LETHBRIDGE – For 20 years, Operation Red Nose has been there to help those who have indulged in a bit too much Christmas cheer.
The service, which gets holiday revelers and their vehicles home for nothing more than a donation, is ready to begin its 21st year. It runs most Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights leading up to Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
Organized by the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, Operation Red Nose provided 1,207 rides last year while raising more than $50,000.
“Every dollar raised goes right back into Pronghorn athletics,” Ken McInnes, U of L executive director of sport and recreation services, said. “It pays for things like meal money, travel, expenses that the student-athletes would have to cover or somehow the university would have to come up with those dollars.”
However, the program also gives the Pronghorns a chance to give back, by helping keep potential drunk drivers off the roads.
“Twelve-hundred-plus people every year is a lot of people who wouldn’t be driving, even if they only had one or two drinks,” McInnes said. “Just better safe than sorry.”
Operation Red Nose takes more than 600 volunteers to make the program successful and more are needed, particularly in the week prior to Christmas.
“It’s just the sheer volume of volunteers that we need,” McInnes said. “In any given night you don’t know what the demand is going to be, so, you’re trying to make sure you’ve got more than enough people to cover that off.”
To volunteer for Operation Red Nose call 403-329-2681 or click here.
The number for those looking to use the service is 403-320-4155.
Operation Red Nose Operating Dates
-Nov. 27-28
-Dec. 3-5
-Dec. 10-12
-Dec. 17-19
-Dec. 31
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