Red Nose Day 2011

I am old enough to remember the very first Red Nose Day all the way back in 1988. How fantastic is it that this event has been going for over 20 years now? Red Nose Day 2011 has lead up activities throughout June, with the official Red Nose Day Friday, 24 June 2011.

Every day in Australia:

“nine children under the age of four die suddenly and unexpectedly from a range of causes including sleeping accidents, drowning, motor vehicle accidents, sudden onset illness, SIDS and stillbirth* an average of six families experience having a stillborn baby**.

For every one child that dies, more than 60 people may require counselling and support***”.

To me they are pretty shocking statistics. Reading these stats has made me want to hug all my kids that little bit tighter as I put them off to bed each night. Losing a child must be the most devastating event a parent can experience. I am sure it is something that you never fully get over.

SIDS and Kids offers anyone affected by the death of a baby or child free 24-hour bereavement support services. Every year SIDS and Kids receive over 10,000 calls for support and education and they
rely almost totally on the support of the Community to provide these much needed services.

Where do the funds raised from Red Nose Day go?

Red Nose Day is the major fundraiser for Sids and Kids. Funds raised from Red Nose Day go towards:

  • Free ongoing bereavement support and crisis outreach to families and the community following the sudden and unexpected death of a baby, infant or child 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
  • Education to thousands of parents, carers and health professionals on how to reduce the risk of SIDS and fatal sleeping accidents through the world class, evidence based SIDS and Kids Safe Sleeping program.
  • Research into the causes and prevention of sudden and unexpected death of children during pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood.

How you can support Red Nose Day 2011

There are many ways you can support this very important cause:

You can keep up to date with all things Red Nose Day 2011 via their facebook page or on twitter.

If you have a fundraiser organised for Red Nose Day, feel free to give it a shout out below in the comments and on the Planning With Kids facebook page. I will then share it on the page as well so everyone can see it.

* Data collection from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), National Perinatal Statistics Unit (NPSU) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
**National Perinatal Statistics Unit (NPSU), 2008
***Please note the sixty people can include family, relatives, friends, work colleagues, school community, playgroup mothers, emergency services staff, hospital staff, maternal & child health nurses, clergy, etc.