Flanders has massively embraced Red Nose Day: soon every Flemish school can count on a Sidekick Sam
In the finishing stretch of Red Nose Day 2021, the amount raised in Flanders reached an impressive 3,061,571 euros. To be able to train a Sidekick Sam in every school, 2.2 million euros was aimed for. Thanks to the efforts of numerous volunteers, activities and donations, that goal was greatly exceeded. The funds raised will be used to set up a Red Nose Academy for teachers. There, they will receive the training and support they need to assist mentally troubled youngsters at their schools better.
At 6 p.m., at the end of The Red Nose Day Playlist - 10 hours of live music on Qmusic, the counter had already reached 2,011,698 euros. During the Liefde voor Muziek Special on VTM, Red Nose Day entered the finishing stretch. Everyone who cares about the mental wellbeing of our youngsters could make a final contribution. At the end of the episode, presenters Julie Van den Steen and Qmusic DJ Vincent Fierens, Kris Vervaet (CEO DPG Media Belgium) and Olivier Onclin (member of the Belfius executive committee) announced the final amount, live on VTM. The funds raised will be used to set up a Red Nose Academy for teachers. There, they will receive the training and support they need to assist mentally troubled youngsters at their schools.
“At DPG Media, we consider it our social responsibility to continue to dedicate ourselves to the mental wellbeing of young people, and to fully deploy our communicative power for an initiative such as Red Nose Day. It was heart-warming to see how many people, schools, cities and companies supported Red Nose Day. What all those activists have organised in difficult circumstances is very impressive. Many planned events could not take place due to the corona regulations. And yet, many campaigners did not give up. Without them, Red Nose Day would never have been able to support so many young people. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to this wonderful result!” says Kris Vervaet, CEO DPG Media Belgium.
Belfius has been a partner of Red Nose Day from the beginning and looks back on this rather atypical corona edition with satisfaction. Olivier Onclin, a member of the Belfius executive committee, confirms this: “Red Nose Day is more important than ever. The corona pandemic has taken its toll on youngsters. Yet they are the future. It’s important that we help them to be resilient. That’s why, as a socially aware bank, we at Belfius believe that the Red Nose Academy and Sidekick Sams are very necessary. Today’s results show that Flanders shares this vision with us. That is an extra motivation to make the Red Nose Academy a fixture so that teachers can fully realise their role as Sidekick Sam.”
Sidekick Sam and Red Nose Academy
The whole corona period made it even more clear how valuable a good bond between students and teachers is. Red Nose Day wants to change this by strengthening teachers in their role as sidekicks. A Sidekick Sam is a teacher to whom students can open their hearts and turn to when they are feeling down.
To support the Sidekick Sams in this, the organisers will use the money raised to set up a Red Nose Academy. Here, the Sidekick Sams will build their own online community in which connection and communication are central. The community will be the reference point for the Sidekick Sams when they are looking for advice or expertise to assist their students better. By bundling all tools together and offering them in a clear way, the teachers will save time and their students will be helped more quickly.
The aim is to launch this Red Nose Academy this school year. Schools can still register for the Academy via rodeneuzendag.be.
From all the stories it became clear that Sidekick Sams can really make a difference at school. It was fantastic to see that so many nice initiatives and actions were set up!
