScript

Creado con eXeLearning (Ventana nueva)