Operation Red Nose Winnipeg is back after a two year hiatus.
The group is hoping to recruit volunteers to make sure late-night party-goers have a safe ride home during the upcoming holiday season.
Red Nose coordinator Sharra Hinton says they’re aiming to accommodate the New Year’s Eve midnight rush.
“Midnight hits and everybody wants to go home right now, and so the more drive teams we can have on the road, the faster we can get to everybody and make sure we get them home. The longer we make them wait for a ride, the more antsy they get.”
Hinton says they’ll need 150 volunteers to make up the teams.
“We have a an escort driver, a navigator, and then a designated driver … and each person has very specific tasks on that team,” she says.
“The escort driver drives the team around in the team vehicle. So most often that’s their own personal vehicle. When we receive a request for a ride, we’ll send those details out to the team and then the escort driver will drive the team to the client’s location. The designated driver will drive the client home in the (client’s) car. The navigator also accompanies the the designated driver in the car. We always put two people in the vehicle with the client.”
“We get to connect with a lot of people in the community that are out and having fun, and they’re very appreciative of the service that we provide, getting them home safe. I mean, it’s a it’s a very nice way for them to enjoy their holidays,” says Hinton.
Anyone interested in volunteering can apply at the Operation Red Nose Winnipeg website.
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