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Red Nose Day: TODAY pedals 10,000 miles to help kids in need

It's Red Nose Day, and TODAY is pedaling for a purpose — to make a difference for kids in need both in the U.S. and around the world.
/ Source: TODAY

It's Red Nose Day, and TODAY pedaled for a purpose — to make a difference for kids in need both in the U.S. and around the world.

A global movement to fight kids' poverty that has raised over $1 billion globally in the last 25 years, Red Nose Day launched in the U.S. last year, when TODAY's Matt Lauer cycled 226 grueling miles across four states in five days, raising more than $423,000 on his "Tour de Red Nose."

But this year, the whole TODAY gang got into the act, along with NBC Nightly News' Lester Holt, special guests on the show, and visitors to the plaza. On more than 650 stationary bikes around the country as well as on the plaza, they racked up a total of 10,000 miles to support projects that keep children safe, healthy and educated.

Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer pedal for Red Nose Day on TODAY.
Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer pedal for Red Nose Day on TODAY.TODAY

At 8:54 a.m. ET Thursday, the total mileage, tracked on a ticker on the plaza, passed the 10,000-mile mark.

TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Erica Hill toast Red Nose Day on stationary bikes on the plaza.
TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Erica Hill toast Red Nose Day on stationary bikes on the plaza.TODAY
Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, Hoda Kotb, Erica Hill and Tamron Hall bike for Red Nose Day on the TODAY plaza
Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer, Hoda Kotb, Erica Hill and Tamron Hall are biking for Red Nose Day!Samantha Okazaki / TODAY

The fun continues at 9 p.m. ET, when NBC will air "The Red Nose Day Special." Craig Ferguson hosts the live two-hour extravaganza, which will feature such celebrities as Jack Black, Ellen DeGeneres, Paul Rudd, Key and Peele, and many more.

Half the money raised by Red Nose Day helps kids in America, and half in some of the poorest countries in the world. And TODAY viewers can get into the spirit of Red Nose Day too. Pick up your own red nose at Walgreens, a TODAY sponsor, take a selfie and share it with us using their hashtag #RedNose. We may use it on TODAY!

Most important, you can donate to Red Nose Day. For every dollar you contribute, the Gates Foundation will donate two dollars up to $500,000 — saving and changing the lives of even more kids like Felix here in America and around the world.

DONATE NOW: Support Red Nose Day to help lift children around the world out of poverty