Volunteers needed for Operation Red Nose
Posted Dec 29, 2011 04:33:39 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – Operation Red Nose in Langley and Surrey is desperate for volunteers, with less than three days to go before New Year’s Eve.
The service wants to more than double its numbers for the busiest night of the holidays.
Red Nose uses teams of three volunteers to drive people and their cars home safely after a night of drinking.
Coordinator Tricia McIvor says it’s been tough to keep up with a growing demand this holiday season, and the need will be even larger for New Year’s.
“Unfortunately we have half the number of teams we need to put put out on the road to have a successful campaign,” she says. “We need 50 teams, and we only have about 20 right now.”
In the weekends leading up to Christmas the non-profit provided 900 rides, down slightly from 940 this time last year.
Still, she says they have seen some big weekends already.
“We broke records on the Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11 weekend,” Morton says. “We actually beat our rides, we raised the most money, and we had the most volunteers.”
McIvor says more volunteers means shorter waits for people wanting a ride home.
“We never turn them away. We’ll always get them home, but the thing is sometimes people change their mind about getting a way home because they have been waiting for too long.”
McIvor says Operation Red Nose is accepting donations for local amateur sports organizations.
The volunteer effort provides an option for people who may not have the money for other designated driving services, such as cabs.
Operation Red Nose is also operating in other Lower Mainland communities, including Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Delta/Richmond, Abbotsford/Mission, North/West Vancouver, and Pitt Meadows/Maple Ridge.
To find out how to volunteer, visit rednose.bc.ca.
