Operation Red Nose, a volunteer service offering safe rides during the holiday party season, is celebrating the success of its 2024 national campaign.
The initiative operated in 70 communities across Canada in November and December. Cold Lake was the only Alberta community with the service available, thanks to the volunteer efforts of the Cold Lake Ag Society.
People who are planning safe rides home are able to book a ride in advance, or call for a ride on the night they are attending a party or function. A team of three volunteers will meet the client; two volunteers will drive the client home in his or her vehicle, and the third will follow and pick up the other two at the destination.
Nationally, 23,827 volunteers participated in 2024, providing 26,935 safe rides. In Cold Lake, 103 volunteers participated, providing 101 safe rides.
Dustin Foulds of the Ag Society says numbers were up over last year, but the service’s popularity peaked in 2019—the last holiday season before the Covid pandemic.
“The support from the community people that used it was very good,” Foulds said. “We haven’t quite got back to the numbers from 2019 yet, but there’s a number of factors for that. Everything’s taking its time to come back from Covid.”
He said people are getting the message about drinking and driving, and Operation Red Nose is part of the solution. In 2019, the RCMP reported a decline in the number of impaired-driving offences and credited Operation Red Nose as being part of the reason for it.
Foulds says the whole effort depends on the volunteers.
“We’ve got quite a good core group that like to show up and help,” he said. “We also had a few newbies here this year that tried it and really enjoyed it, and said they’re going to come back for the next few years and help us out.”
For the clients, being driven home in their own vehicle is a major advantage. Foulds says it saves them from worrying about their vehicle’s safety on a city street or parking lot overnight.
There is no charge for the service, but clients are invited to make a donation. Under a mandate from the national program, designated beneficiaries of the donations are youth programs, and all proceeds are spent in the community where they are raised.
The Cold Lake proceeds are shared equally between Cold Lake Minor Football and the Ag Society’s youth programs.
Sponsorships are also an important source of Operation Red Nose funds, and Foulds says the Ag Society appreciates the enthusiasm and support of local sponsors.
Operation Red Nose’s founding president Jean-Marie De Koninck said it’s the local organizers, volunteers, and sponsors who make the project possible.
“This 32nd campaign in Alberta is striking proof of the generosity and commitment of our volunteers, partners, and local host organizations,” De Koninck said. “Thanks to their renewed dedication, we managed to offer a concrete and user-friendly solution to ensure everyone’s safety during the holidays.”