For the first time the Yorkton Kinsmen will be offering rides over the holiday season through Operation Red Nose.
Operation Red Nose launches its 34th annual campaign, from coast to coast, while more than 55,000 volunteers are getting ready to take part in Canada’s largest safe ride home service. From Nov. 24 to Dec. 31, Operation Red Nose will be available in 101 Canadian communities.
This year, five communities in Saskatchewan will be offering motorists an additional way to get home safe. Joining Regina, Saskatoon, The Battlefords and Prince Albert, Yorkton is the latest community to be added on the list where the service is offered.
“It’s something Yorkton Kinsmen have looked at a couple of years ago,” explained local Kinsman Ron Hanishewsky.
Hanishewsky noted the local Kinsmen offered a safe ride program in 2016, but being part of Operation Red Nose formalizes the service somewhat.
Supported by its provincial partner, SGI, Operation Red Nose will provide its popular safe ride. Hanishewsky said the partnership with SGI is a good one in terms of insurance coverage.
“Thanks to added police enforcement across Saskatchewan, impaired drivers are more likely than ever to get caught. And with some of the toughest laws in Canada, the penalties and consequences go far beyond a lump of coal in your stocking,” said Minister responsible for SGI Joe Hargrave in a release. “The holidays are about spending time with your loved ones. We are proud to support safe ride services like Operation Red Nose that are dedicated to bringing you and the people you love home safely this holiday season.”
On certain nights throughout the holiday season, any motorist in the centres where Operation Red Nose operates, who feels they are not able to drive home, can call Operation Red Nose for a ride.
Hanishewsky also noted a cellphone application is available that is a contact tool to Operation Red Nose. Available in both official languages, the mobile application allows one to quickly get the phone number as well as the dates and hours of operation of the closest Operation Red Nose host organization. One can also program an alert reminding them it’s time to call for a safe ride home.
Once called, a team of three volunteers will pick them up and drive them in their own vehicle to the destination of their choice. One volunteer drives the client’s vehicle, a second volunteer navigates and a third volunteer follows in an escort vehicle to pick up the two volunteers once they drop off the client. The service is free, but donations are accepted. These donations will be distributed to local youth and amateur sports organizations in the participating city. Last year, Operation Red Nose has redistributed more than $1.5 million to youth and/or amateur sports organizations nationwide.
Hanishewsky said while they want to provide a service they do hope it is a solid fundraiser through donations, which they will use to in turn fund local programming and projects.
In Yorkton the service is slated to run every Friday and Saturday from Nov. 24 to Dec. 23, and then Dec. 29, 30 and 31, said Hanishewsky.
Since the very first night of operation on December 13th, 1984, Operation Red Nose has reached some important milestones. From the impressive number of kilometers driven to the 2.1 million rides provided by 1.2 million volunteers, the stocktaking of Operation Red Nose’s activities reveals an ever renewed willingness to contribute to the road safety of a hundred communities across the country. “Operation Red Nose comes to life every year through the exceptional contribution of thousands of individuals, said its Founding President, Jean-Marie De Koninck in a release. Our incredible volunteers, thousands of responsible motorists, hardworking local host organizations and our numerous partners all come together in a collective effort to help improve road safety across Canada. This makes us very proud.”
Operation Red Nose is a non-profit organization with a mission to encourage responsible behaviour with regard to impaired driving in a non-judgmental manner, by enabling communities to provide a free and confidential chauffeur service to their members. The money it raises is redistributed to local organizations dedicated to youth and amateur sports, and invested in responsible drinking and road safety awareness campaigns.
