Operation Red Nose is less than three weeks from the first night of its 20th year of designated driver service in Thompson during the Christmas season and will officially kick things off Nov. 16.
“Operation Red Nose has moved headquarters to the YWCA,” said Operation Red Nose Thompson president Nelly Duarte. “We’ll be having out kickoff Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the YWCA cafeteria. We’re going to have some speakers present and it’s actually going to be Thompson’s 20th year running Operation Red Nose and Operation Red Nose Canada has been running for 35 years this year so we’ve got a couple of milestone anniversaries that we’re going to be talking about and celebrating.”
In addition to offering an opportunity for potential volunteers to either pick up or drop off applications, the Nov. 16 kickoff event will also be the deadline for community groups to apply for funding from the donations that Operation Red Nose receives.
“Basically if these groups can provide volunteers it reflects the total donation that they receive at the end of the season so it is proportionate to participation but applications are available through us if you want to email us at ORNthompson@outlook.com,” Duarte says.
Operation Red Nose will available Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 7-8, Dec. 14-15, Dec. 21-22 and Dec. 31. Three-person teams consisting of a designated driver, a navigator and an escort driver pick up clients who have been drinking where they are and drive them home in the clients’ own vehicles. Donations are accepted but the service is free of charge.
“We also do multiple stops if you want to do that,” Duarte notes. “So let’s say your friend wants to go somewhere different than where you want to go, we can drop people off on our way to a different destination.”
Anyone who wants to volunteer with Operation Red Nose Thompson must be 18 years old – to be a designated driver or escort driver you must have a driver’s licence. Volunteers must also go through a criminal record check via the RCMP, but the fee for doing this check is waived.
Duarte says the program is aiming to have five teams of three people each night they are on the road but hopes to have some more on the busier nights, which include the last two weekends before Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve.
Most importantly, Duarte says, having Operation Red Nose Thompson offering designated driving for nine nights during the holiday season means there’s no excuse for drinking and driving.
“It’s very easy to think five minutes is nothing but it only takes a second for something to happen,” she says. “When it’s a free service why don’t you take advantage of it?”
