Comic Relief
Comic Relief describes its mission as bringing about 'positive change through the power of entertainment'. It was established in 1985, and since then has helped tackle poverty and social injustice at home and abroad by :
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inspiring people across the country to join in with fundraising
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raising more than £425 million since 1985
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making over 6000 grants in the UK
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making over 1700 grants internationally.
The charity promises that for every pound it gets directly from the public, the same amount will go directly to projects helping the poorest and most disadvantaged people. It does this by covering its costs in other ways: in cash or in kind from all types of organisations, with money and support from corporate partners and individual suppliers, and by drawing down some of the interest on its funds and on Gift Aid. Read how Comic Relief spends the money raised.
Comic Relief's initiatives include:
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Red Nose Day: a biennual event that puts the fun into fundraising. Red Nose Day 2007 is 16 March, and promises to be the biggest ever. Read about the kind of things schools have got up to during previous Red Nose Days.
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Sport Relief: run in association with BBC Sport to raise funds to help children leading tough lives in some of the world's poorest countries and vulnerable people in the UK.
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Dubble: Comic Relief's very own Fairtrade chocolate bar. Since it was launched, over ten million Dubble bars have been sold, supporting more than 45 000 cocoa growers in Ghana and promoting Fairtrade in the UK.
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PaPaPaa: an online teaching aid for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3, to help children learn about Fairtrade, cocoa and chocolate.
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Send my friend to school: a campaign to help the millions of children around the world who are currently missing out on education. Comic Relief is part of the UK coalition of the Global Campaign for Education, along with other charities such as Oxfam and several teachers' unions.
Published: 11 Febraury 2007
