At Comic Relief US we know that to inspire young hearts and minds, it's important to engage kids where they are, helping them to feel connected to something larger than themselves.
Red Nose Day in School is a program of Comic Relief US designed to teach students about the impacts of poverty on children, foster empathy building, and celebrate acts of kindness.
This year, in partnership with the LEGO Group’s Social Responsibility team, we invited kids in classrooms across the country to join the Community Builders Challenge. Using the LEGO Group’s proven Build the Change methodology, kids used LEGO® bricks & art supplies to leverage the power of learning through play to build inclusive communities, empowering them to imagine a brighter and collective future. The catch? Every build had to include a spot for the iconic Red Nose at the center, the universal symbol of positivity and inclusion for all.
Our goal for the Community Builder’s Challenge was to reach 100,000+ children in classrooms nationwide. We set out to:
We successfully launched the Community Builder’s Challenge through outreach to teachers and educators in our existing Red Nose Day in School network. They received a step-by-step Community Builder’s Challenge lesson guide and interactive activity sheet for use in their classrooms.
To ensure equitable access for classrooms to participate, Comic Relief US also distributed complimentary Red Noses and LEGO recycled brick sets for Title 1 and Charter schools nationwide.
Students were encouraged to design and create their awesome and inclusive community ideas using any classroom supplies that spark their creativity, from paper, glue, crayons, and clay to LEGO® bricks, feathers, and popsicle sticks.
Each classroom entered the challenge by submitting a photo or video of their inclusive community builds that featured the iconic Red Nose at the center. The entries were judged by a panel of Red Nose Day ambassadors and LEGO enthusiasts, and the winners were announced in May 2024.
In the US, there isn’t one solution or path to reach all schools and educators en masse. One of the biggest challenges we faced was balancing introducing a new program that was meant to be additive and not a burden on often overworked educators, both in our existing network of supporters and finding effective ways to message this to new networks.
While the Community Builders Challenge was a free program and didn’t require LEGO bricks to be used throughout the activity, we had to adjust our messaging over the program rollout to ensure that it was one of the first headlines the educators saw. Through A/B testing and our social media promotions, we were able to adjust quickly to what resonated with audiences the most.
The Community Builders Challenge successfully engaged kids to learn through play. It allowed kids to exercise their critical thinking skills to solve challenges and use creativity to reimagine and build "dream communities" that promote empathy and inclusivity, two values that inherently align with Comic Relief US’ mission and goals for the Red Nose Day in School educational program, which is meant to celebrate acts of kindness in the classroom and beyond.
Their creative builds gave us a special look into the inspiring change kids want to see in the world. Overall we reached over 114,000 kids in school, surpassing our goal by 14%.
We distributed 203 replay kits to Title I and Charter schools and received over 528,000 visits to partnership microsites, resulting in 3,546 program material downloads and 27 challenge submissions.
We also engaged Red Nose Day celebrity friends and passionate LEGO fans to send congratulatory videos to the winning classroom and participants.
