Operation Red Nose in Ridge Meadows is looking back on a successful holiday season of keeping impaired drivers off the road.
New Year’s even was the last night for the service, and it was the highlight of the year according to Kate Doucette, the volunteer director for Operation Red Nose Ridge Meadows.
“Our busiest night of the year had Ridge Meadows volunteers doing over 60 rides,” she said. “Over the nine nights that Operation Red Nose was running, our volunteers did over 350 safe rides home.”
For a voluntary donation, people calling Operation Red Nose get a ride home from a volunteer, while another volunteer takes their vehicle home for them. It operated on Friday and Saturday nights through December and on New Year’s Eve. This was the 11th season for the program.
“It’s really awesome to know that together we had that many people not drinking and driving,” she said.
“With all the donations collected, we were able to give over $10,000 to our local Kidsport organization. I can’t say enough great things about both Operation Red Nose, and Kidsport. These two organizations and all the volunteers with both are amazing, with the goal to help our community.”
Kidsport helps children whose families need financial support to afford sporting activities. KidSport has been operating in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows since 2009 and has provided funding for over 1,000 children.
“To all the people that called Operation Red Nose for a ride, thank you for making a smart choice by calling, and thank you for all the donations you gave,” said Doucette. “There were times when we took our mascot Rudy out to local places to let people know about our service, and on several occasions, we had people hand us a donation, just because they know what a great service it is.”
She said Kidsport volunteers also worked with the Red Nose committee to make sure the season went well.
“To all the volunteers that have worked tirelessly through each night, both in the office, and on the road, thank you for all your time and hard work getting our community home safe.”