How Amazon is celebrating Red Nose Day and supporting Comic Relief

Amazon is the new home of the iconic Red Nose as part of a new partnership with Comic Relief. With every Red Nose bought, supporters are helping people through the toughest times of their lives, and 100% of all profits go directly to Comic Relief.

Amazon has already donated £1.5 million as part of its support for Red Nose Day, and throughout the UK, employees are being encouraged to snap photos of themselves wearing Red Noses in a virtual photobooth. With every picture taken, Amazon will donate an additional £1 to Comic Relief.

Up and down the country, colleagues have also been taking part in weird and wonderful fundraising activities to raise even more money to help change lives in the UK and around the world.

At Amazon’s London HQ, Amazon Directors (and VPs) have been taking part in a series of live ‘Director Dunkings’ with employees choosing the unlucky targets by pledging a donation to Comic Relief.

Each week, the Director who raised the most money ended their day covered in slime, all live-streamed for colleagues across the world to enjoy!

On Tuesday 14th March, the team were joined by TV presenter, author, and Comic Relief ambassador Davina McCall for the final Director Dunking challenge - where no-one escaped the final dunking. All nominees, including Amazon UK Country Manager, John Boumphrey, were slimed by Davina, who also took the time to thank Amazon employees all across the country for all their hard work in helping to make Red Nose Day 2023 a success.

In Greater Manchester and the North West, more than 50 colleagues from our fulfilment centres and delivery stations in the area braved the freezing sleet, rain and snow for Peccy’s Peculiar Parade, a fancy-dress fundraising walk from our fulfilment centre in Bolton to another in Warrington. They were even joined by Peccy, Amazon’s mascot, who donned a Red Nose and tutu for the occasion.

On Friday 10th March, the parade covered more than 20 miles in challenging weather, visiting four primary schools to donate Red Noses for pupils to enjoy. Colleagues also donated popular children’s books to each school, as well as a cash donation of £1,000 from the local Amazon site.

The team was greeted at our Warrington fulfilment centre by a bagpiper and a celebratory party with space hopper racing, a DJ, ‘Quirk-e-oke’, while each got the chance to ‘pie-the-manager’!

In Daventry and Rugeley, colleagues took part in a week-long series of fund-raising activities, including a Red Nose Day themed obstacle course for Amazon employees and a sports day for pupils at local primary schools.

Elsewhere, in the South, employees at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunstable in Bedfordshire held a head shaving event where brave colleagues snagged themselves a new haircut to raise funds for those in need, while colleagues held packing events in London and at a delivery station in Weybridge, packing over 10,000 kits to help child refugees in partnership with Choose Love, an organisation also supported by Comic Relief.

In Scotland, colleagues at Amazon’s delivery station in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, are hosting a village fete-themed series of events across the week, including darts, wooden ring tossing and racing car competitions.

“Ever since we first created the Red Nose in 1988, it has always been a way of showing people how even the smallest of things can make a huge difference,” said Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief. “We know times are difficult right now, but millions of people across the UK and around the world need our support. If we all come together and do what we can, like buy a Red Nose, we can make real change happen.

“We are hugely grateful to all Amazon colleagues and customers who are able to support this year’s Red Nose Day. Together we can be there for people going through the toughest times of their lives.”

Comic Relief was founded in 1985 by scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry. The charity funds and partners with organisations that support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems and food poverty in the UK and around the world.

The new Red Nose has been designed by legendary designer Sir Jony Ive, and has found a new home on Amazon this year. Made almost entirely from plant-based materials, the Red Nose starts as a tiny, flat crescent and springs into a beautiful honeycomb-paper sphere. It’s not too late to buy a Red Nose or you can donate directly to the charity via our Comic Relief page.

To help the public get into the spirit of Red Nose Day, Alexa users can say, “Alexa, tell me a Comic Relief joke” to hear one read by this year’s Comic Relief celebrity supporters including Adam Thomas, Vicky Pattison and Sir Lenny Henry.

The experience is available on Alexa enabled devices including Echo, Fire TV and the Alexa mobile app in the UK.

Read more about Amazon's partnership with Comic Relief.