Red Noses To Spread Some Goodness!

One of my parent goals is to teach my boys to be generous in giving. I know they see Jeff and me giving to charities here and there, and twice a year they clean out their toys and clothes to donate, but I’m always looking for other ways to show them ways to give.

When I heard about Red Nose Day, I knew it would be a FUN way to get them involved and in the giving spirit. We bought our red noses at Walgreens and popped them on for some silly pictures to help spread the word.

The idea is that the nose is funny, it makes you smile, and it shows you that giving can be done in a fun way. The Red Nose Day campaign is run by the non-profit Comic Relief. They want their fundraisers to be “fun-raisers,” and their motto is “Laugh. Give. Save a kid.” 🙂

One of the ways I wanted my boys to be involved, besides wearing the silly red noses, was to give a donation. The Red Nose Day site and lists several examples of what a donation can do for a child in need. I LOVE THIS!

This gives a visual of what the donation is actually doing. The boys can choose what they’d like to donate from their banks by thinking about what they’d like to help provide.

Some examples of things a donation can provide through Red Nose Day participation:

• $1= 11 meals for hungry children through the Feeding America food banks
• $4= anti-malarial net to protect a mother and her child
• $5= antibiotics to treat a child with pneumonia
• $10= a safe place for an at-risk child to go during the summer and after school
• $30= access to clean water for a person in Uganda
• $100= food, clothing, shelter, and medical care to help get a child off the street

I’m hoping to make this an annual family event, and something they look forward to each year. And, fingers crossed, something that will stick with them as they become (gulp!) men.

EDIT FOR 2018: *The Red Nose Day TV Special is Thursday, May 24, at 9 p.m. on NBC. It’s a live event with tons of celebrities and comedians coming together to help children in need. (I’m recording the event for my boys to watch Friday for our movie night.)

This is a clip from the 2016 Red Nose Day Special, featuring Ludacris. When the little boy says he pushes in his stomach at night to get rid of the hunger pangs … whew. This is every school, in every town. There are children all around us who are hungry. And we can all help somehow. Even little boys with just a few dollars in their piggy banks.

If you participate in Red Nose Day, I’d love to see some pics!! Share them in the comments below or on 39ish Life’s Facebook page!

Love (and smile while you give) more,

Dana