Philanthropists to match online donations this Red Nose Day

Today marks the 34^th Red Nose Day and Australians are being urged to help fund vital support services for families who have lost a baby.

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Red Nose Australia CEO Keren Ludski asked Australians to give generously.

"We provide extremely specialised and evidence-based support to parents who lose a baby, and this support is completely free for them to access any time," Ms Ludski said.

"It is simply heartbreaking to see the number of Australians experiencing the death of a baby going up.

"While the numbers of SIDS and neonatal deaths have decreased, we need to continue the fight to get this number even lower."

500 childcare centres around Australia will hold 'Little Rockers Discos' today while a digital red nose will take over Instagram.

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Red Nose volunteers will also be out in force across Australia, selling classic red noses from shopping centres and train stations.

Red Nose's major online fundraising appeal is now being backed by a group of generous supporters and philanthropists who are matching every online donation dollar-for-dollar, meaning every $1 donated at rednoseday.org.au will now turn into $2.

Every dollar raised will fund critical research, education and prevention initiatives that go towards a goal of zero babies dying of preventable causes in Australia. This includes helping fund Red Nose's new $100,000 SIDS prevention research grant.

Money raised today also goes towards funding Red Nose's 24/7 counselling and support services for grief-stricken parents struggling with the death of a baby or pregnancy loss.

Red Nose Day also helps fund the development of practical safe sleep advice for new parents to ensure new and expectant parents have up to date information on how to safely sleep their babies.

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