2019 marks the third year that Dental Depot has been involved with fundraising efforts for Red Nose Day, and boy, have our teams gotten into the spirit to help end childhood poverty! This year’s theme, “Every Day Heroes,” aims to empower the average person to pitch in towards making a difference.
But before we get into all the fun we’ve had this week, let’s talk about childhood poverty locally.
You might not realize that the children in your community are at risk, but it’s true. In fact, 20% of American children live in poverty and nearly twice that number are food insecure – meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from, or if it will come at all.
In Oklahoma, one in four go to bed hungry every night and that’s just not okay.
Comic Relief, a UK-based charity, cracked the code that comedy is a great way to raise money for charity. Since 1988 they’ve been hosting the Red Nose Day TV special and in 2015, the giving spirit made its way to the U.S.
Since 2015, more than $150 million dollars have been raised and 16 million children have been helped. Those contributions come out to an impact of 36 million meals served to children, almost 967,000 children received educational services and 13.6 million children received essential medical services.
But, why red noses?
Red noses are synonymous with fun! It’s simple and universal and helps break down barriers and create connections between people through laughter. That’s why we bought 560 of them! Equipped with their noses, our teams have been getting into the Red Nose Day spirit all week with creative fundraising.
We swapped out our regular uniforms for colorful outfits and themes like Twin Day, Dress Like Dr. Glenn Day, Bring Your Own Theme Day, Red Nose and Red Clothes Day and Team Day. And while our costumes ranged from fun to downright silly, it caught the attention of our patients, giving us a chance to share with them the fundraising mission, as well as our commitment to children and our communities.
But the most exciting portion of our fundraising is still underway – the coveted opportunity to pie one of Dental Depot’s doctors, directors or managers in the face at our annual Day at the Park employee celebration, this June. Stay tuned with us on Facebook to find out which team members will be pied and what our final donation total is.
Check out our photos from Spirit Week below and if you’re feeling generous, consider making an easy, online donation to Red Nose Day, here. Want to pick up your very own red nose? They’re available at any Walgreens!
