25 Dates in 25 Hours for Red Nose Day
Claire Travers Smith is raising money for Comic Relief: Red Nose Day
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Hello, good day, and welcome to my Just Giving page! You're here because you know I've agreed to do something a little foolish for a really awesome charity, and I'm super chuffed you have. So welcome! Nice to see you here! You're looking wonderful.
So what's this all about then?
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Red Nose Day, that one day in the year when I remember being allowed to do daft stuff at school, dance around to such classics as The Stonk, and sport a rather fetching vermillion proboscis. As well as being an event of great fondness for me during my childhood, it's also a cause very close to my heart. I currently work for Comic Relief, the astonishingly awe-inspiring organisation behind these scarlet snouted celebrations, and I'm fortunate enough to see first hand the amazing work they do. Over the last 25 years, they've done something almost incomprehensible which to positively affect the lives of over 40 million people worldwide. That's over 40 million people now living safer, better, happier lives. That's insane. And it's insanely wonderful. And that's all down to foolish fund-raisers like me, and more importantly generous donors like you.
To commemorate this glorious anniversary, comedian and masochist Mark Watson has decided to embark on another one of his trademark epic stand up gigs, this time a 25 hour gig. Lord. Needless to say when Mark hinted to me to get involved, I may have shot my mouth off a little too soon with 'yeah alright, shall I do a mini version of my 52 First Dates blog challenge but in 25 hours? Yeah why not!'
...and THEN thought long and hard about it. And maybe regretted it. Maybe.
Well it's too late now - I'm in for the long haul, quite literally. To be honest, I was never going to run the marathon for charity, the idea of sitting in a bath of beans for 25 hours whilst people are still starving is a little tasteless, and there's no way on God's earth I could be persuaded to do anything involving planes, ropes or mountains. But over the last 2 years I appear to have refined the art of making small talk with random strangers, so a sponsored date-a-thon it is. 25 dates with 25 random people in 25 hours. Endurance dating...my parents will be so proud.
The big main event itself takes place at the delightful Pleasance Theatre in Islington and will be streamed live on t'interweb and t'radio and t'stuff starting at 11pm on Thursday 28th of Feb 2013 and running through to midnight on Friday 1st March. During that time, I have to have been on all of my allotted dates and survived. Mostly.
'How can I get involved?' I hear you cry! Well, funny you should ask! This is a Just Giving page, so all I ask is that you just give...whatever you can. And know that every single penny you donate will go towards helping someone out there who is living in unimaginable circumstances. Can't say fairer than that can you?
So that's my blurb, thank you so much for your time, your support and most importantly, for your donation.
Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
CTS x
PS. Oh, and don't forget to Gift Aid your donation. But you were going to do that anyway weren't you? Lovely.