If you have seen some of Britain’s greatest celebrities sporting bright red clown noses, you must be wondering why. It’s all for a good cause!

Every two years, an organization called Comic Relief puts on an event and it’s celebrated all over Britain. Comic Relief itself was created in 1985 by Richard Curtis after being inspired by Live Aid which addressed the Ethiopian famine. Mr. Curtis wanted to help people in both Africa and the UK, and thus Comic Relief was born. Live Aid used music to help people while Comic Relief uses comedy. The first Comic Relief was broadcast Christmas Day 1985, live from Sudan. Reception was well received, and donations came flooding in.

Three years later in 1988, the first Red Nose Day took place, raising a whopping £15 million thanks to 150 celebrities and comedians. Lenny Henry and a group of children in Ethiopia celebrated. The next year, another Red Nose Day took part and since then, Red Nose Day has taken place every two years. At first, there were just plain red noses being worn but over the years, there have been various versions of the red nose! Some of them have little faces, one has been fuzzy, one has even been a tomato!

The causes vary and so do the celebrities. The first time I heard of Comic Relief was when I was a teenager and was into Harry Potter. My sister bought me some books from a thrift store written by J.K. Rowling. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages were the books. The Comic Relief logo was plastered on them and I figured out it was a charity. I enjoyed the Quidditch book but I didn’t get a chance to read the fantastic beasts one because we were moving and it got lost.

Now why am I writing about Red Nose Day? It’s because the mascot of PG Tips, Monkey, is partnering up with the charity to take part! PG Tips is helping to raise up to £1 million by selling packs of tea. For every box of PG Tips sold in the UK, 8p will be donated from every specially marked pack. In addition to this, Monkey will be on a “monumental mission.” He is scaling the top of the shard!

For my British readers, if you drink PG Tips and are running low, do run to the shop and pick up a pack of PG! Help people all over the world and at home. And do something funny for Red Nose Day with your family and friends! Red Nose Day is not just for celebrities and big names, but also for the average person!

This year’s Red Nose Day is on March 13th, 2015. Don’t feel bad if you can’t donate from the States! There is a way Americans can help.

~CD