Prince George, B.C.-  It’s that time of the year,   and Prince George residents are answering the call  but more are needed.

Operation Red Nose,  which  gets you and  your vehicle home safely during the holiday season ,   has  had 100 people sign up to  volunteer  to take part in the annual  designated  driver program.   That’s a positive milestone, given the first night of Operation Red Nose service is  still three weeks away, but more volunteers are needed  says  Red Nose spokesperson Andrea Johnson “We’d really like to have about 250 more to ensure we can meet the demand for rides we expect during the holidays.”

Volunteers must be 19 years old and have a valid driver’s license. They can be part of a road team of three or work behind the scenes answering phones at Operation Red Nose headquarters.

Applications, which include a Criminal Record Check form, are available online at www.ornpg.ca. Volunteers can simply fill it out, print it out and take it, along with their driver’s license, to the RCMP’s main detachment on Victoria Street.

“It takes about a week for the  record check to be done” says Johnson, “The sooner we get the  cleared  forms,  the sooner we can start putting teams together.”  She says  volunteers who want to work  with certain people  can  add  a note  to that effect  on their application “We will do our best to accommodate those  requests.”

On average, about 15 road teams of three will be on call each night of service, working from 9 p.m. – 3 a.m.

This year, those nights of service will  be Nov. 27 and 28, Dec. 4 and 5, Dec. 11 and 12, Dec. 18 and 19 and New Year’s Eve.

In 2014, Operation Red Nose  provided 1,123 safe rides home in nine nights .  That  put  Prince George in second place among 13 communities in B.C. which offered  the Operation Red Nose service.