With the holiday season right around the corner, the folks at Operation Red Nose want to make sure you get home safe.
Burnaby, New Westminster and Tri-Cities Operation Red Nose hits the road on Friday, Nov. 24 and will provide rides by donation to anyone who calls between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night up to and including New Year’s Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31. (No rides will be available the weekend before Christmas, Dec. 22 and 23.)
Donations collected are donated to the local KidSport chapter, a charity that gives kids in need the money to cover registration fees and/or equipment needed to play organized sports.
Despite poor weather last year, $4,300 was raised for KidSport Burnaby, according to Chris Wilson with Operation Red Nose B.C.
This year, the Surrey and Langley Operation Red Nose organizers pulled out, so Wilson expects his team will try and cover a bit of those areas. They also do pickups and drop-offs in East Vancouver and as far as the North Shore and Maple Ridge.
Of course, how many people are picked up in one night depends on how many volunteers Operation Red Nose can recruit, Wilson added. One run requires three volunteers – an escort driver who drives their own vehicle and the two other volunteers to the pick-up point and back from the client’s destination; a driver, who drives the client’s car with the client to their destination; and a navigator who directs the driver.
“It’s a lot of fun. You meet some really interesting volunteers and some very appreciative clients,” Wilson said.
Typically, the busiest nights are the last five, including New Year’s Eve. While there are often a lot of volunteers on New Year’s Eve, they could always use more, according to Wilson.
“We’ve already had people signing up, but like I said, we’re always looking for new volunteers,” he said.
“People always worry, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have some drunk person in my car.’ Well, you don’t have to worry because they’re not in your car, you’re in their car. They’re a lot less likely to throw up in their own car than they are in someone else’s.”
Volunteers are required to get a criminal record check from their local police department. To download the volunteer application package, go to operationrednosetricities.com/volunteers.
Need a ride? Call 778-866-6673 between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Nov. 24 and 25, and Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, and 31.
Here’s how to plan for your safe ride home
What: Operation Red Nose provides safe rides home to people who’ve had too much to drink.
Where: Burnaby, New Westminster and Tri-Cities, with pickups and drop-offs throughout the Lower Mainland. (Longer, further trips depend on availability of drivers on the night of the request.)
When: 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24 and 25; Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, and New Year’s Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31.
More, please: For a ride, call 778-866-6673.
