Every holiday season, a special group of designated drivers are out on the roads in Prince George ensuring people having a fun night out are getting home safely.
Operation Red Nose is putting out its call this morning (Oct. 29) for volunteers to help deliver more safe rides for party-goers as its 22nd year of service begins in a month.
Last year, a total of 959 safe rides were given across the city, which was a 14 per cent increase compared to 838 in 2017 and 100 less than a recent record of 1,059 in 2015.
This time around, the not-for-profit is hoping volunteers that sign up, whether they’re out on the roads or answering phones at its headquarters,will help one night or more.
“We’d love to have a total of 300 volunteers to ensure we can meet the demand for rides we expect during the holiday season, especially on New Year’s Eve,” said Andrea Johnson, Operation Red Nose spokesperson, in a release.
“Our volunteers who return year after year have a great time knowing they've made a difference in the community. We guarantee new volunteers will feel the same way."
Volunteers must be 19 years old, have a valid driver's license and must go through a Criminal Record Check in the application process; RCMP will call those who've passed.
However, the designated driving service says if you’ve volunteered with them for the last three years and have a clear Criminal Record Check, the process has been streamlined.
Operation Red Nose will be out in full force helping party-goers on the following weekends:
- Nov. 29 and 30
- Dec. 6 and 7
- Dec. 13 and 14
- Dec. 20 and 21
- New Year’s Eve
An average of 15 teams of three will be on-call between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. each night.
More information on the service and how you can sign up to be a volunteer can be found on the Operation Red Nose Prince George website.
